Posts by Lois

Every January for the past 11 years I’ve visited the Quinebaug Valley Trout Hatchery to look for eagles. Last Saturday I returned again, this time with seven other eagle searchers. We were there to take part in the annual Midwinter Eagle Survey organized by the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) and…

Jan. 1 dawned with temperatures in the low 30s, low hanging clouds and the occasional peeks of sunlight. My wife and I have a tradition of a hike or walk to begin the new year. “First Day” hikes are a fun tradition for many people, as evidenced by Facebook and Instagram accounts depicting pictures of…

“On this day of bleak cold, the earth seems dead. Yet every northern field and hillside, like a child, has seeds and powers of growth locked within it. From cocoon to bur on a winter’s day, there is everywhere life, dormant but waiting,” By Edwin Way Teale, Jan. 7 entry from “Circle of the Seasons:…

New Year’s Day is Friday and each of us will welcome 2021 in our own way. I will be happy to see 2020 in the rearview mirror. The challenges this past year were unprecedented in my lifetime, and, even with the turn of the calendar year, the months ahead will continue in our “new” normal…

The snows of winter arrived early this year, even before this week’s storm that covered The Last Green Valley in significant inches. Despite the recent arrival of the white stuff, winter actually starts Dec. 21 at 5:02 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Welcome to the Winter Solstice when throughout the Northern Hemisphere we experience the shortest…

As the holidays approach I have been thinking about what gifts to purchase for family and friends. I try to shop at smaller local businesses as much as possible and in recent years have focused on giving “experiences” rather than things. This has led me to provide gifts of memberships at local non-profit organizations that…