Morning sun and ice crystals floating in the air created this sight at Sugarbush, VT, Monday morning. I don’t know what this phenomenon is called: multiple sun dogs with a big rainbow is the best I can come up with. But I can tell you it was truly awesome. [Click headline or photo for more.] Somewhat like seeing a solar eclipse in that it made […]
Category Archives: Vermont
New Farms for New Americans
Belated Thanksgiving post: I had the pleasure last summer of photographing immigrants in the New Farms for New Americans program in Burlington for the Vermont Almanac. On a beautiful August evening new Vermonters from places like Bhutan, Somalia, Burma and the Congo harvested crops grown next to the Winooski River. [Click photo or headline for full post.] They have their own garden plots and although […]
Also posted in immigrants to US, New Farms for New Americans
Tagged agriculture, New Farms for New Americans, Vermont
Heights of the Season
Leaves peaking, leaf peepers peeping, yesterday, White Rocks Mountain, VT; Hunger Mountain next door, Camels Hump, Mansfield, Waterbury Res in the distance. And the season’s first frost on the trees. Crystalline, cold and breezy on the summits. And today, the first woodstove fire of the season. Click thru for more.
Also posted in fall foliage, Green Mountains
Tagged fall foliage, Green Mountains, Vermont, White Rocks VT
Montpelier’s July 3rd July 4th Parade
After a two-year COVID absence, Montpelier’s July Fourth parade (always held on July 3rd) was back, in most of its glory. There was a strong presence of marchers for abortion rights, and more politicians than ever. Plus a surprise appearance by the Chinese religion Falun Dafa. Why? I don’t know. As always, click on the headline or the photo for the full post. Click here […]
Also posted in July 4, Montpelier VT
Farewell, Tony Clark
Tony Clark, the founder of Blueberry Hill Ski Touring Center and one of the founders of the 1970s nordic ski boom in Vermont, has died, in Goshen, VT, where he made it happen. That’s Tony, above, in April of 1973. Not the best or sharpest photo ever made of him, but one that captures something of the times and a bit of Tony’s spirit. I […]
Also posted in Blueberry Hill Inn VT, cross-country skiing, Goshen VT, Tony Clark
Tagged Blueberry Hill Inn, Tony Clark
Return of the Mud
A Mud Season to remember. Or maybe to forget as soon as possible. Maybe it was three weeks of cold temperatures without much snow, which, as the saying goes, drove the frost deep into the ground so that when it thawed it came out in rolling waves of muck. What ever it was, we got it. It seems to be subsiding earthward at the moment, […]
Also posted in Mud Season, Spring
Tagged mud season, spring, Vermont
Winter Retrospective
It’s not really time for a winter retrospective (even though all the snow in the backyard is gone) because we know it’s going to snow in April. But here goes. Except for coaching, I photographed only three races in the winter of 2021, all local and all low-key, from the lollipop race of the Northwest Vermont Bill Koch League Festival at Sleepy Hollow to Vermont’s […]
Also posted in Bill Koch Ski League, kids cross country ski racing, kids on skis, Winter
Tagged Bill Koch Ski League, kids cross country ski racing, kids on skis, Vermont, winter
In the Bridge
I’ve been helping out the local weekly, The Bridge, with photos a bit this winter. These are all from a story by Will Lindner about the businesses that have sprung up in the crossroads hamlet of Middlesex, VT. Above, Brian Lewis at the takeout window of his new restaurant, The Filling Station (a former gas station). Below, Randy George at Red Hen Baking; Karin Bellemare […]
Also posted in Middlesex VT, small Vermont businesses
Tagged Middlesex VT, Small Vermont businesses
Winter Arrives
After a slow start, it suddenly snowed and winter was here, full-time, for now. Top and below, the Montpelier, VT, middle school cross-country team heads across a field on an adventure ski. Everything else is within about two miles of home during the first big snowfall of 2021.
All Quiet on the State House Front
Despite concerns about demonstrations in the wake of last week’s attack on the US Capitol, Vermont’s State House was practically deserted Sunday except for media and law enforcement. Police, reporters and a few curious citizens chatted, and it just another quiet, gray and snowy Vermont day, but one with security unheard of on a winter Sunday afternoon. The only demonstrators were down at Montpelier’s city […]
Also posted in 2020 elections, Vermont State House
Tagged 2020 elections, Vermont, Vermont State House
Winter Happening
As crazy as the rest of 2020, winter at the end of the year was happening slowly, in cold starts followed by fits of warm weather. Above, the colors of winter rolled in over Camel’s Hump, north-central Vermont’s local mountain. Below, the wintry look of Dec. 23 followed by the unwintry look of Dec. 26, after a day of fifty-degree weather and rain. Snow due […]
Also posted in Camels Hump, Winter
Tagged Camels Hump, Vermont, winter
Stick Season
Stick Season: the interlude in Vermont between autumn and winter, when there are no leaves and no snow. But there are long, long shadows, peace, and a sense of anticipation for the next seasonal act. Above: East Montpelier. Below: North Branch of the Winooski River and elsewhere in Montpelier. Click here for a gallery of Stick Season shadows and people.
