As a small child, probably when I was seven or eight years-old and living in the shadow of the White Mountains on the other side of Franconia Notch, I have a memory of meeting a young African woman who was visiting the Congregational Church. It was her first trip to the United States and my … Continue reading "Connecting with Nature"

When “Come from Away” opened on Broadway in March 2017 I was fortunate to be given a preview ticket. At the time I knew little, if anything, about the musical, only that it had something to do with 9/11. My recollection of that evening is vivid. When the curtain came down the audience, standing at … Continue reading "Come from Away"

“Get Lost” was the description of Robert Macfarlane’s review of three books published around the subject of navigation and appearing in the July 1 issue of the New York Review of Books. I was fascinated by his review, and not just because I have been an admirer of his writing and research for years. I … Continue reading "Wayfaring in New Hampshire"

I stare at my diary in disbelief that in just a few days we turn the page into August. While shy, quiet August has always been one of my favorite months, the transition between summer and autumn, it also means we are slipping down through another year. August is without a national holiday with celebrations … Continue reading "Shy, quiet August"

Grover’s Corners, New Hamsphire, located “just across the Massachusetts line: latitude 42 degrees 40 minutes; longitude 70 degreees 37 minutes,” is the setting for Our Town, Thornton Wilder’s Pultizer winning play, first produced at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, 1938. Through the stage manager, who is speaking onstage and not working from behind … Continue reading "Our Town"

A rabbit with white eyes, wearing a waistcoat and pulling a watch from his pocket, running through a field of wildflowers isn’t something we find in nature. Alice was dreaming when she fell into Wonderland through the hole in the earth and realized, “I know who I was when I got up this morning, but … Continue reading "The Impossible Dream"

Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants (Milkweek Editions, 2013) by Robin Wall Kimmerer is one of the books I’m reading this summer. Actually, I’m rereading Braiding Sweetgrass as I found the book such a fascinating read the first time. The author, Dr. Kimmerer, is a mother, plant ecologist, writer and … Continue reading "Capturing Dreams"

Shivering in the rain and trying to maneuver through the heavy mist last weekend, I began to search my memory for another Memorial Day when the weather was as dreary. I recalled traveling to New Hampshire from New York City for Thanksgiving one year without wearing a coat because of the unseasonably warm temperatures in … Continue reading "The Joy of Time Travel"

I cannot recall a time when there has been so much anticipation around Memorial Day. As we think of all the men and women who have given their lives in service to our country, we must also think about all the essential workers and medical personnel, at all levels, who have and continue to lead … Continue reading "A Memorial Day to Remember"

Last year the 2020 Booker Prize, the leading award for literary fiction, was awarded to Shuggie Bain (Grove Press, New York, 2020). The author, Douglas Stuart, is a Scottish American now living in Manhattan. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland and grew up with two older siblings in a public housing project. Their mother struggled … Continue reading "Celebrating and Remembering Mothers"

Today we celebrate the Earth. I was in Manhattan for the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Fifth Avenue was closed to traffic from Union Square Park to Central Park. Downtown Fourteenth Street, between Third and Seventh Avenues, was transformed into an “ecological carnival” and Mayor John V. Lindsay gave a speech on the … Continue reading "Celebrating Earth Day, the Movies and Baseball"

Poetry. Words that conjure a landscape, a situation, a moment, an emotion in our mind’s eye. We compose verse to honor someone on a special occasion or to describe a moment we hope to cherish. Perhaps to recall an ordinary day. Poetry is often performed so the sound is important. The idea of designating April … Continue reading "Celebrating Poetry …"

Have we ever greeted spring with such a feeling of relief? Laughter dangling above playgrounds. People wearing warm and friendly smiles. Last week when the temperature reached into the sixties, I bicycled to Central Park to ride the 6.1- mile Central Park Circuit that loops and twists around the Park. It takes you through the … Continue reading "Laughter Dangles Above the Playgrounds …."

  I made French toast for breakfast last weekend.  It was an opportunity to try the New Hampshire Maple Syrup from the Moses maples in Danbury I had received it as a Christmas gift.  It’s impossible for me to taste the sweet syrup without thinking about being a young girl and spending an afternoon at … Continue reading "Sugaring Off"

Can you remember a year when we have longed for spring as we seem to long for spring this year? When you have looked down at a patch of frozen earth next to the foundation of the house hoping you might discover the green sprout of a crocus pushing up through the ground. Winter, majestic … Continue reading "Perseverance: The first crocus"

  This weekend we celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Roses, chocolates and heart shaped candies printed with words in tiny letters:  be mine, true love, forever. It is thought that the first association of romantic love with St. Valentine’s Day was through a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer entitled:  Parliament of Fowls (1382), a poem that reminds us … Continue reading "Roses are Red"

  I don’t watch television.  Or I don’t watch network television, because I would rather be curled up in a comfortable chair reading or watching a film. Last Sunday afternoon after a long, cold winter walk I decided to find a movie that would be frivolous and entertaining, without subtitles, without violence, without the shock … Continue reading "Barefoot in the Park"

  Occasionally I turn back the pages in my journal and think about what I have written the year before.  A link to the past. A prod to the memory. Last year my first column in January was entitled:  2019: “Let it go …” Here we are.  Plunged into the beginning of a new decade.  … Continue reading "2021: A year of renewal"

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