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• Prairie Warbler
• Snow Flower

  All of us have been waiting to get out and be part of Spring, especially with the long year behind us. This touch of snow in April delayed us a bit, but Spring is never delayed.
• Pandemic Haircut

  With the barber shops closed, our hair got long until I got pretty good with the clippers. Here I am giving my son a cut in the kitchen.
• Senior Class Doors

  It was hard to be a high school senior during the pandemic and to miss out on many memorable traditions. But some new ones started, like decorating the front doors of members of the senior class and putting up lawn signs at Town Hall to celebrate the graduating class. It was great to drive around and see the doors all over time. Here's the one my family made for me.
• Lettering for Love

  During the pandemic these beautiful and inspiring messages appeared all over shop windows in Reading thanks to the #LetteringforLoveProject. by Reading artist Antea Amoroso. This message was in the window at Cupcake City.
• Executive Assistant

  We might have had mixed feelings about setting up temporary work spaces in back rooms but our pets liked having us around. Here's my new Executive Assistant, Mr. Schveezelton, eagerly awaiting a chance to Zoom-bomb my next meeting and, of course, knocking off for lunch.
• The Jab

  Vaccines brought us all hope. Once people aged 12 and up could receive them, we had hope that the 2021-2022 school year would be pretty much back to normal, after a year of studying over Zoom in our bedrooms.
• Friends with Foxes

  A neighbor, Valerie DiRocco Ross, had a family of foxes in her yard at the beginning of the pandemic. She would text me when they were out and let me hang out on her deck taking photos while she and her family made cloth masks and surgical caps for first responders. We also got to know each other by having conversations through her shut sliding door. It was wonderful to make a new friend, to see all that she and her daughters did for first responders, and to feel hope in watching the cycles of nature.
• Daily Art Challenge

  I was challenged to create a piece of art a day. It is hard for me to draw or paint fast, but here are a few of the results. The Tiger, Dog, and Deer are pencil; the apple is watercolor and acrylic, and the reimaged book cover is collage.
• Snowman in April II

  This Patriot's Fan Snowman was built after an April snowstorm. We couldn't resist a photo-op with him on our walk around Reading.
• Snowman in April I

  This Patriot's Fan Snowman was built after an April snowstorm. We couldn't resist a photo-op with him on our walk around Reading.
• Summer Evening Sunset in Reading

  Since the start of the pandemic, I take daily walks or bike rides around Reading. This picture is of a summer evening sunset with incredible clouds and colors that I witnessed on one of my walks.
• All Masked Up for Halloween

  Reference Librarians Eileen Barrett and Susan Beauregard on Halloween Day in the Library.
• Bird Feeding

  This is a photo of my 8-year-old daughter on a very cold windy day in April feeding a chickadee in Topsfield at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary.  My 3 children and their friends were all holding out their hands filled with bird seed with such patience in hopes that a bird would land to eat.  It was magical to watch countless little birds land in their hands to steal a sunflower seed.  This photo captures how important the connection with nature has been for our family during this year.  We found such joy taking our new dog on new walks and hikes in ALL kinds of weather, where we discovered wildlife, from turtles to possums; found heart rocks and wishing rocks; collected pinecones or walking sticks; identified trees, including beech trees where there was evidence that black bears had visited them; found waterfalls or beautiful mountain streams; or discovered evidence that humans once lived there in the form of old foundations, walls, or chimneys.  It was outside, in nature, where we felt comfortable convening with other masked friends and family, and where we made new friends (yes, we even made new friends!).  And it was in nature where we found peace, comfort, and joy, and released some of the anxiety that this year brought.  We have always loved the outdoors, but this year has renewed our connection with the natural world in a way that we know will continue after we have returned to a new normal.  
• Reading Public Library Fishbowl

  Reading Public Library service desks were fitted with plexiglass barriers to protect patrons and staff.
• Reading Public Library Big Return

  As the science and the guidelines changed through the early months of the pandemic, the Reading Public Library first asked folks to hang on to their books, then announced "THE BIG RETURN" in June 2020. We received almost 8,000 items on one day.
• Reading Public Library Curbside Tent

  The Reading Public Library found a way to help folks keep reading! Staff sat outside under a tent throughout the summer of lockdown.
• Reading Public Library Curbside Pickup Crew

  The Reading Public Library staff were inventive and engaged in the community throughout 2020 and 2021. During lockdown, we offered curbside pickup of library materials.
• Reunion