Also posted in December, November, Stick Season
Tagged December, November, Stick Season, Vermont
Sudden Peak
Maybe because of the drought, peak fall foliage in Vermont has come early this year. It’s spectacular, but the dry, brittle leaves are coming down fast. These are from Albany and Craftsbury, in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
Also posted in Autumn, fall foliage
Tagged Autumn, fall foliage, Vermont
Not too Late to Paddle
We’ve had some frosty nights, followed by summer-like weather, so the water temperature in Lake Champlain has plummeted into the low 60s, but it’s still paddling season.
Also posted in kayaking, Lake Champlain
Tagged kayaking, Lake Champlain, Vermont
Apple Time
Apple time at Burtt’s pick-your-own orchard, Cabot VT. Burtt’s plants the trees in intensive rows, supported by cables, more like a vineyard than a traditional orchard, so the trees are closer together, the apples easier to harvest. Definitely doesn’t look like an old-time orchard with trees, pruned to be low and to gather the sun, dotting a hillside.
Light on the Lake
Lake Champlain never disappoints, whatever its mood. These are from Burlington’s waterfront a few days before I broke my ankle.
Also posted in Lake Champlain, summer, sunsets
Tagged Burlington, Lake Champlain, summer, Vermont
No Leaf Unturned
It seemed as though real spring would never arrive, but overnight, the leaves popped and it was here. Most of these are in the town of East Montpelier, VT.
Also posted in East Montpelier, Spring
Tagged East Montpelier, spring, Spring colors, Vermont
Spring & Snow
A funny spring so far: warm and then cold with snow sweeping across the highlands. Now we have the leaves ready to pop and the mountaintops are white. Makes for a nice contrast of green and white, but warm temperatures are coming and in about a week it will really look like spring. These are all in the stately rolling town of East Montpelier, VT.
Also posted in East Montpelier, Spring
Tagged East Montpelier, spring, Vermont
January in November
November turned to winter in a hurry: snow, skiing and temperatures one night near zero. Both photos, early season skiers at Craftsbury Outdoor Center, VT, USA.
Also posted in Craftsbury Outdoor Center, cross-country skiing, Winter
Tagged Craftsbury Outdoor Center, cross-country skiing, Vermont, Vermont winter
Bringing in the Hemp
It used to be illegal to grow hemp in Vermont because it is, scientifically, the same plant as marijuana. But hemp doesn’t have nearly as much of the psychoactive substance THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) that marijuana does. (Hemp plants can contain no more than 0.3 percent (by dry weight); marijuana typically contains 5 to 20 percent THC.) With the boom in the use of CBD (cannabidiol) oils […]
Also posted in hemp, hemp farming, hemp harvest
Tagged agriculture, hemp, hemp harvesting, marijuana, Vermont
Arborist
Two big dead poplars next to the driveway. Two handsome ashes big and close to the house and (possibly) threatened by the emerald ash borer. Solution: arborist Joseph Ferris, figuring out the angles, setting ropes with a giant slingshot, and putting the trees down exactly where he wanted them to go.
Also posted in arborist, logging, Northern Woodlands
Tagged arborists, logging, Northern Woodlands, tree cutting, Vermont forests
Ben & Hannah
I don’t generally photograph weddings but every now and then I end up at a great one and I can’t resist. In this case, my friends’ wonderful daughter, Hannah, and the equally wonderful Ben tied the knot. They live in London, but they came to the wilds of Calais, Vermont, Hannah’s hometown, on a spectacular late summer day, to the Old West Church for the […]
Also posted in weddings
Tagged Vermont, Vermont barn dance, weddings
Summer Night, Baseball
The New England Collegiate Baseball League, the Vermont Mountaineers versus the Newport, RI, Gulls. Played on the Montpelier Recreation Field on a warm evening. The college players live with local families over the summer. The batboys are lucky local kids. A good night for the Mountaineers, who won 13—2.
