Coming up in April, the second edition of Jennifer Megyesi’s successful book The Joy of Keeping Chickens is to be published! The book, originally published in 2009, will have revisions and additions by Jennifer and myself — here are a few of the new photos.

From top: An Ameraucana free-ranging hen scratches away fallen leaves while looking for insects and worms at Fat Rooster Farm in Royalton, Vt.; While house cats pose far less threat as predators to chickens, domestic dogs, foxes, raccoons and skunks as well as weasels, minks and birds of prey can wreak havoc on a flock; After Erin Regan lost her first flock of laying hens to a fox, she built a second-floor coop over her Bethel, Vt., sheep barn. With its “free-range on-ramp,” the coop’s door is opened with a rope on a pulley.

As the school year progresses, I have been lending a hand with sports photography at the Valley News as the need arises (usually I am in the office as photo editor). As a father of an eighth-grade athlete, more often now I am seeing the games through the perspective of a parent as much as a storyteller. Here’s a few of my favorites from the past few months.

From top: The Sharon Academy co-captain and goalkeeper Sawyer Levy leads his teammates in a cheer in Sharon, Vt.; Hanover, N.H., coach Dick Dodds talks to his team in the locker room between periods; Woodstock, Vt., senior Connor Fegard takes a breather in the final moments of a close game against Windsor, Vt.; Matt Wilcox, of Windsor, talks with his daughter Ashleay during halftime at a home game.

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In early September, I passed the quarter-century mark as a Valley News employee. I was hired in 1989 as a staff photographer and these days I am usually at a desk as photo editor. Once in a while, I am able to get out with my camera to help out the photo staff. I love working with the newspaper’s smart and talented staff — telling stories with my camera is something I also enjoy a whole lot. Here’s a few recent photos I’ve done.

From top: Youth players stand in line to high-five the Dartmouth College football team as they run onto the field for their home opener Hanover, N.H.; Kelsey Norton, 17, of Braintree, Vt., leads her Dutch Belt steers Jet, left, and Saber while practicing for the parade to be held later in the day at the Vermont History Expo in Tunbridge, Vt. Norton has only been working with the team for a month, as part of the 4-H group Hooves and Horns Working Steers in Randolph, Vt. “I call her my cow whisperer,” said her father; The sun sets over a hayfield on Tuttle Hill in Tunbridge, Vt.

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Last Friday, I photographed two sports assignments for the Valley News — one was inside, the other outside. The weather was brisk for Dartmouth’s home softball opener, with snowbanks lining the outfield fences. Later in the evening, I photographed a baseball practice indoors while it was pouring rain outside. Must be mud season!


From top: Dartmouth’s Chloe Madill crosses home plate after teammate Kristen Rumley hit a double in the first inning of the Big Green’s home opener in Hanover, N.H.; South Royalton catcher Alex Berk works with assistant coach John Scoskie on blocking wild pitches during a Friday night practice in South Royalton, Vt.

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Last week, I spent the day with Valley News Columnist Jim Kenyon as he did a Day in the Life profile of Merrilyn Bourne, who is executive director of Listen Community Services in Lebanon, N.H. Listen provides all kinds of services to those in need, funded by sales from their three thrift stores. Merrilyn’s passion and energy for her job is an inspiration!



From top: Merilynn Bourne, executive director of Listen Community Services, tells Teresa Eastman and other employees in the White River Junction sorting room of her plans to tint the windows due to feedback Bourne has received from the community; Hilde Ojibway, of Wilder, Vt., laughs while listening to Merilynn Bourne, of Cornish, N.H., tell a story at the Listen Thrift Store in Canaan, N.H. Ojibway, who hired Bourne in 1996 to direct Listen’s retail operations, was coincidentally shopping for gifts while Bourne was visiting employees in the store; Cornish selectboard members John Hammond, left, Merilynn Bourne and Scott Baker laugh while talking on the speakerphone with a committee member that they jokingly appointed as chair during their twice weekly meeting in Cornish, N.H.

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High school fall sports season is drawing to a close with championship games deciding the best of the best. In the Valley News’ coverage area, there have been many teams in the hunt. Because we were short-handed, I covered Thetford Academy’s game against Peoples Academy last weekend. Peoples won their 50th straight game and the championship, but everyone was proud of Thetford’s effort.



From top: Angela Lavoy, of East Corinth, Vt., congratulates Thetford Academy players Kaitlyn Boyce, left, and Michaela Pomeroy on their play in the Division III girls soccer state championship in Williamstown, Vt. Lavoy’s daughter Maia also plays on the team; Thetford Academy fans cheer the girls soccer team’s sole goal against Peoples; Thetford Academy players, from left, Annaka Balch, Patience Kasten, Taylor Hollis and Regan Covey watch Peoples Academy receive the state championship trophy after their 4-1 win.

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On Sunday morning I stopped by Lisa McCrory’s Earthwise Farm and Forest in Bethel, Vt., to photograph her hand-milking Cocoa, the family’s Jersey. The Valley News did a story about McCrory and other area farmers getting together for Rural Vermont’s Raw Milk Summit later in the day. I had been to the farm before for a couple of my book projects — it is impressive to see the progress Lisa and her husband have made in building it up from scratch!


From top: Lisa McCrory leads her Jersey cow Cocoa to the pasture’s edge to milk it early in the morning. Milking the cow once a day, McCrory said she gets about 2 1/2 gallons of raw milk a day to sell to neighbors and for use by her family at Earthwise Farm and Forest in Bethel, Vt.; McCrory pours raw milk into a container to be filtered and cooled. McCrory was among the farmers taking part in Rural Vermont’s Raw Milk Summit in Bethel.

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While our photo intern Elijah Nouvelage was away at the Eddie Adams Workshop, I helped out with weekend photo assignment coverage for a couple of Valley News stories. While I’m usually at a desk as photo editor, I do enjoy getting out and about to cover our communities!


From top: Norma Vincent, of Sharon, Vt., and Lefty Santaw, of Enfield, N.H., take a break from selling raffle tickets to take a spin on the dance floor as the band Yvonne and the Reverbs plays at a jamboree fundraiser held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in White River Junction, Vt.; At left, Maggie Stoudnour, an educator with the Upper Valley Land Trust, laughs as Daniel Brand, of Lyme, N.H., whistles with a blade of grass at a beaver pond at the Lyme Hill Conservation Area in Lyme. They were taking part in the workshop Interpreting Nature for Others: Techniques to Educate and Inspire.

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