Farming/Nature

Earth Day – the Best Day of the Year

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Back in the summer when I was 18, my parents were really cramping my style. I couldn’t wait to cut the apron strings and head off to college. They were spoiling my relaxation vibe with things like summer jobs, curfews and chores I was supposed to do around the house. So after we packed up the station wagon and pulled into my dorm parking lot one late August afternoon, like Sherpas, they unloaded my stuff and beat a hasty retreat. I was pretty happy about that as I was planning on reinventing myself and lurking parents were not part of that picture.

Farming/Nature

Legacy Trees and their Storied Existence

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When we were growing up, my best friend and I liked to channel our inner primate by heading for the trees. We’d spend lazy afternoons climbing towering white pines with all their branches about to give way. We’d be gone for hours and come home reeking of sap. That was something we could live with, as it was a small price for freedom and a bird’s eye view. We weren’t the only ones climbing trees to pass the time.

Farming/Nature

Winter Blues

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These wintry days I am dreaming of the ocean. Days with my feet in the sand listening to the lapping of waves and casting my eyes on that big expanse of ocean until it merges with the sky. Naturally the conversation, whether it is just in my head or shared with others, turns to the ocean’s shade of blue. It is easy to draw folks into this discussion and very difficult to reach a consensus. Is the sea royal or navy, topaz, azure or aquamarine?

Farming/Nature

Keeping Warm in Winter

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Some people just know how to beat the cold. My friend in high school was one of them. She had kinfolk from Vermont, which definitely gave her the edge in the sub-zero department. And, I suspect there was some Nordic blood coursing through her veins, as she and her siblings were tow heads, sauna aficionados and, built like Sonja Henie or Ole Einar Bjørndalen, definitely prepared to go the distance. I never willingly would sign up to race any of them up or down any hill in town, snow covered or otherwise. 

At any rate, my friend had an arsenal of tricks developed over the years to beat the winter weather.