Montpelier’s July 3 Parade
Red, white, blue and a peach with orange fuzz at the Montpelier, VT, July 3 parade. A wave from the Morse Farm’s Burr Morse, above, and another from Montpelier’s mayor, Anne Watson, below, along with a Trump protestor and a runner in the annual Montpelier Mile. Bottom, crew members from the USS Montpelier nuclear-powered submarine, who always march in the parade. Lots more when you […]
Also posted in Independence Day, July 4, Montpelier
Tagged Independence Day, July 4, Montpelier, parades, Vermont
Last Days of a Long Season
It started snowing in early November in Vermont and kept snowing, with a few rainstorms in between, well into April. At its deepest, the snow on top of Mt. Mansfield, the highest point in the state, reached 10 feet. And the manmade snow on the ski resort slopes hung on well into May. These pictures were taken May 5 and people skied for weeks after […]
Also posted in Skiing, Spring, spring skiing
Tagged spring skiing, Vermont
Farewell, Winter 2018-19
In northern New England, the winter of 2018-19 really started in early November, and it kept going and going. In fact, it seemed as though spring did not arrive until the past few days, when temperatures reached the 60s and the peepers started peeping. There was a lot of winter. Toward the end of the season, snow at the snow stake on top of Mount […]
Also posted in barns, Craftsbury, Winter
Tagged Craftsbury, Vermont winter
Nighttime at the Oasis
Night and snow settling on LBJ’s Grocery, Worcester, VT. You can get garam masala and basmati rice here in addition to Bud Light and Hershey bars. It’s been a busy winter, and I haven’t posted much, but I have been posting more regularly on Instagram (@lazenbyphoto), so if you have Instagram, follow! Meanwhile, I’ll be catching up here.
Also posted in gas stations, Snow, Winter
Tagged gas stations, Snow, Vermont, winter
Winter Jumps
After a long cloudy day, the sun came out and the kids started jumping off the mini-mountain of manmade snow at the Craftsbury, VT, Outdoor Center last weekend. The guy on the bottom started out facing the other direction and in this series is en route to a 360.
Also posted in Craftsbury Outdoor Center, cross-country skiing, Winter
Tagged Craftsbury Outdoor Center, cross-country skiing, Vermont, winter
Goodbye Lake Champlain Summer
To mark the start of fall: the last few hours of a last summer day on Lake Champlain. Early September, Oakledge Park, Burlington, VT.
Also posted in Lake Champlain, summer
Tagged Lake Champlain, summer, Vermont
Frost on the Dock
Lake Iroquois, Williston, VT, this morning. Temperature about 36 degrees F. Frost on the dock, but worth it to see the light. Five days ago it was 94 degrees and humid.
Also posted in fishing, kayaking, Lake Iroquois
Tagged fishing, kayaking, Lake Iroquois, Vermont
Devil Is In
The devil is in the details, as always, but in this case, also the garage.
Lake Champlain Open Water Swim
If you have some time on your hands, you might want to consider swimming across Lake Champlain. About fifty people did it on Sunday in the annual Lake Champlain Open Water Swim. They rode the ferry from Charlotte, VT, to Essex, NY, and then swam back to the Charlotte town beach, a distance of about 3.7 miles. The start, above. Below, into the swim. It’s […]
Also posted in Lake Champlain, open water swimming
Tagged Lake Champlain, open water swimming
Chaloux Brothers Firewood
I’m just about finished with a multi-month project photographing the Chaloux Brothers Firewood operation in Williamstown, VT. Meet Roger and Hector Chaloux, among the nicest and most hard-working guys around. And meet lots of firewood, 700 or more cords a year, to add up to something more than 30,000 cords over their 39 years in business. They run log-length wood through their processor, which cuts […]
Also posted in alternative energy, firewood, renewable resources, sustainable
Tagged firewood, renewable resources, sustainable, Vermont, Vermonters
Craftsbury Half Marathon
The Craftsbury, VT, Outdoor Center held its first half marathon Saturday on a beautiful and challenging course that traversed 13.1 miles of dirt roads, ski trails, and single-track through the woods to the Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro. 2,000 feet of elevation gain with beer and lunch at the end. Adam Martin, a nordic skier with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (above, center) won in […]
Also posted in cross-country skiing, dirt roads, marathon, running
Tagged dirt roads, running, Vermont
Dave Rowell’s Barn Dance
It was all big: the barn dance in Dave Rowell’s big yellow barn in East Craftsbury, VT, last night; the crowd (hundreds); Dave himself (at the mike with the Starline Rythmn Boys); the fried chicken sandwiches served up by the Craftsbury General Store; the rebound in the barn’s wooden floor when the band played Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On. The biggest Northeast Kingdom social event of […]
Also posted in barn dance, Northeast Kingdom, Spring
Tagged Northeast Kingdom, Vermont, Vermont barn dance
Agriculture on the Move
It was the end of Agriculture, at least temporarily. Ceres, the god of Agriculture, came down from the dome of the Vermont State House in Montpelier yesterday. Carved from pine by State House Sergeant-at-Arms Dwight Dwinnell and associates in the 1930s to replace the 1859 version made by sculptor Larkin Mead, she was rotting away. A new one will be made, based on Mead’s original. […]
Also posted in architecture, Montpelier, Vermont State House
Tagged Ceres, Vermont State House
Gun Violence Protest
Images from a demonstration at the Vermont State House today to call for action to halt gun violence.
