January in Vermont is a challenging month; the holidays are over. Gone are the colorful lights, businesses covered in red bows and greenery, and egg nog. What comes now are the long days of winter. We are just past a few days of lovely snow chased by a day of solid rain. The oil and…
Category: Winter
Still
The weather was not traditionally “Christmas-y” two weeks before the holiday. We had unseasonably warm temperatures leaving only traces of earlier snow spilling into darkened crevices in the woods. Any precipitation fell in drops rather than flakes. We braced ourselves for a green (brown) Christmas. We planned on taking the week of Christmas off, knowing…
Solstice
The snow starting to quietly fall yesterday, as if someone flipped a switch. It arrived without a fanfareof great winds, a soft gift, and it continued through the day piling about six inches before dinner. Ipulled on boots after dark and headed out to settle animals for the night. Although Paul had cleared thedriveway with…
For Seasons
The greatest percentage of the joy of living in Vermont comes from the fact that we have four very distinct seasons. Cue Vivaldi. For us it isn’t about the clothes that we wear or the photo-ops that present themselves, it is about who we are because of these seasons. Summer in Vermont is our short,…
In One Year
A week ago Saturday we got another foot of snow. The term for late snow is “sugar snow:” the reasonis that the temperatures edge above freezing during the days and then slink back down to their cold resting places at night: ideal weather for making maple syrup. As we drive down the softened dirt roads…
Leaning In
Tuesday I pulled on mud boots to head to run errands. The temperature had climbed into the fifties and the warmer sun began to melt the skim off the top of the road, enough so that there were deep ruts to navigate. As I drove through downtown I noticed a few people wearing shorts, they…
Auditioning: For What & What For
‘Tis the season: Latkes and applesauce, caroling, Christmas trees, winter boots, Poinsettias and… auditions. As an instructor, it can be challenging to convince kids, who are looking forward to some time off from the pressures of school, that it is a good thing to work twice as hard at their instruments this time of year….
Days Like This
Each Saturday we make an effort to get a change in scenery. Because we spend so much time at home, we try to find a different place to be outdoors and hike or snowshoe in the company of our very happy dogs. This past weekend we headed up to the Champlain Valley. The temp was…