Other Musings The Deep Green I am looking at a wall of deep, forest green, against which my whip and chair seem poorly matched.
fourth of july This Fourth of July Huckleberry wouldn’t understand voting. He would vote for everybody.
Calmly Calmly on the Waters Purchase "Calmly on the Waters" Calmly on the Waters (Bauhan Publishing | June 2026 | $22.00 trade paper, illustrated) is Jarvis Coffin’s first collected volume of essays. For more than a decade, as co-owner with his wife of New Hampshire’s oldest inn, The Hancock Inn (now,
Other Musings With Our Grandchildren Somewhere along the line, a person and place become one. I have two places—two versions of me—one being a small town in the northeast corner of the Catskill Mountains called Tannersville, and the other, what used to be a small town just over the border in Canada called
Other Musings National Ice Cream Month Hope is present in a cone, a cup, or under a mountain of whipped cream and hot fudge sauce, cherry on top.
nature The Valedictorian We chose it as our signature tree, as a centerpiece of the field—We voted it valedictorian, and class president.
Other Musings I Wuv Woadwork It is roadwork season. Wherever we go around New England, at some point we will be down to one lane.
Other Musings Burn, Drag, Split, Stack A pile of wood—branches and brush, or full-grown timber—imposes its presence. It can stop a truck.
rural essays Going Out with the Ranger My goal is to go out with the Ranger. Not in it, mind you—which would serve no one—but out together as we shift down, tow less, and go slower uphill.
Other Musings Grits Just Come "Even if you don’t order them, grits just come. Same with email. Email just comes."
Other Musings Bridge Out I think we should not build any additional bridges until after the next epoch, whatever that is. Maybe after the next ice age.
Other Musings How Was Your Winter? Huckleberry and I hiked out to the secluded Shattuck Pond last week, which is about a mile from our back door, up the hill and through the woods. It has been closed to us since heavy snow accumulated, although I can’t remember how long that’s been. By now,
Other Musings March Madness I have always questioned the virtue of awarding an extra hour of evening daylight to March. I feel sure the month was as surprised to get the win as April was the loss. We are not quite prepared for the added benefit around here. It’s like having guests arrive
emerald ash borer To Explain The very branches where fathers courted mothers, and later supervised the first flight of youngsters, will be gone.
Other Musings Too Bad You missed It And, thus, in those few minutes, I was possibly as comfortable, and at rest, as I had been in fifty years.
Other Musings Winter Distemper I think the deep freeze we have been experiencing is making everything irritable
winter Frozen Irony is at work in global warming, tempting bluebirds north for the winter to be sandbagged by frigid temperatures.
Other Musings Report from the Outside World Except for those sanctuaries we have discovered along the way, we drove two thousand miles through an unimaginative, impersonal wasteland.
winter Deep Winter It has been a steady barrage of wind . . . the sort of wind that occupies your thoughts, and raises your voice.
Other Musings Gripped by Vortex It is the season when I feel the undertow of email offers, direct mail catalogues, and the bombast of television commercials. They won’t get me.
winter A Conversation With My Boots The boots are all business at these times, plodding forward like draft horses, saddled with crampons that grab the ice underfoot.
Other Musings Shop and Drop. When you shop like. . . I do, you rarely win prizes for Best Overall Present at the holidays.