Also posted in demonstrations, gun violence demonstration, Montpelier
Craftsbury SuperTour
Kaitlynn Miller (Elmore, VT) and Kelsey Phinney (Sun Valley, Idaho) hug after Miller won the SuperTour sprint race in Craftsbury, VT, Friday. Earlier in the week, Miller was named to the US Olympic team along with six other cross-country or biathlon skiers from the Craftsbury Green Racing Project. Below, the sartorial splendor of Jack Schrupp of the Williams College Purple Cows; Forrest Mahlen (Alaska Pacific […]
Also posted in cross country ski racing, Winter
Tagged Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Kaitlynn Miller, Kelsey Phinney, US Olympic Ski Team
First Snow
It snowed. And we have more color in living black and white.
Ski Race Photos at Craftsbury Outdoor Center
If you happen to get to the Craftsbury, VT, Outdoor Center any time this winter, take a look at the photos in the touring center (open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, all winter). I have an exhibit of 22 16-x-24-inch color prints from some of the racing coverage I did in 2016 and 2017. The photos range from local racers in New England […]
Lisa & Simon
A joyous Danish/Jewish/Vermont wedding held last summer in a hayfield in Marshfield. What’s with the cutting of the socks in the bottom picture? Ask a Dane!
US National Biathlon Roller Ski Championships
That’s a mouthful, but biathlon is cross country ski racing and stopping periodically to shoot at targets with a very sophisticated rifle. If you do it in the summer, it’s roller ski biathlon. Skiers from across the US and Canada came to the National Guard firing range and roller ski track in Underhill, VT, over the weekend to compete. Click here for a gallery. Use […]
Also posted in cross country ski racing
Tagged biathlon, US National Biathlon Association
Champlain Summer
Summer has arrived on Lake Champlain (Shelburne, VT).
Also posted in Lake Champlain, lakes
Two Banjo Dans with a Will
The Vermont Bluegrass Pioneers: Banjo Dan Lindner, left (on guitar), Will Lindner on mandolin, Danny Coane (of the Starline Rhythm Boys) on banjo. At the Whammy Bar, Maple Corner, Calais, VT. Last night. Easter Eve. Happy Mud Season. (For those interested in the machinery: Fuji XE1, top at 6400 ISO, bottom at 3200 ISO.)
Also posted in Bluegrass, Whammy Bar
State House Refugee Vigil
Several hundred gathered at the Vermont State House tonight for a candlelight vigil to express solidarity with refugees whose immigration to the U.S. has been halted. Big cheers for, among other things, Gov. Phil Scott’s refusal to enforce the federal immigration crackdown, and for Bernie Sanders. Click here for a gallery. Below, a tribute to those killed in a mosque in Quebec City last week. Bottom, other […]
Also posted in immigration demonstration, Trump
Tagged immigration demonstration, Trump
Four Reasons
Four reasons to be optimistic about the future: Katie, Alice, Ruthie, and Beth. High school friends the day after Christmas, all out of college and working or going to grad school, all more than up to the challenges ahead. All of them were in the crowd Saturday at the Women’s March on Washington or in the NYC version of the same.
Also posted in women
Eastern Cup #1
The New England Nordic Ski Association held its first Eastern Cup of the 2016-17 season at Craftsbury Outdoor Center Saturday and Sunday. Hundreds of skiers from New England and eastern Canada raced, in heavy snow on Saturday, rain and freezing rain on Sunday. If you want to see more, click here for a gallery. (If the gallery slideshow is too slow for you, click on the […]
Also posted in Craftsbury Outdoor Center, cross country ski racing, Snow, Winter
Rutland Welcomes #2
As part of plans to welcome 30 families of Syrian refugees to Rutland, VT, the local group Rutland Welcomes sponsors a weekly class in basic Arabic at the Unitarian Church. This is last week’s session with teacher Morgan Denehy (in blue shirt). No families have yet arrived, but the first are expected soon or in early 2017.
Also posted in Rutland, Rutland Welcomes, Syrian refugees
World Cup at Killington
Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates her slalom win Sunday. When bringing a weekend of women’s World Cup alpine ski racing from Europe to Killington, VT, was proposed, Eastern skiers all but guaranteed that they’d show up to cheer, and Killington guaranteed snow to race on. After all it would be the first women’s World Cup race in Vermont for 38 years. They all delivered Saturday and Sunday, when […]
Rutland Welcomes
Volunteer Marsha Cassel surveys donated furniture in the former Rutland Herald press room wearing a T-shirt selected for the occasion. Rutland, Vermont, has had its share of difficulties in the past few decades, but community members have volunteered to welcome 30 Syrian refugee families that will be resettled in Vermont through the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program. The local group preparing for the refugees is Rutland Welcomes. Its members have […]
Also posted in refugees, Rutland, Syrian refugees
Tagged refugees, Rutland, Syrian refugees
Almost Spring in the Northeast Kingdom
Spring is on the move in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, in this case in Albany and on the ski/bike trails at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. You be the judge about the wind turbines.
