Vermont Almanac wraps up the year from experiences to weather; includes Gary Sadowsky

CORINTH, Vt. (WCAX) - The Vermont Almanac just released its third volume, documenting stories and photos from October 2021 to September 2022.

It’s 288 pages put together by a sugar-maker, a Christmas tree grower and a forester at a home in Corinth.

“The real Vermont, not the postcard and calendar pictures, but the essence of it and the people in the land,” said Patrick White, one of the editors.

White, David Mance and Virginia Barlow are the three editors of the Vermont Almanac. The book shares stories of different rural Vermonters, from beekeepers to loggers to hunters, and tells what they experienced this past year.

People can flip through the book and find a recipe for maple cream pie, a guide on sport fish, a spotlight on witch windows, and even learn how to build a handwashing station.

“It’s also really representative of what we’re doing. It’s a great little Orange County, Vermont, town. You know, that embodies so many of the values and the working lands, you know, stuff that we cover,” said Mance.

Now, volume four is in the works.

“This is what happens every year,” said Barlow, the third editor. “I think we’re gonna say further ahead this time.”

Over 70 contributors added to the Almanac. Tania Aebi is a writer and beekeeper who worked on all three editions.

“It’s just really nice to get a topic and then to have to meet the people who know more about it,” said Aebi.

And when reflecting on the year, and the way it affected agriculture, you can’t leave out the weather.

“We’re part of nature,” said Gary Sadowsky, WCAX Meteorologist. “We should be outside and that’s where we kind of belong.”

Sadowsky was invited to contribute monthly weather, keeping track of events and temperatures. Notable events include a Groundhog’s Day snow dump and tornado activity over the summer. He says recording the weather on pen and paper gives us a way to learn what’s in the past and indicates what’s to come.

“Especially with climate change. And what we noticed just during the course of this year, and that there were many months that were in the top 10 warmest months on record,” said Sadowsky.

There are roughly 5,000 copies of the Almanac printed and it’s sold in bookstores throughout the state, and you can buy it online as well.

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