It’s time for spring cleaning, and I’ve learned that some of my favorite cleaning products can be toxic. What’s a good alternative?– M.R., Dover, VT Common household cleaners that contain chlorine, ammonia, and petroleum-based chemicals may contribute to respiratory problems, release harmful fumes, irritate allergies and chemical sensitivities, and burn skin or eyes on contact. […]
trees
New England
Biking: Massachusetts
We’re big fans of the 22-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail, especially when you take it in bits and pieces. But to be frank, the actual ride, even after the route’s recent refurbishment, can be a real yawner for kids. It’s a former railroad line, straight with very little grade. We like the ups and downs […]
New England
Mountain Biking: Vermont
We make an annual pilgrimage to the Northeast Kingdom to bike the 100-plus-mile web known as the Kingdom Trails. We pedal across fertile green pastures, past immense red barns still standing from the early 1900s, and sweep up and down on soft forest trails dusted with pine needles, all within arm’s length of fragrant spruce […]
Yankee
Homegrown: Fresh Morels
Although you can find dried morels year-round, their fresh counterparts have a very short growing season and are available in New England only from late April through the first week or so of June. These prized mushrooms look a lot like brown sponges on sticks — but their flavor is delicate and earthy, well worth […]
New England
Take Great Ski Photos with These Tips
When I was young I dreamed that, one day, I would become a ski model for a Warren Miller film. Though I never made it to the big screen, I’ve done a little skiing for photographers. It’s fun, but certainly not as glamorous as I’d thought it would be as a youngster. Take my day […]
Making maple syrup is tough business — so tough that the Howrigans of Fairfield, Vermont, don’t share secrets even with their own family. March 1998: It is just after noon and the air is bright with more than just a hint of warmth to it. Shelley Howrigan pulls on her high-top rubber boots and sets out […]
Connecticut
Connecticut: A Natural Gentility
As you drive along Route 169 in the eastern part of the state, it soon becomes clear why this section of Connecticut is called the Quiet Corner. This route, located just off I-395, offers 32 miles of pure, uninterrupted tranquillity. In Lisbon, weathered-clapboard home-steads appear around every bend. Stone walls flank the road to the […]
Drivers rolling down Boston’s Boylston Street are sometimes surprised to see — amid the concrete and high-rises — a splash of lush green, a pergola covered in purple blossoms, and bright-red rows of tomatoes, heavy on the vine. This seven-acre plot is The Richard D. Parker Memorial Victory Gardens, better known as Fenway Gardens.The names […]
Jud’s New England Journal for January 2008 Welcome to the January 2008 edition of Jud’s New England Journal, the rather curious monthly musings of Judson Hale, the editor-in-chief of Yankee Magazine, published for over 70 years in Dublin, New Hampshire. Three MORE Often-Asked Questions About New England 1. Widow’s walks: Were they built atop homes […]
You might be asking, “Which Oliver Wendell Holmes?” Holmes Sr. (1809-1894), the famous Boston physician and man of letters? Or his son, Holmes Jr. (1841-1935), the even more famous Bostonian who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years? The answer is “Both.” Holmes Sr. built this 15-room “cottage,” as summer mansions were called […]
For three years Roy Hugie had monitored Maine black bears. His is the most extensive bear study ever carried on in New England, one of the most extensive, for that matter, in the country.
Belonging to a ski club is about much more than skiing.