new england essays - jarviscoffin.com

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new england essays

A collection of 28 posts

The Deep Green

I am looking at a wall of deep, forest green, against which my whip and chair seem poorly matched.

With Our Grandchildren

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

Going Out with the Ranger

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.

Caught Flat-footed

Caught Flat-footed

The fox was a gift of creation. I hollered, “No! No! No!”

What’s in Your Pocket?

What’s in Your Pocket?

What are you thankful for, I asked? What travels with you?

A Conversation With My Boots

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.

Shop and Drop.

When you shop like. . . I do, you rarely win prizes for Best Overall Present at the holidays.

Good Luck, Little Buck

Good Luck, Little Buck

Deer season starts today in New Hampshire, and this is no time for attitude if you are a handsome buck.

Of Free Will and Graders

Of Free Will and Graders

Free Will and Graders 10 3 25 123 PM0:00/326.93399092970521× We live along a dirt road, and the big news this week was the town arriving to grade it. This happens once in the spring and once in the fall. Sitting outside on our porch, we can usually

Autumn Hugs

Fall has arrived, and we hope, so will the pilgrims.

Ever Seen a Lizard Dressed as a Wizard?

Ever Seen a Lizard Dressed as a Wizard?

Science is not the concern of Postcards from Monadnock. Wonder is; more specifically, wondering.

The Culmination of Days

The Culmination of Days

One goose honked until it was hoarse—until anyone could have understood its anguish. ‘Help!’ it was screaming. ‘My baby!’

Riding with Mom

Riding with Mom

We have heard, my brothers and I—now wives, even grandchildren—those stories a thousand times.

Cue Summer

There is not enough closet space in our cabin to accommodate our seasonal wardrobes, that is, our separate fall/winter and spring/summer collections. I feel like a putz mentioning it. How many sweaters or cotton shirts does one person need? If we could simply divest ourselves of three-quarters

Blindfolded Canoe Racing

Blindfolded Canoe Racing

There is something about blindfolded anything that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom: you do not see chickens daring each other to cross the road blindfolded.

Eat, or be Eaten

Eat, or be Eaten

I am all about live and let live these days, with one—well, two—current exceptions: ticks, and mosquitos.

(Human) Nature

“Travel,” read the sign on a Seine River cruise boat, “is the ethic of caring for the world.”

800 Words on Maple Syrup and Wiper Fluid

800 Words on Maple Syrup and Wiper Fluid

You may be thinking, is he really postcarding about washer fluid behavior?

Lost in the Woods

Lost in the Woods

For example, there is the possibility of getting lost in the woods . . .in freezing temperatures. I did this last week.

Walking on Ice

It is a superior feature of winter to be able to step onto a frozen pond or lake, and we have many of them. It is liberating.

February

We made it. February. Now the year can really begin.

Wood Heat

Heating with wood is a complex business . . . one manufacturer described the process as more art than science.

Home Again

It is good to get out of the woods now and then. Even Huck would agree.

November

November 11 29 24 349 PM0:00/318.01752834467121× November scored first this season with one power outage, one tree down across the driveway, and five inches of snow. The outage happened while we were away for the night, which made it impossible to know how long it lasted. When

Labor Day Weekend. Already.

Labor Day Weekend. Already.

The steps to our hillside garden are not repaired. The felled wood is not all cut up and stacked. The dock is still waiting to be treated with teak oil.