December 28, 2007
Check out this great spot on Woods Tea Co (my brother is on the left) from WCAX-TV in Burlington, VT. They talk about the loss of member Chip Chase and founding member Rusty Jacobs. The page has a link to a video spot so you can hear some of the interview as well as some performing.
Tags: music, band, performance, interview, VT, Woods Tea Co
December 27, 2007
There are two official Christmas trees in Washington DC: the US Capital tree and the National tree at the White House. Here they are:
Capital Tree is on the left; National (White House) tree on the right.
Which do you think is nicer? I like the Capitol tree – and not just because it’s from Vermont. It looks like a real tree not a fake tree like the White House tree. They both use LED lights to save energy but the Capitol tree is decorated with ornaments from Vermont and it has the right shape – one made from nature. And what’s with all the bows on the White House tree? It looks like a big glow stick.
technorati tags:Washington DC, lights, LED, White House, US Capitol, christmas, Vermont, tree
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November 17, 2007
This time a not-so-shameless plug. My brother’s group, Woods Tea Co., is playing tonight at the Alden Theatre at the McLean Community Center here in northern Virginia. The Washington Post called Howard (second from the left in the photo) for an interview and ran the linked piece in the Fairfax edition last Thursday. Soon I shall head out to see the show.
Check out the band’s website for sound clips and schedule.
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Tags: music, band, performance, VA, VT, Woods-Tea-Co
October 30, 2007
NPR : In New England, Concern Grows for Sugar Maple
In central New Hampshire, a pair of sugar maple trees frames the doorway to a historic house. The trees were likely planted by the family that originally built the house around 1790.
“They’re wonderful gnarled trees,” says lumberman Jamey French, whose parents live here in central New Hampshire. “They’re in the latter stages of their life, all cabled now.”
The French family is enormously beholden to the sugar maple for the butcher blocks, bowling lanes and squash and basketball courts its wood has been prized for. It is wood that has been harvested and sold by four generations of this hardwood lumber family.
At heart a steward of the forest, French has been watching many tree species for signs of decline, particularly the sugar maple. It’s a touchy species living in a landscape of tangible, environmental change.
“I’ve seen multiple species of birds wintering over that were not common in my childhood: mocking birds and cardinals and titmice,” French says. “Look along the sides of roads, and between the salt, acid rain, potential heat and drought cycles, you see trees stressed and dying. Boy, this is happening right in front of our eyes.”
This is really scary. The thought of New England losing it’s beautiful maples because we killed them if just awful. We’ve been in a terrible drought in Virginia this year , in fact all through the mid-Atlantic and south. It really makes me wonder if anything can really help at this point. Is it too late already?
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Tags: New-England, foliage, maple, environment, autumn, warming
August 31, 2007
NPR : Cheesemakers Taste a Change in the Weather
Yes, I know, another NPR story. But it’s a good one. As the climate changes, the cheesemakers are finding changes in the cheese.
In a remote alpine village 3,000 miles away, French cheesemaker Alex Pelletier sighs.
“Yeah, global warming is really depressing. Everybody’s talking about it,” says Pelletier, who, like the Putnams [in Vermont], makes Beaufort cheese. Pelletier’s worry is the unprecedented heat in the French Alps, which is making cows thirstier. Drinking more water, says Pelletier, dilutes the proteins and fats in the cows’ milk. And that costs the cheesemakers, who must use more milk to create the same amount of cheese.
Read the text and enjoy the pictures but the podcast has even more info.
technorati tags:Food, cheese, climate-change, Vermont, Alps, cows
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August 17, 2007
Wood’s Tea founder dies
Burlington Free Press.com | Living
Rusty Jacobs, founder of the folk group Wood’s Tea Company, died Wednesday at his home in South Burlington. He was 56. The cause of death is pending, said band member and friend Howard Wooden.
Jacobs moved to Burlington to attend the University of Vermont and settled here. He was a rock ‘ n’ roll musician who became enamored of the Chieftans, a traditional Irish group and, influenced by their music, turned to traditional music in his own playing, Wooden said.
“Rusty was a master pennywhistle player and great rhythm guitar player,” Wooden said. “More than that, he was a personality. He had an engaging, soft soul. He was a gentle and peaceful man, and that came through on stage.”
Wood’s Tea Company is my brother’s band. I had the pleasure of meeting Rusty several times at gigs and at my brother’s home. He was a sweet man with a sparkling eye. I can hardly believe this news is true. Please read the linked article to learn more about this wonderful person.
technorati tags:Woods-Tea-Co, Rusty-Jacobs, death, obit, music, Vermont, folk
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July 11, 2007
A ‘Simpsons’ frenzy in Springfield, Vt. – USATODAY.com
It couldn’t have happened to a nicer town.
http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html
Sumigirl in Simpsons form
technorati tags:Simpsons, Vermont, Movie, silly, cartoon
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June 30, 2007
Apple’s iPhone useless in Vermont — for now
Apple’s iPhone useless in Vermont — for now: Rutland Herald Online
The iPhone is an Apple Inc. product that combines a cell phone, a
computer and an iPod. Large portions of other states are without the
service as well, including Maine, New Hampshire and upstate New York,
as well as Alaska, the Dakotas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.Vermont is the only state totally without AT&T coverage.
I live in Virginia but I have lots of family in Vermont (nearly all of them are Mac users), but if the phone is useless in Vermont (or has expensive roaming charges) I won’t buy it. This just underscores the problem with limiting the iPhone to a single carrier.
I find it moronic that AT&T plugs itself for having the fewest “dropped calls”. If you can’t make the call to begin with, what does that statement really mean?
technorati tags:Vermont, iPhone, Apple, AT&T, Cingular, cellphone, gadget, stupid
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April 29, 2007
Vermont Maple Festival – Exhibit Hall
It’s Maple Festival weekend in Saint Albans, Vermont. Why do I care? I moved to Saint Albans while in high school and my parents lived there until their deaths (1999 & 2004), and my brother & sister-in-law live there, too. It’s a great town to visit (but I’m glad I dont’ live there anymore) especially during festival and other holidays.
The festival itself is very small town but fun. Lots of sweets (of the maple kind) to eat, a parade, cooking contests and the exhibitors hall for the professional maple manufacturers. In recent years they’ve added a carvnival and antique market. The festival used to held during the sugaring season (March) but it was moved to late April for better weather (no snow) and a better turn-out.
technorati tags:Maple, Vermont, Festival, tourism, fun
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August 25, 2006
Finally had a great vacation. I visited family but had no conflict or stress. I didn’t visit a hospital or nursing home nor did I attend a memorial service. I had two long but generally lovely drives which included ferry crossings across the beautiful Lake Champlain. The weather was cooler than home and the air much cleaner. Why can’t all vacations be so wonderful?
Musings from Sumigirl 