  Every year me and my three best friends from college meet to catch up and relive old times. This year we had to do it virtually. It was still a good time!
• Rays of hope

  This photo was taken at the beginning of the pandemic on a family hike at Mattera Cabin, a place that we frequented as a family throughout the pandemic.
• Super Bowl LV

  Our neighborhood is fiercely committed to staying safe and enjoying each other
• Baking cookies on a quarantined afternoon

  During the pandemic, since my other activities were canceled, I took on a new hobby of baking. I made everything from cakes to pies to pudding. However, my absolute favorite sweet treats to make and enjoy are chocolate chip cookies. They are ooey, gooey and delicious, and always remind me of the comfort of family. Without making cookies every single day, I have no idea how I could have gotten through all of the new and unknown we have faced in the past year.
• Hiking Flume Gorge

  Mom wanted to hike the Flume for so long but hockey, cheer, figure skating and work always prevailed. The pandemic allowed us the free time to finally get to it!
• Lasagna love

  This fresh from the oven lasagna is on its way to brighten the day of someone local, courtesy of Lasagna Love. Lasagna Love is a nationwide kindness movement started in the early days of the pandemic.
• Hello Barrows!

  This is a picture of my three children looking at signs and messages hung by the Barrows teachers & staff. This particular photo shows messages in the library windows left by Ms. Pappa & Ms. Hill.
• The family that learned to ski during Covid

  Michael Tezak, MJ Warner and Anne Tezak. In this photo they are at the top of killington mountain. This marks the beginning of Covid. The day before we were put into lock down.
• The walk

  Three friends enjoy a brisk walk on a crisp winter afternoon at Horn Pond. One cannily wonder about the conversation.
• The conversation

  Two friends share a walk deep in the Reading Town Forest after a brief shower
• Tday light on guests

  We usually celebrate Thanksgiving with extended family at my cousin's great big house so that all 40+ of us fit. Since it wasn't safe to travel to Pittsburgh this year, we celebrated at home, just the 3 of us. We wanted to get into the spirit, but couldn't justify a whole turkey for so few of us so...we improvised.
• Snowman pitching snowballs

  Creative Summer Ave. Reading resident lightening up pandemic confinement and sharing moment with residents driving or walking by.
• Prayer banners in front of First Congregational Church of Reading

  These prayer banners were handmade by members of the First Congregational Church of Reading and waved in the wind in front of our church, featuring sentiments of hope and love.
• Reflecting on white privilege and peaceful protest

  Like many parts of the country, Reading held a peaceful protest against police brutality and a Rally for Racial Justice program to call out the death of George Floyd and so many others. As a white person, I reflected on my place at this Rally and in social justice work. I work to acknowledge the privileges my skin color affords me. Though the Rally wasn't a source of "peace" during the pandemic, it brought some tiny relieft to be doing SOMETHING. So to remind myself, my t-shirt can only be read by looking in the mirror, as a way to remind MYSELF, "Understanding White Privilege is an Ongoing Process. Keep Studying."
• Reading Town Forest, look up

  I'm sure I'm not the only person to have taken this photo. The Reading Town Forest was one of my favorite place, even before quarantine, but it was somehow even more magical in 2020. Having an beautiful, "safe" place to be out of the house meant a lot.
• Reading women hockey players remembering those passing away from cancer

  Burbank Ice Arena, Reading, MA
• Pandemic gray

  Like so many of my friends, I really missed seeing my stylist for my monthly haircut once the salons closed down, but I decided this was the perfect time to grow out my natural gray hair. The New Yorker even did a story about it. (Mead, Rebecca. "The Unexpected Beauty of COVID Hair." New Yorker, 4 June 2021.) Even though mine is still a "work in progress," I was thrilled to see Stacey at Blush again and love the new 'do she gave me!
• Ice skating at Sturges Park

  In January 2021 driving by Sturges Park, I thought what a great way for families to go outside and get fresh air and enjoy ice skating during this difficult time.
• RMHS graduation 2021

  What a difference a year makes! On a beautiful hot summer evening, we attended our Grandkids (Twins) Graduation from R.M.H.S. A new beginning for all of us to celebrate.
• My garden

  Because of the pandemic, I found being on my hands and knees with my buddies, bees, worms, baby toads, birds and, not to forget, my flowers - a very good escape from what was happening in this crazy world.
• Reading's peaceful protest supporting BLM

