Welcome to My Green Vermont
I was born in Barcelona, where I went to a school run by German nuns, studied solfeggio, and played the violin. When I was ten, my parents and I moved to Ecuador, where I had a number of exotic pets and strange adventures. Four years later, we landed in Birmingham, Alabama. None of us spoke English, and the strange adventures continued. (Many of these appear in My Green Vermont.)
Survived high school. Got B.A. in French and Biology, Ph.D. in Romance Languages (French and Spanish). Gave up the Church and the violin, got married, had two daughters, taught at a liberal arts college in Maryland. Also grew veggies, made bread, kept chickens, milked goats, and wrote for newspapers and magazines. I got bored with teaching, took up running, and went into higher ed administration. I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and learned to live in a totally different way.
I started My Green Vermont when we moved to that state. For ten years I lived with my spouse, three dogs, twelve hens, two goats, and assorted passing wildlife in a house on a hill, surrounded by fields and woods. In 2014, we moved to a cottage in a continuing care residential community near Lake Champlain. Gave up livestock and vegetable gardening in favor of wild birds, honeybees, a little red dog, and a gray cat.
My Green Vermont is a fertile compost pile made up of stories about the weirdness of growing up in three countries and three languages; portraits of beloved animals, both wild and domestic; and reflections on aging, being kind to the earth, and staying as calm as possible. I hope you will visit often, and add your own stories and reactions.
My Green Vermont
Latest Posts
Catalogs
\’Tis the season, already. Soon after we moved to Vermont, we were inundated with sales catalogs. Part of the cause may have been our children, who had to travel far
Zen and the Art of Leash Training
I am training Bisou to walk on a loose leash. This is no fancy trick with no relevance to the dog\’s well being. If Bisou learns to walk by my
Puppy For Sale
No! Just kidding! Bisou is the light of my life. However, like all the beings who light up one\’s life, she has her dark side too. She\’s four months old,
The Dark Time
Oh, how I dislike the time change! Here it is, not even dinner time, and already black as midnight outside. Of course it\’s nice to have some light earlier in
Vermont Footwear
I remember when we were house hunting in Vermont being amazed at the piles of boots in people\’s mud rooms and closets: tall boots, short boots, rubber boots and leather
An Egg, An Egg!
It is a perfect oval (what else?), tinted the lightest pinkish beige. I brought it in the house tonight and put it reverentially in the fridge. And heaved a sigh
Puppy Sleeps Through Night. Owner\’s Worldview Drastically Improved
Would you call midnight to 5:55 a.m. “sleeping through the night”? You would if, like me, you\’d been getting no more than three or four hours of sleep at a
Puppy Play Date
Bisou\’s littermate, Bear, came over for a play date yesterday. In preparation, I removed the rug from the downstairs bedroom, moved the electric cords out of the way, and put
My Green Vermont
Latest Posts
Catalogs
\’Tis the season, already. Soon after we moved to Vermont, we were inundated with sales catalogs. Part of the cause may have been our children, who had to travel far
Zen and the Art of Leash Training
I am training Bisou to walk on a loose leash. This is no fancy trick with no relevance to the dog\’s well being. If Bisou learns to walk by my
Puppy For Sale
No! Just kidding! Bisou is the light of my life. However, like all the beings who light up one\’s life, she has her dark side too. She\’s four months old,
The Dark Time
Oh, how I dislike the time change! Here it is, not even dinner time, and already black as midnight outside. Of course it\’s nice to have some light earlier in
Vermont Footwear
I remember when we were house hunting in Vermont being amazed at the piles of boots in people\’s mud rooms and closets: tall boots, short boots, rubber boots and leather
An Egg, An Egg!
It is a perfect oval (what else?), tinted the lightest pinkish beige. I brought it in the house tonight and put it reverentially in the fridge. And heaved a sigh
Puppy Sleeps Through Night. Owner\’s Worldview Drastically Improved
Would you call midnight to 5:55 a.m. “sleeping through the night”? You would if, like me, you\’d been getting no more than three or four hours of sleep at a
Puppy Play Date
Bisou\’s littermate, Bear, came over for a play date yesterday. In preparation, I removed the rug from the downstairs bedroom, moved the electric cords out of the way, and put