About

A native of Connecticut, I moved to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont in June of 2002. My parents lived here and one of my sisters and her family are here. My late husband and I had visited the Kingdom for twenty years and I had fallen in love with the area. I always felt as if I was at home here in the solitude and natural beauty. After my husband died and my three children had left to lead their lives, I decided to live my own dream in Vermont. I found a teaching position, found a place to rent while I looked for a home to buy, and moved! It was quite an adventure.

I lived a life of solitude for many years, but Grandson Wingnut stayed with me during the summers and the winters were filled with work, church and library activities. My children visited and I visited them in Washington, DC and New Haven, CT. One daughter, Amelia, eventually moved here and loves it as much as I do. I know how to fill my life with activities that I love, and I began to photograph the things around me.

I never thought I would call myself a photographer, My father was a photographer. My daughter Amelia won photography awards. I never even picked up a camera except on vacations. But life changes. I began to take the camera on my walks and slowly learned  how to use it. I found that I have a way to express my love of nature and my fascination for the natural things we can’t usually see. I learned more about nature through my lens than through a book.

In 2009, I visited the King Arthur Flour store in Norwich, Vermont and met my present husband. We have barely stopped talking since the moment we met. He is the greatest naturalist I have known and when we go into the woods, it isn't on trails. We come out covered in mud after having taken four to eight hundred photographs. John is my guide in the woods and life. I never knew life could get this good. We lived in John's New Hampshire for nearly a year before returning to Barton in Vermont. We are building our lives here now in peace and tranquility.

John and I were married on May 29, 2010 at Pageant Park on Crystal Lake in Barton.

l to r: Andrew, John, me, Anna, Amelia 
John, myself and my children at the wedding

Photo by Matt

Thank you for visiting meeyauw: Life in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. It's not a life of solitude anymore!

Update


John died on September 23, 2019. I was, by then, disabled with arthritis in both knees. I eventually returned to school, but in March, 2020, the pandemic and lockdown began.  I taught from home, virtually, that year and the entire next academic year of 2020-2021. I remember washing groceries, waving to Amelia through the window in the door, the loneliness, and the deliveries. Oh, so many deliveries! But there were no meal deliveries because we are so remote. There was curbside pickup everywhere, though, and that helped give me a bit of relief from the isolation. 

It is now September, 2022. I am back teaching in person. This year is better than last. I never wanted to leave home last year, but now I do—for short periods. I want to see the kids at school, the staff, the world. 

Four things, big things, suddenly broke my depression of the past three years: Jody, Gerry, returning to church and resuming blogging. I bug hunt and occasionally have tea with Jody, once again teach with Gerry, and the blogging has helped me face memories and move forward slowly. I have people to talk to again. There were a lot of adjustments I had to make, and will still need to make, to be in the world again. 

I am also beginning to accept that John will never come back home to me. 

I have left Facebook and Instagram and have picked up Twitter for happy photos and videos (yes, also for politics). At the Orleans Federated Church, I am very slowly beginning to find new friends and perhaps a new social life. 

I send deep thanks and love to readers and commenters: you have no idea what a difference you have made in the quality of my life.