1/9/12: Eva visits Onion River Cobbler in Winooski, where business is booming and owner Steven Hopkins, aka "The Cobbler," has been a fixture in town for 27 years.

Music: Brothers McCann, Different Colors, "Shambles"

A well-known Burlington chef made headlines recently when he was hauled into court on animal-cruelty charges. Vermont State Police said that Kelly Dietrich, the former chef and owner of Souza’s Brazilian Steakhouse, starved hundreds of farm animals at a culinary kids camp he runs in Highgate, a charge Dietrich has vehemently denied.

Police and “humane agents” who investigated the farm on November 9 reportedly found calves standing in their own feces; hens and roosters living in poorly ventilated coops; and a dead horse lying behind a pile of debris, its throat slit. ... Read more

Susan McMillan looks at the crisscrossed scars on her forearms. She still remembers her attacker’s name. “That was Cuddles,” she says.

It’s an occupational hazard.... Read more

12/3/11: Last Saturday Pete's Greens welcomed the community to tour their new barn, less than a year after they lost their historic barn to fire. The four-season organic-vegetable farm garnered massive local support after the setback and is back stronger than ever. Eva talks to CSA share members and visitors to find out the secret to Pete's success.

Music: Kevin MacLeod, "Sunshine A"

11/19/11: Did you know that the world's largest hooked rug exhibit is held in VT every year? The 15th annual Hooked in the Mountains was held at the Shelburne Museum in the round barn and included about 480 rugs, each made one loop at a time by members of the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild. While the subject matter, colors and styles varied wildly, all hookers share an appreciation of this historic art form.

Music: Joshua Panda, "Rosie"

7/30/11: The Green Mountain Draft Horse Association presented Draft Horse Field Day at Shelburne Farms on Saturday. Horses, oxen and mules were in attendance for reaping, threshing, and plowing demonstrations.
Visitors hitched rides on wagons to experience Shelburne Farms as it was meant to be seen, from a horse's perspective.... Read more

Visitors to the Adirondacks can’t help but spot New York’s second-largest land mammal, the black bear, around virtually every turn. Admittedly, most of those bear sightings occur in gift shops and antique stores. The fuzzy or wood-carved likenesses are often portrayed paddling canoes, swinging tennis racquets or squatting on their haunches with a fishing pole in hand.... Read more

7/9/11: Last Saturday, over 200 people participated in the Heart of the Islands Bike Tour which was organized by Vermont Farm Tours and benefited Local Motion.
Riders met at the Snow Farm Vineyard in South Hero and chose between 3 routes, ambling through country lanes with killer views and stopping along the way for art, farms, and local food.... Read more

7/2/11: Cowboys and cowgirls competed in the Pond Hill Pro Rodeo Saturday night in Castleton. The Pond Hill Ranch is owned and operated by the O'Rourke family who have been producing rodeos for 45 years.
4th of July weekend is known as Cowboy Christmas and many cowboys travel from rodeo to rodeo competing for cash prizes.
Music: Rick & the Ramblers Western Swing Band, I Rode the Ti, "Swing of the Range,""Hot Sauce"

6/22/11: Husband-and-wife team Tessa and Torrey Valyou are New Duds — they handprint and handmake wearable art and fabric goods in Colchester, Vermont.

Perhaps best known locally for their "Burlington" and "Octopus Brigade" tees, these UVM graduates have spent the past three years growing New Duds into a successful business.... Read more