Staff Blog
Faith in Vermont: Reflections On My First Town Meeting
Every year, around the first Tuesday in March, Vermont feels pretty proud of itself. That’s because, as any Vermonter can tell you, the first Tuesday in March is Town Meeting Day: the day when citizens meet in towns across the state to...
Poem: Sea of Branches Protest
Sea of Branches Protest
If I didn’t know better, I would think
I was in a ship’s hold, hearing the beams
groan, sails snap against their stays.
And not here under March’s bare
canopy. The heaving branches.
A...
Poem: Early, early Red-winged
Early, Early Red-winged
There must be a mistake.
It’s not March yet.
That black bird’s sitting on a back
field fence. No other one’s
in sight.
No friends or strays
who’ve left their...
Faith in Vermont: On the Ice
Just like that, winter is over.
At least, that’s what it feels like today, as I look out at snowless fields under a sunny blue sky. The temperatures over the past week have been unseasonably warm for February in Vermont, culminating in...
Faith in Vermont: Surprised by Love
The weekend getaway was a surprise Christmas present from my husband.
Throughout our 18-year relationship, my husband has excelled at surprises. While we were dating, he orchestrated a “traveling surprise birthday party” for me:...
Faith in Vermont: The Cow on the Wall
The cow was hanging on the wall, opposite the checkout counter at the Sweet Charity resale shop in Vergennes, and I fell in love with it immediately.
That I was in Sweet Charity, without children, on a Saturday afternoon, was due to a series...
Poem: Four Years Ago Today
Four Years Ago Today
The deer shouldn’t be out browsing the field.
From what I hear, they’re supposed to be back
in the woods in their winter herd, keeping
each other warm, browsing for frozen buds.
I can...
Faith in Vermont: Teaching Our Children About History
One afternoon earlier this month, my daughters and I gathered around our kitchen island for a snack. I began asking my eldest daughter about a book she was reading. After a few one-syllable responses, she was tired of my questioning. Looking me...
Faith in Vermont: The Stars At Night
The other night, I took the dog for a walk down our driveway.
The job of walking our dog after dinner usually falls to my husband; on these frigid winter nights, he dons hat and gloves, ski goggles and earmuffs, snow pants and winter parka,...
Faith in Vermont: A Thank-You to Snow
For the past several months, I’ve sensed a heaviness in my writing, an unbroken seriousness that leaves me with the uncomfortable feeling that it’s time to crack a joke.
My recent columns have reflected what I believe to be the...