Also posted in mountain biking, Northeast Kingdom, Spring
April in VT
The April you want is not always the April you get. Especially in this state. From my favorite viewpoint on the North Branch of the Winooski River, Montpelier, VT.
New Haven Ledges Race
It was warm and sunny for the annual whitewater race on the New Haven River in Bristol, VT, yesterday. Because it was such a low-snow winter, the river was lower and rockier than usual but the turnout was higher for the event, which is run by the Vermont Paddlers Club. Click here for a gallery/slideshow.
Also posted in kayaking, rivers, whitewater
Making Skiing by Making Snow
It’s a sad commentary on the weather, but the Craftsbury, VT, Outdoor Center had to continue making skiing out of nothing last week when it held the Super Tour Finals and national distance championship cross-country ski races, virtually all of it without natural (real) snow. They did it with a three-story pile of manmade snow, an excavator, 500 dump-truck loads, big ski groomers and the skilled workers […]
Also posted in climate, Craftsbury Outdoor Center, cross country ski racing, Uncategorized, Winter
UVM Winter Carnival, Eastern Cup, Super Tour 2016
There’s still almost no snow in northern New England but the combined University of Vermont Winter Carnival collegiate, Eastern Cup and Super Tour races went off at Craftsbury Outdoor Center over the weekend, where they were moved after the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe lost its snow in last week’s rain. Competition was held on one of the few remaining snowy spots in northern Vermont, most […]
Also posted in cross country ski racing, Winter
Reflections on Water
Parkersburg, WVA, June, 2014 We tend to take clean water for granted, but — in case you missed it — read the NYT story at the link here. It takes place in and around Parkersburg. Below, reflections in the North Branch of the Winooski River, Montpelier, VT, this past December, a month that broke records in Vermont for warm temperatures and lack of snow. Looks […]
Also posted in reflections, water, West Virginia
US Paralympics #2 & Gallery
Andy Soule prepares for a race at the US Paralympics Nordic Skiing Festival at the Craftsbury, VT, Outdoor Center. Saturday was the fourth and final day of the competition. Soule, who joined the Army after Sept. 11, 2001, lost his legs to an IED while serving in Afghanistan. He was a medalist in the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver. Below: Derek Zaplotinsky of Alberta, Canada, takes a downhill on a […]
Also posted in cross country ski racing, Paralympics
US Nordic Paralympics
I photographed day one of the four-day US Paralympics Nordic Skiing Festival at Craftsbury (VT) Â Outdoor Center today. It was a beautiful sunny day with inspiring athletes racing on snow in the sit-ski and standing categories. Some will be heading to Europe later this winter for World Cup competition. I will post a gallery from the event later, but here are a few from today. […]
Also posted in cross country ski racing, Paralympics
Eastern Cup @ Craftsbury
Despite a crazy warm December, it snowed last weekend, and Craftsbury Nordic Center pulled off a big race: the first New England Nordic Ski Association Eastern Cup of the season, on a little more than a kilometer loop of manmade snow with more than 400 racers from around New England, Quebec and Ontario. It turned out to be great skiing and great spectating because all the […]
Also posted in cross country ski racing, Winter
Nocember
It’s turning into a bit of a wait for winter here in Vermont: Mid-December and temperatures commonly into the 40s and 50s. No snow, except the kind that comes out of snow guns, greens surviving in the garden, open water, unfrozen ground, people in lightweight jackets buying Christmas trees. Pleasant enough, but weird.  Â
Also posted in black & white, climate
Late Colors, Early Snow
A twofer: First snow and the dreaded fall foliage shot, all in one, Stowe, VT. The fall colors came weeks late this year, to mix with some early snow over this past weekend. Above, snow squall blows in over the valley. Below, Smugglers Notch and Trapp Hill Road.  Â
Also posted in fall foliage, mountains, Snow
Thailand in Vermont
So it’s April in Vermont and there’s still snow. Business as usual, except if you come from Ubon, Thailand, in which case it’s cause for curiosity and celebration. Perhaps followed by a large cremee, maple or otherwise. Part of a cultural tour of the Northeast arranged by Montpelier’s Linda Wheatley.  Â
SuperTour x 2
The USSA SuperTour and the Dartmouth Winter Carnival brought high-level cross-country ski racing back to Craftsbury Outdoor Center over the weekend. Top, Johnson’s Jennie Bender leads a freestyle (skate) sprint heat Friday. Below, the women’s 10-k started in falling snow on Sunday; Hans Halvorsen of Williams College in the freestyle (skate) sprint Friday; volunteer Carol Van Dyke trying to stay warm; Rebecca Rorabaugh of Alaska Pacific […]
Also posted in Craftsbury Outdoor Center, cross country ski racing
SuperTour @ Craftsbury
Top nordic skiers from around the country raced in the USSA SuperTour on Friday and Sunday at the Craftsbury, VT, Outdoor Center, which has become one of the nation’s top nordic sites over the past few years. Conditions were superb, grooming world class and the competition serious. Top, New Hampshire’s Kris Freeman leads the pack in falling snow in the 30-k classic race Friday. Freeman wears […]
Also posted in cross country ski racing, cross-country skiing
Winterscape, Winterskate
The blizzard missed central Vermont, but we still have lots of winter going on. Above, wet snow landed in the higher elevations, coating everything, and then a cold snap pasted it in place (Elmore, VT). Below, skating, Curtis Pond, Calais, VT.
