Matthew Dickerson: The outdoors can be surprising

“One evening, half an hour before sunset, a sow black bear with two cubs came wandering past . . . “

“The first was the most memorable…”

Established in 1997, its purpose is to “conserve, protect and enhance the abundance and diversity of native plant, fish and wildlife species and the ecosystem on which they depend throughout the 7.2 million acre Connecticut River watershed.”

“When somebody calls, answer the phone on the first ring.”

Did I even bother to head down to the river at all?

Warm temperatures signaled what may have been the season’s final Nordic ski at Rikert Outdoor Center for Matthew Dickerson.

This year for Lent, my wife Deborah has not been fasting. Instead, she has decided this Lent to take a walk in the woods every day.

“Views of Mount Orford opened up in front of us, topped with a slow clinging cloud and illuminated in afternoon light.”

“Parc national du Mont-Orford boasts 50 km for classic skiing and 26 km for skate skiing over a range of beginner, intermediate and advanced terrains.”

Be part of a free workshop with author and artist Matthew Dickerson, Feb. 21.

Matthew and McKenna Dickerson will show their photographs and paintings at Jackson Gallery in Middlebury on Feb. 3.

“Luci loved the natural world, and over her life as a poet she practiced what it meant to be attentive.”

“In at least one important way, reading is like outdoor sports. Both of these depend on, reward, and help to foster attentiveness.”

“In the Champlain Valley, where the baseline has changed so much in just the first quarter of this century, you need to find some nostalgic old person like me to remember those days of 15 to 30 below zero.”

Matthew Dickerson reflects on “Writing Rivers,” a class he teaches that gets first-year Middlebury College students outside.