First published in the Ipswich Local News January 11, 2024. In the summer of 2005 a new mom and fairly new writer, emailed Dan MacAlpine, editor of The Beverly Citizen, about running an eight part series featuring a local family moving to Australia for the winter, with a side jaunt to New Zealand. It would chronicle…
Category: The Baird Facts
My Little Book Unexpectedly Grew
By Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News, December 14 2023 Well, it’s December. Regular readers know of my need for lots of Christmas lights to escape the pitch-blackness that is this month. I’ll spare you my annual rant about my window candles on a [not functioning] timer, though you should know…
Third Time’s the Muddiest
By Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News, November 3, 2023 I’ve written this column before. It’s almost unfathomable that I’m writing it again. How many times can one get lost in their own backyard while also involving local waterways? Regular readers will recall I’ve washed up on a beach and also…
A Share of a Share
By Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News, October 5, 2023 Recently, my friend, who regular readers know as the Voice of Reason (VOR), asked if I’d like to use two weeks of her farm share while she traveled. “Me?” I clarified against the backdrop of not a single other person. “What would…
Back to School: College Edition
By Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News, August 30, 2023 I guess summer is over. Christmas decorations are back at Costco, Starbucks has dropped its fall menu, and, despite my protests, it’s back-to-school season. Back-to-school with teens and college kids isn’t quite the thrilling event of yesteryear. I have no idea what…
Navigating Floods With No Navigation
By Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News, July 30, 2023 Brace yourself, dear Ipswich and charming Hamilton-Wenham. Try to stay calm, Boxford and surrounding towns. But there is a whole world out there where cell phone service actually works … always. No, really. Our family recently spent a week in Europe…
Memories of Amnesia
by Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News, June 14, 2023 In recent days, there have been a handful of articles about “event amnesia” amongst those who attended Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. Apparently, the concert created such a frenzy of emotion that memories flew off into the night like so many pieces of giant confetti…
Happiness in Dog Years
by Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News, May 11, 2023 They say that owning dogs makes you calmer and happier and provides better immunity against germs. And surely, as I sank onto my couch covered in dog … everything … that’s what I was feeling: happy and healthy (perhaps with a tiny side…
Blowing Through March
by Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News, March 30, 2023 Well, it’s March. The season of sand. Road crews scatter it like tiny beaches around our inland towns to deal with that ever-tricky late-season snow. The sand — maybe more than the snow — threatens to break me. Perhaps in solidarity, our snow blower,…
The Tricks of the Travel Team Mom
by Esther C. Baird, first published in the Ipswich Local News, January 25, 2023 I’m typing this from the White Whoosh which, as regular readers know, is the name of my minivan. I’ve long written about how it’s merely an extension of myself. Where does Esther end and the Whoosh begin? Some days, it’s hard to tell. …