Wintry Notch
Hard to beat Smugglers Notch in Stowe for drama in early winter. It’s not Buffalo, but it is winter. This was Friday, temperatures in the low 20s and a gusty wind. Frigid, with lots of blue light. Of course, today it’s in the 40s and rainy, and heading for the 60s tomorrow.
Slightly Snowier
Ok, it’s a little early in the season to be obsessed with snow, but it’s still interesting that the valleys remain their tawny, gray and purple November colors while much of Mt. Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, had enough snow to ski on yesterday. Some of it was shot out of snow guns, but most of it was real. By the way, snow guns are loud and […]
Snow # 1, 2014-15 Season
Mt. Mansfield’s Toll Road today, somewhere above 3,000 feet. It didn’t snow much, but it’s still the first Vermont snow of the season as far as I’m concerned. More to come.
The North Branch Most People Don’t See
Vermont Route 12 from Montpelier to Morrisville is a beautiful road, especially in its upper reaches, where it cuts through a near-wilderness of forested hills and along the North Branch of the Winooski River. It’s a road used daily by commuters, tourists, and local trucks. It’s also a major cycling route and you’ll almost always see somebody pedaling up its easy (for Vermont) grades or […]
Also posted in rivers, Watersheds
Wearing Green
Montpelier, VT, above; below, Green Point, Brooklyn, NY; all the rest, East Montpelier, VT. All taken with a Fuji X-E1, except the whitewater photos. The X-E1 is small retro-looking camera with an electronic viewfinder and a relatively large sensor (APS-C), that is now on sale all over the place because the X-E2 is out. Doesn’t quite fit in your pocket, but smaller than a DSLR and […]
Olympic Concerns
They don’t look worried, but Vermont Olympic nordic skiers (l to r) Ida Sargent and Liz Stephen (both cross-country), and Hannah Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee (both biathlon) held a press conference today to express their concerns about how global climate change is affecting the world and their sport. Just back from six months of competition in Europe, including the Sochi Olympics, they told of lack of […]
Also posted in cross-country skiing, Olympics
Portraits at Work
Vermont Student Assistance Corp., Winooski Over the past year or so I had the opportunity to produce portraits for several Vermont organizations. The coverage ranged from photographing Vermonters affected by Tropical Storm Irene for the Vermont Community Foundation to annual report photos for the Vermont Student Assistance Corp., the organization that helps Vermont students pull together the finances for higher education, and Vermont Information Technology […]
Champlain Light
Yesterday afternoon a rainstorm blew across Lake Champlain from the Adirondacks and proceeded east over the Green Mountains. What followed was a stunning, constantly changing mix of cloud, color and light. These were all taken at Sandbar State Park in Milton, where Route 2 crosses over to South Hero.
Also posted in kayaking, Lake Champlin
Green Again
Spring always creeps slowly into the winter-brown Vermont hills and then explodes. This, the other foliage season, a riot of green, seems to arrive in the space of three days. And in the space of two weeks we go from skiing (bottom photo, Mt. Mansfield on April 22nd), to plowing (top, East Montpelier), to bicycling, paddling and mowing the lawn. Summer’s so short it’s a […]
Snowy Sony RX 100
The picture above and all the snow pictures below were taken with a Sony RX100 in falling snow. Scroll down to see the others. I don’t do equipment reviews, and this certainly isn’t one. But I borrowed a Sony RX100 a while back. It’s an interesting little camera. David Pogue of The New York Times calls it, in his inimitable fashion, Â “… the best pocket […]
Snow, Wind, Etc.
Just another February day in East Montpelier, although it changed from a sunny, windy one whipping the snow off the barn below to the quiet, overcast scene above in about 30 minutes. Next up: Using a Sony RX100 in a snowstorm.
