It sounds like the start of a joke: A man walks into a poem. Except … that’s what actually happens if he’s running errands in Montpelier, Vermont, in April—returning library books, say, or picking up some sheet music, batteries, sandpaper, a bottle of wine … stopping at the bank, then grabbing a bite to eat […]
We ask quilt restorer Betsey Telford-Goodwin … what stories does a quilt tell us? In the late 1970s, Betsey Telford-Goodwin was introduced by a friend to the world of quilts. Her adoration for them was immediate. “They’re tactile, they’re art, they’re colorful, they’re warm—they epitomize everything I love,” Goodwin says. Today, the Boston native and […]
Even when Mayday came limping toward her end the fall before last, Harriet gave me a clue to her deep connection to her friend. As Mayday prepared to leave us, I found Harriet beside Mayday’s bed, day after day, as if sitting vigil. Could she know? At last, when we returned from that final visit […]
As long as I’ve had livestock, no matter how cozy, how dry and warm, how peaceful the atmosphere inside, some part of my awareness stays out on the range. I feel this especially in late spring when the lambs are out on pasture, and in the dead of night, a coyote yowls half a mile […]
Welcome to the March 2014 edition of “Jud’s New England Journal,” the rather curious monthly musings of Judson Hale, editor-in-chief of Yankee Magazine, published since 1935 in Dublin, New Hampshire. What’s Funny and What’s Not It’s often difficult to predict. For instance … Some years ago we published the following short piece by Frank J. […]
It takes all kinds of folks to stay warm in New England. Take a humorous look at how we heat.
Heat & Water: The Elms is heated by three boilers. During an average heating season, the mansion uses 8,000 gallons of oil; even the closets are heated via small grates. The estate uses 7,000 gallons of water per month today. Originally, a water-tank room served as a back-up supply (early municipal systems were unreliable); each […]
Millions of dollars from foreign investors are pouring into Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. What that means for the region is anyone’s guess—except that it will never be the same.
Born and raised in California, Alyson Horrocks moved to New England with her husband and four children in 2005. She connected instantly with the history, beauty, and rich atmosphere of the region and has never looked back. When Alyson began writing her blog, New England Living, in 2007, her intent was to use it as […]
Learn more about Hartford Denim Company, where everything from denim clutches to jeans, are produced on restored industrial sewing machines.
Sinsibuckwat was the name local Micmac Indians gave to the end of February. The term translated to “the melting of the snow” and “to draw from wood” since it was the time of year when it warmed up just enough for the sap to begin flowing (especially in Connecticut where tapping begins earlier than in […]
Lacking a thermometer, I gauge how cold it is by icy calligraphy on the living room windows: a little rime means we’re nosing zero, but once designs like down feathers and fractals show up—oh boy, we’re trolling in the negatives. This morning: a whole pane of paisleys, which the town website confirms is -17. To […]