  This is a collage of a historic event that happened on June 6, 2020 in support of Black Lives Matter. The speeches were excellent and inspiring!
• McFarland parade

  Reading Town parade welcoming home Lt. Alex McFarland from his tour of duty in the Middle East with a surprise parade.
• Lining up to receive face masks

  Reading Citizens Receiving COVID-19 Face Masks
• Limpy checking for his mail

  Limpy was a wild turkey who "lived" in a nest on Prescott Street near the Fire Station. He frequented our Commuter Rail station in his daily travels. Unfortunately, Limpy lost his life in an automobile accident.
• Light the Night for Leukemia Lymphoma Foundation

  Linda Snow Dockser
• Jurassic gardening

  We live on a corner and have lots of "little people" passers by. This gives me justification to fairy-up the garden, despite my teenage daughter having outgrown it. Last summer allowed for ample garden-fussing time, as well as interactions with the little neighbors who we'd normally miss while away at work.
• Jakob's SUV

  Reading Memorial High School's Senior Spirit Parade
• Hybrid Passover seder 2021

  On March 27, 2021, Passover fell for the second time during the pandemic. Our extended family still could not gather all together in person so we went hybrid. We adapted and shared a 'google doc' Haggadah, dropped off Passover specialties, and gathered in families. The vaccinated grandparents were able to join us at our Seder Table. We all gathered via zoom, praying that next year, we will all meet around the Seder Table in person.
• Grammy Barbara and Grampa Eddie

  This is a photo of Grammy Barbara for whom Grammy Barbara's Team is dedicated. Leukemia stole her on September 2, 2007 after an agonizing 3 month battle. No pandemic was going to deny us the opportunity to fundraise and add to her legacy of protecting others from the cruel disease that took her. Ed Snow, her loving husband of 54 years is by her side in this picture.
• Grammy Barbara's team Lights the Night for Leukemia Lymphoma fundraising

  Last year, the Leukemia Lymphoma Foundation's Light the Night Walk had to happen virtually due to the continuing pandemic. These pictures are of my dad and me celebrating alongside our monitor which broadcast the fundraising results with Grammy Barbara's Team announced as top fundraiser for the North Shore. Grammy Barbara was our beloved mom and grandmother. We have been walking to fundraise since her death in September 2007. This year we couldn't walk in person, so we walked virtually...
• Mail in presidential ballots!

  The exciting moment of dropping our mail in ballots at Town Hall!
• The big boardwalk

  In the early days of the COVID shutdown, my family spent a lot more time than we had before going to the Reading Town Forest and exploring the paths and trails. My two boys, Phineas and Rory, absolutely love the long boardwalk in the middle of the forest.
• Pandemic promise and peace through Kundalini yoga

  Although this photo is dated May 2021--toward the end of the pandemic but before full restrictions were lifted in Massachusetts--my daily two hours of Kundalini Yoga practice were a huge part of what sustained my equilibrium during the entire course of the pandemic. Breathwork, music, yoga, and meditation helped me stay simultaneously grounded and elevated through four and a half months of furlough and other challenging personal, family, and global circumstances.
• Autumn Oak Leaf

  Even though I returned to work in August after four and a half months on furlough because of COVID-19, our family still carved out time through the autumn days of 2020 to walk in the Reading Town Forest, which we had come to know so well--better, in fact, in these pandemic months than during our previous thirty-five years living in Reading. So, if there were any silver linings to the pandemic, getting to appreciate our town's forest more deeply was one.
• Marshall Point, St. George, Maine

  Though we still wore masks and social distanced, it did feel normal to continue our annual summer pilgrimage to Maine to visit with family and take in the beauty of favorite childhood coastal haunts.
• Clethra blooming in the Reading Town Forest

  Our family spent many hours in the Reading Town Forest during 2020. It was a real touchstone for us to get out of the house together and enjoy nature. We often expressed our appreciation for the town leaders who set aside this unique tract of land and to those who maintain its trails, boardwalks, signage, and other unobtrusive amenities that make it so walkable. This photo was taken from one of the boardwalks. It is of the fragrant Clethra plant, also called Summersweet. Indeed, each bush was humming with bees and other pollinators.
• Crane Beach, Ipswich

  Since our favorite Gloucester beaches were closed to nonresidents because of the pandemic, we joined Trustees of the Reservations and throughout spring and summer enjoyed the glorious wide expanses of sand, sea, and sky at Crane Beach. You can see in the photo that people were observing required spacing between parties. Almost everyone wore masks when unable to social distance, and people were quite civil toward each other. Not only did our beach outings give our family a sense of peace but also of community: we're all in this together.
• Forsythia in snow

