Much of our week at the farm was spent outdoors, prepping for summer. Only half a day was spent inside as we boiled the last surprise run of sap. The season was “average” for us, though we boiled fewer days than last year. The up and down of temperatures was[Read More…]

Muskrat mating is so sensational that songs have been written about it. Fans of 1970s pop music might be familiar with a certain ballad, written by Willis Alan Ramsey and popularized by bands like America and Captain & Tennille, about two anthropomorphic muskrats falling in love. Though you probably won’t[Read More…]

As many residents are aware, the north side of the Sugar River — particularly the area encompassing the former Synergy and Joy Manufacturing sites — has long been a focus of environmental cleanup efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This stretch of land, beginning near the Broad Street Bridge[Read More…]

“Make Sure You Die Screaming” by Zee Carlstrom  c.2025 / Flatiron Books / $26.99 / 224 pages  Sometimes, you just want to shut the door and forget what’s on the other side.  You could just wipe it from your memory, like it didn’t occur. Or create an alternate universe where[Read More…]

As we close down and clean up from the less-than-stellar maple season, I am reflecting on life a mere five years ago. I read some of my Bramblings the other day, trying to find some inspirational words from another year of great turbulence and uncertainty. It seems we had a[Read More…]

When the winter snow melts and the spring rain begins, vernal pools appear on the landscape. These ephemeral wetlands form in depressions in forests or ridge lines and offer essential breeding habitat to amphibians and invertebrates, including wood frogs, spotted salamanders and fairy shrimp. Because vernal pools dry up in[Read More…]

“Animal Pound” by Tom King, Peter Gross, and Tamra Bonvillain  c.2025 / Boom! Studios / $29.99 / 176 pages  Like them or not, here are the rules.  One, two, three, now you know, so accept them because there’s no other choice. This is how things are. Take this to heart[Read More…]

When should a consumer retire?  That’s a major question.  Retirement usually means a reduced income (even with Social Security) and less means for consuming goods and services.  Not so long ago, the typical retirement age was 65.  A person reaching that milestone would be shown to the exit with a[Read More…]

It’s April, and spring has sprung. Or will soon. Winter always is a sneaky devil, coming back with hard frosts and even a foot of snow on occasion. There is much to do, but start slowly — not just for your back, which has been resting all winter, but because[Read More…]

When you read this column, we at the farm will have boiled our last sap of the season. A disappointing season with marginal sugar-making weather, we made only about half of what we hope to make in a year, though in many ways it was quite successful. It was a[Read More…]