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
Birds And Cats
First, a confession: I am the previous owner of several outdoor cats. I believed I was doing the right thing. My cats were neutered. They had food, shelter, and regular
Camels, Not Reindeer
In my Catalan childhood Christmas was a time of manger scenes (the manger left empty until midnight Mass, when the long-awaited Baby was placed in it); ancient carols (some of
Bisou in Winter
It was 8F the other morning, so before taking my little red Cavalier Bisou out for a walk I dressed her for the weather. By the time I had zipped
How I Write
I write on a recliner, with a laptop on a lap desk on my lap. Because my little red dog, Bisou, thinks that whenever I\’m out of sight I cease
Furies
There is rage in the air these days, the rage of women. Young women, old women, tall/short/fat/thin/gorgeous/ordinary-looking women are telling their stories and shaking their fists and demanding justice. And
What Were They Thinking?
If you were a plump middle-aged person with a comb-over, wouldn\’t you think twice about disrobing in front of a colleague, a job applicant, or an impressionable teenager? The photos
Temples of the Holy Ghost/Occasions of Sin
In the 1960\’s, long before bra straps became a fashion statement, we girls used to sew little tabs on the inside shoulder seams of our dresses to keep bra straps
My Medical Me-Too Story
A long time ago, in a city far, far away, I am having my first consult with an allergist–thinning hair, glasses, white coat. Fiftyish, like me. The treatment room is
My Green Vermont
Latest Posts
Birds And Cats
First, a confession: I am the previous owner of several outdoor cats. I believed I was doing the right thing. My cats were neutered. They had food, shelter, and regular
Camels, Not Reindeer
In my Catalan childhood Christmas was a time of manger scenes (the manger left empty until midnight Mass, when the long-awaited Baby was placed in it); ancient carols (some of
Bisou in Winter
It was 8F the other morning, so before taking my little red Cavalier Bisou out for a walk I dressed her for the weather. By the time I had zipped
How I Write
I write on a recliner, with a laptop on a lap desk on my lap. Because my little red dog, Bisou, thinks that whenever I\’m out of sight I cease
Furies
There is rage in the air these days, the rage of women. Young women, old women, tall/short/fat/thin/gorgeous/ordinary-looking women are telling their stories and shaking their fists and demanding justice. And
What Were They Thinking?
If you were a plump middle-aged person with a comb-over, wouldn\’t you think twice about disrobing in front of a colleague, a job applicant, or an impressionable teenager? The photos
Temples of the Holy Ghost/Occasions of Sin
In the 1960\’s, long before bra straps became a fashion statement, we girls used to sew little tabs on the inside shoulder seams of our dresses to keep bra straps
My Medical Me-Too Story
A long time ago, in a city far, far away, I am having my first consult with an allergist–thinning hair, glasses, white coat. Fiftyish, like me. The treatment room is