High school athletes made the most of pandemic-shortened winter season

ADDISON COUNTY — This winter’s high school sports mirrored the fall season. It began with uncertainty. Would the pandemic allow the athletes to play? A post-holiday surge of infections threatened athletes’ hopes, just as a late-summer peak in 2020 challenged the fall season. But state officials finally approved a shortened season, as they had in the fall. And again athletes were largely just happy to be back in action, regardless of the results. Along the way teams produced high drama, comebacks and overtim … (read more)

On Valentine’s Day, as I sat down to write, I noticed a burst of blue outside my upstairs window. Looking out with my binoculars, I counted six eastern bluebirds. Clustered on and below my suet feeders, they were a wonderfully pleasant surprise on a chill … (read more)

A crop of recent books about search and rescue in the mountains will keep you on the edge of your chair (or mountain crag), and give valuable insight on how to stay safe (see suggested reading below). Rescues are time consuming, expensive and dangerous, e … (read more)

My summer tires were switched over to winter ones on a warm, sunny December morning. It was one of those days that made me forget that it had snowed a few weeks earlier and that I was welcoming the warm breeze on my face while standing in front of Heffern … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — If there was one silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was that arrived at the beginning of spring, when people of all ages could at least congregate outdoors with appropriate face attire and social distancing. But a Vermont winter is ni … (read more)

While you might think that cold temperatures keep a compost pile from composting, that is not the case. In my winter compost pile I regularly achieve temperatures in excess of 130 degrees Fahrenheit even when it’s in the low teens or single digits at nigh … (read more)

During the summer I often spy common garter snakes sunning themselves in my garden. As the snow piles up through winter, covering the landscape in cold white, I wonder where these warmth-seeking creatures have gone. Without fur or fluffed-up feathers for … (read more)

BRISTOL — On a recent Wednesday night, Paul Carlile of Burlington sat in his blue whitewater kayak in the swimming pool at Mount Abraham Union High School, nose plugs engaged and ready to demonstrate the perfect roll. Designed to help whitewater kayakers … (read more)

GOSHEN — Feb. 2 — Groundhog Day — has come and gone, meaning that we have passed the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. And certainly the days are noticeably longer — a sure sign that spring is on its way. Actually in South … (read more)

Several days ago my wife, Deborah, and I went snowshoeing and cross-country skiing on a thick blanket of lovely fresh snow. We weren’t alone. Joining us on the outing was our friend Felicia. Felicia had never been snowshoeing or skiing before. Felicia is … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — In celebration of the 28th anniversary of the Green Mountain Club’s Taylor Outdoor Adventure Series, the Bread Loaf Section will host speaker Mary Lou Recor on Thursday evening, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m., at the Champlain Valley Unitarian Universali … (read more)

After a fairly lackluster winter, we had our first big snowstorm yesterday. Today, the world beyond my windows is gorgeous. Because the snow was preceded by ice, the tree branches bend low and glitter in the sunlight as if they’re encased in glass. Temper … (read more)

VERMONT — Many Vermont bears are not getting much rest this winter, according to Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s bear biologist Forrest Hammond, so he is urging people to avoid disturbing them or providing any kind of food for them. Most bears seek their wint … (read more)

This coming June, the Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) is hosting their annual conference at Jay Peak up in northern Vermont. It’s a great gathering of outdoor communicators: writers, photographers, filmmakers, editors and publishers, and oth … (read more)

Dear Homeward Bound, My friend and I were talking about feeding birds in the winter and he said that he’d herd it was not a good idea. I think that’s crazy; I love feeding birds and I know that it helps them make it through the winter — especially late wi … (read more)