You might think that the song “Blue Christmas” originated with Elvis Presley, but although the King made it hugely popular, it first hit #1 on the charts eight years earlier, recorded by The Grand Ole Opry Star Ernest Tubb. Up until then, Tubb was most famous for “Walking the Floor Over You.…
This ubiquitous bird feeder visitor — named for its call — evolved strategies for surviving winter’s cold.
Even Santa faces challenges this year reminding the elves to wear masks and maintain social distancing on the North Pole assembly lines.
Everyone needs to abide by the state’s rules, including those that require face masks, but a fine of this size should be limited to those who would not be forced out of business by incurring it.
This is a tale from several years back, but I saw a field mouse running across the road when I picked up the morning paper and I now think of it as a happy memory.
The Biden transition team is about to connect with the Trumpsters running federal departments and agencies into the ground. The Biden staff should prepare for serial shocks. Biden’s people will be observing the first glimpses of staggering wreckage and corruption. They need to tell the Ameri…
Conservationists are planning to link preserved areas from Connecticut to Canada.
I wrote my husband’s obituary and sent it to the local newspaper for placement. The quick reply gave me the sobering cost and I quickly decided to post it on my Facebook page instead since pretty much everyone who would want to know is a FB friend.
There are many reasons why loser Trump refuses to concede. Yes, delusion has been the counterfeit coin of his fantasy realm — “I won this election by a lot” he tweeted with all caps last Saturday. In his fevered mind — nourished by a bullying career — all victories are his triumphs, and all …
Betsy DeVos has been no friend to Connecticut education; Jahana Hayes would be an excellent new education secretary.
Environmentalists say Biden will undo destructive Trump policies regarding air, land, and water.
If you were among candidates for Connecticut’s General Assembly who came up short on the ballot, thank you for running. The process is exhausting and you all deserve applause for putting your name on the line.
Many Americans can picture this image: retiring after years of hard work and to live out the rest of life peacefully without the stress of work and obligations, spending each morning sitting in a rocking chair on the porch reading the newspaper and enjoying quiet days. Many people hope to de…
One Sunday several years ago, I was reading aloud with the congregation when my husband turned in my direction with a decidedly quizzical expression. He made a sotto voce comment which prompted me to poke his side, indicating “No talking!” He shrugged; I kept reading. We sat down, listened t…
My career in writing, public relations and marketing began in rural Connecticut at the age of 10 or so, when I punched out a newsletter on my mother’s old Remington typewriter, then peddled it door-to-door. The neighbors were mostly my relatives and no one knew who I was writing about until …
The peaceful transfer of power will require all of us to come together for what we have in common.
Pine cones, mainstay of the ecosystem, are exceptionally plentiful this fall.
It’s been 10 years now since my Pomeranian passed away after sharing our lives for 17 years. I came to the certainty that although it’s painful to lose a beloved pet, it’s also a testament to that loving companionship to seek another pet. Although Reni came to us as a purebred puppy from a v…
Though the entire state has learned to take healthy precautions over the threat of COVID-19, the fear is especially acute at nursing homes. During the virus’ first wave in the spring, it was people in nursing homes who faced the greatest danger, and the death toll was disproportionately high…
Cold weather brings furry things into warm homes, but this short-tailed brown rodent posed a mystery.
A sad milestone came up: I call it Remembrance Day rather than Death Anniversary.
No one could have predicted the pandemic and accompanying hit to state finances. But this is the reason why a large rainy-day fund has been necessary.
Becoming a high school-level coach is a commitment. This isn’t the same as coaching your 6-year-old child’s soccer team for a year.
It’s unusual for a drought to vary so much across a small state.
Though a challenge to identify sparrow species in Connecticut, it’s worthwhile — before some go extinct.
Hearst Connecticut Media Editorial Board predicts “reckoning if domestic violence is not recognized as part of the challenge in trying to heal from the pandemic.”
(My sister and cousin recently visited me in Litchfield for a birthday party so I took them on a Fall tour, and lunch at the “Old Jail” since it’s the restaurant on the green with the best stories.)
Hearst Connecticut Media Editorial Board says state is “driving in circles in addressing the need that sparked the tolls proposal in the first place.”
I left Connecticut at an early age and spent several decades happily living in South Florida. Then, one afternoon in Pembroke Pines when I was preparing a small Thanksgiving dinner for two with roast goose, I broke into tears. Since my family members lived in Connecticut and I only saw them …
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For some reptiles, birds and plants fall, not spring, is the prime time.
I’d like to think that I take good care of my overall health with a daily power walk, 50 sit-ups, vitamins, and avoiding foods with evil ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, BHA, GMO, MSG, etc. (OK, in the interest of full disclosure, I do the sit-ups using a res…
Four Connecticut families want to overturn the requirement that students wear masks in school, despite the pandemic.
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The bluejays at your feeder may look the same as the ones last week, but could be from the north.
The ground is no longer level for me to walk on, and the horizon is much too close.
The grim total of 200,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths became a political benchmark in March when Trump cited it as the limit of a job well done.
Other states that match Connecticut’s proposed new standards have brownfields problems of their own, for a simple reason — if developers don’t see an economic payoff in a property, they aren’t going to invest in its rehabilitation
Maybe we should call the Halloween full moon the Jack-O-Lantern moon.
Just when I think I’ve got this “new normal” in stride — plenty of face masks, double-downing on the distancing when among or approaching strangers, rising in the dark to be the first one at the supermarket — a new wrinkle rears its head.
The American people own most of the wealth — private and public — and most of the information in the country. The top one percent do not.
Smoke from West Coast wildfires blots the sun in Connecticut, but will that affect opinion about climate change?
The question becomes what legislators are willing to do to reform the system. Connecticut has some of the highest electric rates in the nation, and though its system is generally reliable, it has repeatedly proven vulnerable to major storms.
I knew the time would come, and probably, regrettably, sooner than later, when my grandchildren wouldn’t be so eager to have outings and sleepovers with us. Actually, the sleepovers have pretty much halted since we downsized and there’s no longer separate upstairs bedrooms with real beds. It…
Trump voters are not inclined to change their minds. Some of them are forever Republicans and will only vote the GOP ticket; they are called hereditary voters. Others can’t stand the Democratic Party nominees, won’t vote for the Libertarian ticket, and will only vote for Trump. Some love Tru…
The fall fruit might be sour, but the aroma of grapes is evocative.
The coronavirus pandemic has not been tamed, even as Connecticut has seen low infection rates and decreasing hospitalizations in recent months. It’s not just the players at risk, but everyone they might come in contact with, including parents and grandparents.
Henry David Thoreau said “Beware of all endeavors that require new clothes,” and I’m pretty much in tune with that advice. So, when a friend announced she was offering yoga sessions for just $5, I thought I’d give it a try and just wear my most comfortable clothing. I knew mats of some sort …
Clearings left by downed trees provide opportunity for new growth at Deer Pond Farm.
All of Connecticut must be on alert — and vigilant — after recent spike in coronavirus cases in seventh largest city.
A while ago, my sister recently shared a photo on her Facebook page: my husband and I all dressed up and posing very professionally, looking, you know, younger — much younger. Seeing myself captured on film always comes as a shock. First of all, I don’t remember at all posing for a professio…
Connecticut right to ignore new federal guidelines for virus testing as it moves to open more nursing home visits.
Anyone who’s ever stepped on an underground nest knows that the wasps can jab their victims repeatedly with their stingers.
