Over the past 30 years, a famous garden designer and his wife have transformed a dilapidated Vermont farmhouse into a study in harmony between indoors and out, where garden views are always in focus. Town life never suited Gordon and Mary Hayward. They found that out firsthand in 1981, when they bought an 1850s-era white […]
brattleboro
Magazine
PoemCity | Here in New England
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 […]
It couldn’t be more Vermont if you poured maple syrup over it: the winding dirt road, arching shade trees, fields sloping right and left, shaggy apple orchard, and finally, of course, the bent-over red barn, faded to a rosy blush. Midsummer afternoon in the hills of Putney, the light sharpens and spreads out, insects hum, […]
Recently, my neighbor, Eric Hanson, the Vermont State Loon Biologist and his wife, Anne packed the car for a trip to Anne’s college reunion. Early Friday morning, Eric stashed one more item in the back: a Styrofoam steak box. By 5:30 am they were all headed south on I-89 toward Massachusetts– Eric and Anne and […]
Back in 2001, before “locavore” was a buzzword, Vermont neighbors Dwight Miller*, a farmer, and Orly Munzing, an educational consultant, shared a passing conversation about the number of small farms in their area that were either going out of business or at risk of doing so. What could they do to bring attention to the […]
Magazine
DeCordova’s Boston Biennial
Back in 1987, the then-DeCordova and Dana Museum and Park in Lincoln, Massachusetts, mounted New England Now: Contemporary Art from Six States, a truly authoritative regional survey of the sort that New England needs. The DeCordova became the New England regional hub for new art under curator Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, but, now renamed DeCordova […]
Romaine Tenney vowed he would never abandon his family’s Vermont farm, which lay in the path of the future Interstate 91. In the end, he loved his farm to death.
If you’re like me and you look forward to a day of apple picking each fall, you may be in for a rude fruit awakening this year. May frost took its toll on many orchards, leaving them without any apples for pickers, or with a smaller crop that (to be honest) isn’t looking its best. […]
New Hampshire
Madame Sherri’s Castle Ruins in West Chesterfield, NH
It was a photo from our online gallery that sparked my interest: a sweeping, arched staircase constructed of stone, fallen leaves strewn along its steps, curving upward to end mid-air in the midst of a forest. It was titled simply “Madame Sherri Castle Ruins, Chesterfield, NH.” Castle ruins in New Hampshire? Now that’s something worth […]
I haven’t written a cooking-oriented post for weeks. I have been cooking, but it it has been of the “quickly-as-possible-so-we-can-get-back-outside-and-enjoy-the-fleeting-summer” sort. Fresh tomato salads, grilled sausages, hamburgers, etc. One quick tip: Try using rice vinegar and shallots in your next tomato salad. The milder acidity is a great compliment to the sweet, ripe fruit […]
Memorial Day weekend unofficially marks the transition to summer and all the activities the warm weather brings with it. For myself and my husband, it’s the time of year when we pull the kayaks out of the shed and start thinking about places to paddle. Currently, our favorite spot is a mere 30 minutes from […]
Vermont
Vermont Best Lodging 2012
BEST FARMHOUSE RETREAT Meadowlark Inn, West Brattleboro Loll in the hammock or soak in the Jacuzzi while you listen to birdsong and keep a watch for deer at this classic B&B in a beautifully restored 1870s farmhouse. Rates: from $145, including full breakfast. 13 Gibson Road. 800-616-6359, 802-257-4582; meadowlarkinnvt.com BEST BOVINE B&B Shearer Hill Farm […]