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Maple sugaring has been part of the New England tradition for a very long time. Even 150 years ago, sugaring held an air of nostalgia- a reflection of the good old days. Back in the 1860s, an American artist named Eastman Johnson did a series of paintings on sugaring in small-town New England. Those paintings can be seen through mid-April at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts and in a new book called Sugaring Off: The Maple Sugar Paintings of Eastman Johnson. Brian Allen is curator of American art at the Clark and he wrote the book. He talks about the culture of maple sugaring- it was a big social event with lots of parties- and the paintings Johnson did while he lived in Fryeburg, Maine.

David M. Carroll is a writer, artist, and naturalist who has been studying turtles near his Warner home for over 30 years. He wrote a series of three books about turtles and their wetland habitats that is known as the Wet Sneaker Trilogy, but now he’s turned his powers of observation inward. David’s memoir, Self-Portrait with Turtles, just came out this month. He talks about his first, life-defining encounter with a turtle at the age of eight, his college years, and what the future may hold for him and the turtles that are living on ever shrinking land.

A painter who claims to hate traveling has written a "travel book" illustrated with his own brightly colored landscapes. What's that all about? Wolf Kahn's America: An Artist's Travels is actually a record of the American locales Brattleboro resident Wolf Kahn has visited over the past forty-odd years in order to teach a workshop, attend an exhibition of his work or fulfill a commission from a wealthy patron. A refugee from Nazi Germany, born in 1927, he says he prefers the comforts of home to the anxieties of travel, but he finds visual inspiration everywhere he goes- even in a restaurant parking lot overlooking a marsh. The painting sites range from Maine to Florida, with excursions to Yosemite and New Mexico. Wolf talks about his why and how he paints... and spending his life "learning the ropes" after a junior high encounter.

A great workshop says as much about self-expression as it does efficiency and convenience. What is made in a shop - and why - influences the way a shop is configured and what you will find in it. The new book, The Workshop: Celebrating the Place Where Craftsmanship Begins, gives an inside look at over 35 outstanding shops, how they evolved and how they suit the individual needs of the woodworkers who own them. Author Scott Gibson traveled around New England and met furniture makers, boatbuilders, turners, carvers and luthiers, many of whom teach as well as crafting beautiful things in wood. The text and photographs give you an inside peek into the lives and work spaces of some of America's most well known woodworkers.

As the first day of Spring arrives we look back at the winter and forward to warmer days.

Sue Johnston is an avid hiker and ultra marathoner who lives in Waterford, VT. She and her hiking partner, Robert Williams, made news this winter when they hiked all of New Hampshire's 48 4000-footers in 10 days, 22 hours, and 37 minutes.

Malia Mills says there is no need to get in shape for "bikini season." She is a highly acclaimed New York swimsuit designer who creates bikinis for women of all shapes and sizes. Though she advocates a healthy lifestyle, Malia strongly feels that women are beautiful just as they are. She talks about the responses she gets to the diverse models on her website, she tells us about her favorite bikini, and recalls her years spent as a teen in Hanover, NH.