Starting the new year right means setting goals, and they should always include some dedicated to your finances. Whether you’re working on paying down debt or saving for something big, money concerns are constant. That’s probably why January is Financial Wellness Month. Very loosely defined, financi...

With the reduced level of sunlight these days, the onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a real thing for many people. This time of year, many of us are trying to increase our vitamin D levels, and to fight all the flus, absorbing what sun exists with fresh, unabated air, through our lungs. ...

Snow throughout winter seems to be becoming more rare these days, so those who love outdoor recreation in the white stuff need to get out there while the getting is good. Many snowmobilers enjoy the pastime of riding ready-made trails, but there are other who like to explore – the cross-country skie...

Maple syrup is usually the product people think of when there’s talk of tapping maple trees. But there is an emerging market for something else – something simpler – that sugarmakers may want to tap into. In “Maple Foods Beyond Syrup: Maple Sap Water, An Emerging Functional Beverage,” hosted by Univ...

Another grazing season has passed, and today the grass-finishing steers go back home to a full plate of excellent stored forage and eventually to feeding families in the Northeast market. Such is life for a custom grazier who specializes in directly grazing pasture and being a link in the local chai...

At the 2022 Commodity Classic, a well-respected meteorologist presented an almost hour-long session on what farmers across the country might expect, weather-wise, for the rest of the year. This was in early March, and the trained scientist was working off years of previous data, general trends from ...

On Jan. 5, 2023, an Instagram Reel (a short-form video on the Instagram social media platform) I made surpassed 2 million plays. Essentially “going viral” for the ol’ grass-whispering farmer . My farmer friends asked “How much is that worth?” Zilch. Doing it for fun releases the pressure for money a...

There’s a great article by Tara Parker-Pope that ran in the New York Times on the science behind hobbies and choosing a hobby. The long and the short of it: it’s enriching for your mental and emotional and physical health. And January is National Hobby Month! An article from the Mental Health Extens...

In what I find to be a hilarious case of “what goes around, comes around,” during the holiday season I have noticed online retailers sending out physical, glossy-papered catalogues so kids could circle with real pens, pencils and crayons what they wished for. That Toys ‘R’ Us mailer was always a hit...

We know it’s a bit cliché, but seriously, doesn’t everybody love bacon? Just thinking about it means you can imagine its unique aroma filling your nostrils. Maybe you can even pretend to taste it on your tongue. Our sense of smell is the only one of our senses that allows us to observe the past. Rem...

I don’t remember the first Christmas season that I tried eggnog. I was a bit of a picky eater as a child, so I’m imagining it wasn’t too early on. Once I tried it, I was hooked. It’s like Christmas in a cup. And it’s celebrated on Dec. 24 with National Eggnog Day! Most of the store-bought eggnogs ar...

The winter solstice is often (but not always) on Dec. 21, bringing us to one of the key turning points of our year. From this point forward, the days will be getting longer instead of shorter. Winter is just beginning, but spring is in sight. Along with bringing the longest night, the winter solstic...

Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, was a 12-year-old paper boy for the Bangor Daily News when he won a trip to Washington, D.C. His first trip to our nation’s capital was one he would never forget, and Arlington National Cemetery made an especially indelible i...

During the holidays, poinsettias show off in shades of red, pink and cream. They’ve been hybridized to decorate our homes during a season when the garden outdoors is fast asleep. Most people treat them as a holiday plant to be enjoyed for a limited time then disposed of, but that doesn’t have to be....

Mistletoe may be a welcome holiday sight when hung over a doorway if a loved one is near. Still, it can be an unwelcome intruder when found in your trees, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist. “Mistletoe is a hemiparasite – a semi-parasitic plant,” said Allison Watkins,...