Writer Judy Isacoff: Creative Non-Fiction

The Waldo Tribune, MAY 2003

Our senses wake up in springtime. When our hats come off our heads, there are bird and frog songs to hear. Off come our gloves and coats, too. There are silvery, soft willow buds to touch and warm breezes to be touched by. Instead of hiding in a scarf, our noses can sniff the sweet smell of the tiny tree flowers and thawed grounds in the air. Our eyes catch sight of new colors and movements spring out everywhere. And, for those who know the plants well, there are also fresh tastes form the awakening. read more (pdf) >

The Family Beat, OCTOBER 2002

Digging in the dirt is always interesting. Unearthing many kinds of worms, beetles, rocks, and whatever else we might uncover, is fascinating. In our place on earth it is not unusual for gardners and farmers, while cultivating the land, to find arrowheads made by Native American people long ago. Just twenty years ago, a Berkshire farmer noticed "white flecks" in the heaps of wet round he dug out while making a pond. Looking closely, he recognised them as large bones and ivory. Brought to Yale University in Connecticut, they were identified as parts of the bones and tusks of a mastodon, and ancient elephant-like animal that once lived here! read more (pdf) >

The Family Beat, JULY 2002

Pet cats are "second nature" to us. That is, most od us see them as friendly animals that are part of our homes and free to come and go (inside and ouside) like we do. We know that they are not wild animals, nor part of the native Berkshire-Taconic landscape like bobcats, foxes, red-tailed hawks, and chickadees...read more (pdf) >

The Family Beat, JULY 2001

Summertime and our hills are green again. Right outside the doorstep wildflowers are growing. There are pink clovers, yellow buttercups, white daisies with yellow centers. I would like to tell you about a little flower that you can make into a shooter to fly through the air. It is narrow-leaved plantain. read more (pdf) >