Vermont Almanac: Stories From and For the Land, Volume IV

Vermont Almanac is an annual publication, now in its fourth year, that celebrates the loving and tending of the land in Vermont with essays, poems, photographs, and artwork, arranged month by month with seasonal topics. The 288-page volume is beautifully designed and presented, and is a real pleasure to read. Among the general topics woven through the book are “Weather;” including observations of climate change and its impacts; “Industry,” for example, an essay on how ice-cream making saved a dairy farm; “Nature Notes,” such as an essay by founder Virginia Barlow on the connection between wildflowers and pollinators; and “A Look Back,” essays on geological and human history, including the fascinating story of Brunswick Springs, a significant geological site and a sacred place for the Abenaki. Although this is a Vermont-centered book, its stories apply to all of New England, and are treasured by many even outside our region.

Recommended by Liz Thompson