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Like California’s surfers, Vermont anglers tend to be pretty tight-lipped when it comes to sharing their favorite spots. So I was surprised when, after only a little cajoling, Waitsfield’s Peter Cammann agreed to tell me exactly where some smallmouth bass tend to spawn. But he would do so only when the fish were actually there — the spring phenomenon typically happens in May. When the time was right, he’d give me directions — providing I promised to keep the location secret.... Read more

Picture three successful middle-aged couples: an IT guy and a “hockey mom”; an organic vegetable farmer and a therapist; a college professor and the director of a nonprofit organization. Now imagine these accomplished professionals chasing an escaped yak up a busy Vermont highway, or negotiating fresh manure piles as the group attempts to herd two dozen of the large, hairy beasts into a paddock for the evening.... Read more

Susan Hansen doesn’t work behind a smoked-glass door with her name etched on it. Nor does she swill coffee while snapping photos from a Town Car. The Warren-based private investigator and mom drives a station wagon with two car seats in the back, sips herbal tea and lives in a “crazy tree house” on Prickly Mountain.... Read more

Starting this week, Burlington's Dinky Donuts is delivering old-fashioned, handmade rounds to Burlington homes and offices. The sweets come in three flavors: honey-glazed, chocolate-frosted and maple caramel, and cost $13 a dozen. Or you can get 18 little ones for the same price. There's no storefront. Order 'em by calling 839-5099.... Read more

Claudia Becker, owner of Waitsfield's Big Picture Theater & Café, has some pretty big ideas. "We're in Waitsfield," Becker explains, "and Waitsfield is a small town and the Mad River Valley is a small community. It's a small market. Our answer to that is to try to provide many, many different services."... Read more

Last weekend, Waitsfield’s Big Picture Theatre screened ski movies — from Warren Miller’s Cold Fusion to Ski School 2. This weekend it welcomes Amy Goodman, the host of “Democracy Now!” Part first-run movie theater, part ski-town hangout and part community gathering place, the venue owned by Claudia Becker is a typical Vermont study in contrasts. This week it opens itself to the world with the fifth annual Mountaintop Human Rights Film Festival, which Becker directs.... Read more

If the planet’s natural resources were a chocolate cake, the typical American contractor would have a wicked stomachache. Despite mounting evidence of resource scarcity, commercial buildings consume 70 percent of the country’s electricity. And an average new residence measures almost 2500 square feet — a 32 percent increase since 1976.... Read more

Ever wanted to quit your day job and take to the skies? Talk to Ron Webster. Since he started soaring — that is, flying without an engine — in the late ’70s, the guy has logged 2454 hours of airtime. That’s the rough equivalent, he says, of a year’s 9-to-5 labor. This lucky duck spent all of it gallivanting over the Green Mountains at altitudes of up to 7000 feet.... Read more

On a recent Sunday, the Mad River runs high, bringing scores of fishermen to the lush wilderness area just outside Granville. Close by on Route 100 stands D’s Dog House & Tavern, a low blue building with a sign that asks patrons to “Come Sit Stay. Good dogs!” Inside, with its jukebox and biking mags in the restroom, the place has a friendly, no-nonsense feel. Owner Dennis Vadnais, who looks a bit like Jerry Garcia, is talking to a wiry guy with tattoos, an AC/DC T-shirt and a wrist brace.... Read more

On a recent sunny afternoon, several cars, many with ski racks, pulled into a large dirt parking lot at the corner of Route 100 and Carroll Road in Waitsfield. Children pulled off brightly colored ski hats and unzipped puffy jackets as they led their parents through sturdy wood doors. Above, bold red and black letters inscribed on a round, Art Deco-style clock identified the building as the Big Picture Theater.... Read more