Horse Drawn

Honest work at Essex Farm I think of the day the horses arrived as the day the farm came back to life. It was seven years ago, midwinter, and Mark and I had moved here that fall. We weren’t married yet. We were still in that hazy phase of new love—with each other, and...
Seeds of Revival

Seeds of Revival

For 169 years the Essex County Fair has celebrated the region’s agricultural heritage. But lately attendance for the five-day extravaganza of fried food, livestock exhibitions, carnival rides and demolition derbies in Westport has wobbled. One explanation—“Farming is...
Michigans

Michigans

TRAVELING ALONG THE Champlain Valley or across the northern Adi­rondacks, there’s no quicker way to stamp “outsider” on your forehead than to saunter up to a screened takeout window and ask for a chili dog. If you’re craving a spicy condiment around these parts, you’d...