IMHO

Archive for the 'upper valley' Category

Watching Irene

I was in Albany, N. Y. when the storm came up through my home and at first I scoffed at the hysterical predictions. I’ve gotten so used to weather forecasters calling things “the storm of the century” that it seems meaningless. Watching the storm through the window of an Albany rowhouse, listening to The Beatles […]

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June

Almost June and here’s a picture for it:

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Some links and signs of spring

On the way to work this morning I heard an NPR piece about Ramy Essam, the musician who was “arrested” and tortured by the army last week. I wondered if any of the 23 year olds I know are capable of saying as Ramy does now that  he “still believes that there are honest people […]

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March

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Government by “The People”

In a small state like Vermont, that means you. I’ve been thinking about this for a while and at Town Meeting I asked about being on the Planning Commission. I know they’ve got three people leaving for one reason or another and they need people badly. I’m used to thinking of myself as a good […]

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Town Meeting

Town Meeting is Saturday and I’m totally unprepared. I’ve recently moved and my town report is late. We have Town Meeting once a year in Thetford, to discuss and vote on the town budget and vote on any articles before the town. Vermont and New Hampshire both hold Town Meetings, I don’t know of any […]

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Krystal Smith

On another sort of topic entirely I’d like to take a moment to recognize Krystal Smith, from Burlington, Vermont who has been crowned the nation’s top grocery bagger. Bagging groceries is an art and I recognize an artist when I see them work, which I do not much these days unfortunately.  When I do run […]

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The Beaver Pond

The beavers had a dam that stretched several hundred feet across the little valley. They had made a beautiful pond. It was beautiful in the summer and beautiful in winter too. Then, one night, there was a big storm. So much water came down the stream that the dam blew out. When we woke up […]

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The hummingbird clock

The hummingbirds have gone, they left during the first week of September. The week before they left they seemed more agitated than usual. They fought among themselves more, the air was filled with tiny dogfights all week long. Then one day the air was silent. One female hummingbird stayed behind. I took the last feeder […]

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Return of the Red-winged Blackbirds

The Red-winged Blackbirds are back! I heard them trill out in the swamp when I pulled in the dooryard on Friday night. It’s always a great moment. Spring is here when you hear the blackbirds. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP_Zn9DfBz4[/youtube]

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