Also posted in agriculture, black & white, farming, Snow, Travel, Weather, Winter
Plainfield Flower Farm
It was 20 below zero here this morning so, to warm you up, here’s a look at the Plainfield, VT, Flower Farm last spring. Bram Towbin and Erica Da Costa have an acre of peonies and about 50 acres of lilacs and snowball viburnum, grown for the cut-flower market. From their hillside in Plainfield their budding flowers travel to urban flower markets around the Northeast. […]
Also posted in agriculture, Colors, farming
Stick Season, High & Low
When the fall leaves hit the ground, it’s Stick Season. The reason for the name is obvious but the attractions of this sixth Vermont season aren’t. It can mean raw, gray days with rain and sleet. But it can also be beautiful, as it has been for the past two days, with temperatures in the 60s. At its best, the lowering sun streams through the leafless woods […]
Making Fresh Tracks
Christina Castegren and Kris Tootle have done what Vermont farmers of 50 years ago would have considered unthinkable: On the remains of an old hill farm in the central Vermont town of Berlin they have created a vineyard, complete with acres of cold-tolerant grape vines and a solar-powered and geothermally heated winery and tasting room. It’s called Fresh Tracks Farm. I photographed them and Fresh […]
Also posted in agriculture, alternative energy, farming, Food, People, Spring
Hanging with Friends
A certain proportion of the graduates of the University of Vermont Class of 2012 are planning to hang around in Burlington, at least for the summer. After the graduation ceremonies on May 20, one person was already getting into the swing of things on the college green. Below, the statue of university founder Ira Allen is always hanging around and dresses for graduation. Good […]
Also posted in silhouette, urban
But Not Yet
Spring arrives low in Vermont and then slowly climbs the mountains, so if you get even halfway up, it’s still like March, as it was yesterday at about 1,600 feet in the middle of Middlesex, above, where the Hunger Mountain and White Rocks section of the Worcester Range is still waiting to catch up with southern and lower parts of the state. Over the weekend, […]
Spring Turns a Corner
In the Vermont hills, we’re finally moving from the gray browns of March into the soft green pyrotechnics of Spring: East Montpelier and Calais roads, and one beautiful but unfortunate ruffed grouse, on the road, Calais.
Hay Barn
From the archives: Hay barn, Adamant, VT, 1982.
Also posted in agriculture, black & white, farming
Home Share Gallery
Chandra and her cat were part of the series of portraits I made for Home Share Now, the Barre, VT, organization that matches home seekers with people who have space in their homes to share. When I started the project, I promised a gallery — so click here for the link.  Information on Home Share Now is here.
Also posted in black & white, People
Farm Aid
David Cram and his partner, Anna Coloutti, run the Stone Village Farmers’ Market just north of Chester on Route 103 in southern Vermont. They lost 18 acres of produce when the Williams River flooded from the rains of Tropical Storm Irene last August. Cram is one of 177 farmers who have received aid through the Vermont Community Foundation’s Farm Disaster Relief Fund. VCF has so far […]
Also posted in black & white, disasters, Hurricane Irene, People, water, Weather
Night Snow
Snow-covered road at night, Albany, VT.
Also posted in black & white, Night, roads, silhouette, Snow, Weather, Winter
The Notch, Natch
It’s been one of those Decembers in north-central Vermont: virtually no snow. But there was a little bit over the weekend, packed down on the Smugglers Notch road in Stowe, now closed to traffic for the winter but open for skiers, ice climbers, dog walkers, strollers, sledders and anyone else who wants to venture past the gates that block each end. It’s almost the only […]
Also posted in exercise, People, Skiing, Snow, Weather, Winter
Tagged cross-country skiing, Smugglers Notch, Vermont
You Definitely Better Not Shout
Nearly 1,200 Santas champ at their beards before the start of the first Ri Ra’s Santa 5-k Run and Walk on Church Street in Burlington, VT, Sunday. Let’s see: Beard: check! Hat: check! Santa jacket: check! Santa Belt: check! Baggy Santa pants: check! And off they went, to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Below, those beards can be a problem. Maybe some starch?
Back to Grass
So maybe we jumped the gun a little on the skiing thing. East Montpelier, VT, today.
Also posted in Colors, rainbow, Weather
Tagged East Montpelier, VT
Home Shared
Continuing to work on the Home Share Now project. Above, Cliff, center, and Shirley and Don have worked out a successful home share in Waterbury, VT. A gallery of Home Share Now people is here.
