In April 2006, at the start of the planting season, John Augustin had a tractor accident. It was the kind of hazard that goes with the occupation, the fear that farmers around big machinery live with every day and acknowledge without saying. It happened in an instant, in the time it takes a rotor-tiller attachment […]
trees
Magazine
The Irony of a Tree | Mary’s Farm
Around this time of year, I start thinking about pruning my fruit trees. A few years ago, I planted a couple of Macouns, my favorite of all apples, and a Reliance peach, known to be rugged in cold climates. I still worry about mice chewing on their trunks at ground level, and then there are […]
New England
2011 Fall Photo Contest Winner
Owl’s Head Overlook in Groton, VT by Kevin Armstrong This photo really drew us in with its strong composition, and we love the depth and the vastness of it. The tones, while moody, are quite beautiful and the quilt-like canopy pulls the viewer into the scene while drawing the eye to the texture of the […]
Magazine
Isabelle Abramson | Artisan Profile
Isabelle Abramson is a fan of serenity. That’s why the ceramics artist, who works in a studio in Boston’s South End, is house-hunting in Vermont. “I feel really good about my neighborhood in Boston, and I needed to be in a city to get started so that I could have access to people and show […]
A couple remakes a ho-hum 1980s home into a cozy country-living cottage.
For outdoor adventure or indoor comfort, get ready to lose yourself in the beautiful towns and mountains of western Maine.
In downtown Northampton, Massachusetts, there’s one tree that looks particularly well prepared for winter. A colorful stockinette sweater hugs its trunk, with holes carefully placed to accommodate its branches. A yarn monkey dangles from one of the boughs. Around the base of the tree are three twentysomething women knitting furiously. Brie, Rachel, and Katie comprise […]
Yankee
‘A Hard Place to Grow Deer’
The winter of 2011 came slowly to north-central Maine. Low snowfall and mild temperatures had run through most of December, giving the deer a reprieve. But in January the season turned cold and unrelenting. For six weeks, there was no thaw, and now the snow on the eastern side of Moosehead Lake lay three feet […]
A few weeks ago, I found myself with an apple emergency. I was on my way to work, thinking about the talk and apple tasting I was scheduled to give at the Dublin town library that evening and realized that the bag of heirloom apples that I had set out the night before was still […]
I took my three little boys shopping at the Co-op two days before Christmas and got many, many looks of sympathy mixed with envy. We made a mad spectacle that reminded people how much fun holidays can be when children are a part of the celebration. Nobody was whining, no one had a runny nose, […]
Food
A Weekend Food Tour
It was so wonderful to be back at Cider Days in western Massachusetts this past weekend. This festival of apples and apple cider (hard and sweet) has become a touchstone. I only wish I could’ve stayed longer! Here’s a shot of me demonstrating how to make cornbread dressing with sausage and apples, courtesy of my […]
New England
New England Snow Storm and Late Foliage
I’m a day late in posting the foliage blog this week, but I’ve been playing chicken with the forecast of winter weather. Will it happen, how much will fall, where will it fall, how long will it stay, and will there be a second storm? All questions that have the meteorologists in the region anxious […]