The Last Green Valley in northeastern CT (and MA): An oasis of peace old-time nostalgia. Trails to hike, places to stay, meals to eat, gifts to buy, and what to do with the kids. When You Go —Yankee-recommended places to hike, stay, eat, and shop in Connecticut’s Last Green Valley. The skies don’t lie. From […]
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John Updike’s ‘The Wallet’
NOTE: In memory of Pulitzer-Prize winning author and New Englander John Updike, we share this short story from Yankee Magazine September 1985. Fulham, with a history of hypertension, had taken early retirement from his brokerage firm and managed his own investments and those of a favored few old clients in an upstairs room of his […]
After the Ice
It took a force of nature unlike what most of us had seen before to change the subject. Before the rain and sleet that froze blindingly beautiful and lethal on our trees and power lines and whatever stood outdoors, we were boring each other with dire words about our investments, retirement accounts, and foreboding over […]
Is winter the right time to prune my apple trees and blueberry bushes? — R.R., Jackson, NJ Most deciduous trees benefit from pruning while they’re dormant, so winter is a fine time to prune your fruit trees and shrubs, including apple, pear, cherry, blueberry, and currant. Some gardeners save the long, thin “water shoot” prunings […]
Erica Wheeler | Music Review
How often do we hear about another old farm being demolished and redeveloped as a subdivision or strip mall? And how often do we write off the fight to stop it with a sigh and a shrug? While studying animal biology at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, Erica Wheeler discovered that being right didn’t necessarily […]
Antiques | Mochaware Pottery
Mochaware pottery pieces are centuries old, yet they look as modern as today’s contemporary art pottery. Learn more about this rare American collectible.
Winter in New England might be the season you look forward to all year, or it might be the season you endure, but no matter — we’ve got all of the tips, treats, and must-see places to make winter fun all season long. Grab your mittens and let’s go! #1 Build An IglooFirst, brush up […]
I almost ran out of wood last year. In the middle of winter I had to scramble and find some good, dry wood, just about as easy as finding ripe peaches at that time of year. I sometimes think that the best way to save on heat might be to just go to Florida. I […]
Maine Reflections
In Maine, virgin soil is still tilled as I walk; oxen strainto pull a large fieldstone from its place.The hard crack is heard of stone on stone–Get Our FREE Yankee Best New England Vacations Guide! Email(Required) Subscribe each one upon the last as walls are built up.Women in long dresses bend, pluck blackberriesfrom the sun. […]
Art Detectives in Hartford
Art conservators have many of the same hi-tech sensing and imaging technologies available to them that medical and military personnel do — x-ray diffraction and fluorescence, infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, optical scanning, ultrasound, x-ray tomography, etc. Initially employed in the service of detecting cracks and damage and material properties useful in conserving works […]
More times than I can count we made the yearly pilgrimage. Driving dark, icy roads from a small town in southern New Hampshire, we slid into the brilliance of Boston, threading through narrow streets to our destination: the warmth and light of the Boston Opera House, glowing like a beacon of Art and Culture. Inside […]
Facts About Evergreen Trees
Fresh Christmas trees are like sponges: Their moisture alone weighs more than the tree itself does when dry. After Christmas, you can recycle your tree as mulch for your gardens and trails, cover habitat for fish, a barrier to reduce soil erosion, or a habitat for birds and other wildlife. Farmed Christmas trees cover about […]