Also posted in People
Tagged Home Share Now
Picking Up the Pieces
When Tropical Storm Irene swept into Vermont in late August, Kara Fitzgerald and Ryan Wood Beauchamp prepared for the effects of high winds on their five-acre field of vegetables. They picked tomatoes and otherwise battened down their small produce farm tucked into a bend of the Mill River on Route 103 in Cuttingsville, VT. But they weren’t prepared for what the normally placid river had […]
Also posted in disasters, Hurricane Irene, People, water, Weather
Fall Roliage
Rolling through a Vermont autumn on a dirt road in Albany, above, and at dawn, below, on Route 100 in Granville.
Also posted in Autumn, Colors, mountain biking
Tagged dirt roads
Flat Out
After nearly a week of working to clean up flood damage in Waterbury, VT, a workman took a short break Saturday afternoon. In the flooded areas of Vermont, everybody else probably felt about the same, but the work went on and will be continuing for weeks and months to rebuild homes and damaged infrastructure around the state. It was a Labor Day weekend full of labor.
Got Mud?
Yes, Waterbury, VT, has mud, more than it can use, all of it deposited  by the flooding Winooski River courtesy of Hurricane Irene. But residents, their neighbors and volunteers came out Thursday to help get rid of it. Above, volunteer Leslie Ferrer of Waterbury shovels mud and water out of Dave Rogers’s basement on Main Street. Click here for a gallery (mouse-over the […]
Also posted in disasters, Hurricane Irene
Tagged disasters, Hurricane Irene, mud, volunteers, Waterbury
Irene Aftermath
The flooding from Hurricane Irene isolated towns across Vermont from the rest of the state. One of them was Rochester on the White River in Windsor County in central Vermont. Combined town, state and utility work crews worked Tuesday to reach Rochester and other towns. Above, crew members gaze into the huge gap cut by floodwaters in Camp Brook Road, which goes over Rochester […]
Also posted in disasters, Hurricane Irene
Tagged disasters, flooding, Hurricane Irene, rain
July Fourth March for Sudan
When the car Taylor Stevens McLaughlin, 20, was driving collided head-on with another vehicle near Burlington, Vermont, on January 10, 2010, two lives were lost: Taylor’s and that of the driver of the other car. To try to make something positive happen out of the devastation, Taylor’s family decided to build upon Taylor’s friendship with a group of Sudanese immigrants living in Burlington. The family […]
Tagged Fourth of July, Montpelier, Sudan, Vermont
Home Share Now
I’m working on a photo project for Home Share Now, a Barre, VT, organization that matches people with room to spare in their houses with people seeking a spot to live. The arrangements can be very successful and they seem to generate their own kind of interpersonal chemistry. Meet Monika and Cindy, above, who share Cindy’s home. The project will be done over the next […]
Also posted in People
Tagged Home Share Now, Montpelier, portraits, Vermont
The Reward
The reward for struggling through all the snow and mud came today. This is the same hill that was in the “April in Vermont” post below, just a little more than month ago. Today it was bursting with the arrival of spring.
Also posted in Colors, mountain biking, Spring
Tagged East Montpelier, spring bike riding
NCAAs at Stowe
Slightly late putting this post up, but the NCAA nordic ski championships were held at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe in March.  The weather for the skate race on the first day was beautiful. The second day, for the classic race, it poured. More pictures are here.
April in Vermont
Well, it may be spring where you are, but it’s not quite spring here. These were all taken the past two days. Above, there’s mud under the snow in East Montpelier. Below and bottom, the Slayton Pasture trail at the Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe.
Also posted in Snow, Winter
Tagged country roads, cross-country skiing, dirt roads, mud season, spring, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge, Vermont, winter
Snow & Sky
That’s it: the snow and the sky. We have a lot of both right now.
Snowstorm, Interstate 89
Through the windshield during the north-central Vermont segment of this week’s Nor’easter. Nope, I wasn’t driving! For more on this winter, go here.
Also posted in Colors, Snow, Uncategorized, Winter
Tagged Budweiser truck, driving in snow, highway safety, ice, Nor'Easter, Snow, snowstorm, Subaru, Vermont, winter, winter driving
Tuck & Roll
Cross-Country ski racers tuck as they glide downhill during the New England Nordic Ski Association Eastern Cup sprints at Craftsbury Nordic Center in Craftsbury, VT, December 18. A gallery of photos from the race is in the pull-down menu under Projects.
First Snow
First wholesale nfl jerseys snow, cheap mlb jerseys dusk, cheap mlb jerseys Horn Game: of to the wholesale mlb jerseys Moon, series! East wholesale jerseys Montpelier, November VT.
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Tagged black and white, dirt roads, first snow, Horn of the Moon, Subaru, Vermont, winter
Last Ride, November
November wholesale jerseys light, wholesale mlb jerseys East wholesale mlb jerseys Montpelier, wholesale nba jerseys VT.
Also posted in exercise, mountain biking
Tagged Autumn, dirt roads, East Montpelier, mountain biking, November, Vermont, VT