  Six days after Easter 2020 it snowed. This is what our backyard forsythia looked like. Thankfully the forsythia bush, the early rhododendron in full bloom, and other beautiful spring flowers bounced back, once again giving us hope--as well as admiration at their persistence and stamina.
• Easter hope

  We and our relatives from Maine to Pennsylvania photo-blitzed each other with pictures of spring flowers and buds on Easter 2020, finding comfort in the fact that nature was bursting forth, just like always, even if we were unable to be with loved ones in person. At that point, we knew so little about the pandemic, what the world faced in the weeks and months ahead, and what if anything could be done to stop the virus. This is one of those photos, of an early rhododendron in our backyard.
• Resplendent daffodil

  Nothing says spring and renewal like a daffodil. Daffodils and narcissus had been coming up in our yard for years (ever since we planted bulbs for a Reading Memorial High School marching band fundraiser) and will likely do so for many years to come, pandemic or no pandemic. This picture was taken on Easter Sunday 2020.
• Slithering snakes in spring sunlight

  The Reading Town Forest was one of our family's go-to places during the pandemic. This early April 2020 photo shows a tangle of snakes squirming in the warming sun. Scenes like this reminded me that although humans were frightened of the unknown virus sweeping across continents, many creatures were unaware, unaffected, and going about their business as they have for centuries or millennia.
• Pandemic promise and peace at Spot Pond

  My husband took this photo in early April 2020, less than two weeks after the bookstore where I work shut its doors because of statewide pandemic regulations. Our family frequently took walks along Spot Pond during the pandemic. We found it comforting to tread familiar paths and see bit by bit the stirrings of spring and to enjoy sunlight sparkling on the surface of the water.
• Frost feathers on the Aberjona

  These frost feathers formed on the frozen surface of the Aberjona River, where it passes through the Maillet Conservation Area in the middle of Reading. I came across them on one of my early-morning walks, which I started during the pandemic.
• My sweet Gabriel

  My niece had a pandemic baby on June 10, 2020. She went to all of her doctor's appointments alone once the lockdown hit. When it came time for her c-section, my nephew was allowed in for the birth. Once he left the hospital he wasn't allowed back in. He left the hospital that night because they had a three year old at home. It was a very emotional and lonely time for everyone involved.
• Stop the spread

  Everyone doing their part to stop the spread.
• Michael and Hannah's wedding day

  This is a photo of the wedding day of Michael Thurnauer and Hannah Shefsky. After having to cancel their wedding plans in Evanston, Chicago because of the Coronavirus Pandemic, they planned a very sweet wedding on the front steps of Michael's Thurnauer's Family home in Reading. With just a few family and friends present but with others present through the technology of Zoom, (notice the multiple cell phones placed to record and share the ceremony) beautiful heartfelt readings, wishes, love, vows and congratulations were shared.
• "Hang in there!"

  I made this quilted banner to hang on my front door on Belmont Street in the early days of the pandemic, to encourage both my neighbors and myself to stay hopeful and resolute.It hung there for many months!
• Garden appreciation rocks

  We discovered paint pens, during quarantine. We used them to decorate a bunch of things including a whole bunch of "conversation rocks." I found it very cathartic to paint these flower rocks and had a whole bouquet by the time the weather warmed up. I had thought to put them in my garden, but then, as I started going for walks more frequently and enjoying the incredible flower gardens my neighbors were cultivating, I had the idea to show my appreciation with a guerilla flower rock placement campaign. I suppose the secret will be out now for any neighbors who see this post, but it was so nice to have a small way to say thank you. What's also thrilling is that many of my flower rocks are still where I placed them, almost a year later! :)
• Firefighter award winners

  Reading Firefighters were awarded state firefighter citations by Massachusetts Fire Marshall Peter Ostroskey for their work in putting out a very dangerous fire in the early morning hours at a High Street apartment complex in February of last year. The pandemic forced a delay in public recognition of their courageous efforts in saving lives and quelling the fire.
• Fiona and pups

  Our guinea pig Fiona gave birth to four healthy pups on March 13. This picture captures her with her babies.
• Merilyn's 100th birthday parade!

  In this photo, Joan and Joe Kingston drive slowly down the road along with a parade of others in celebration of First Congregational Church of Reading congregation member, Merilyn Russell.
• Drive-by food drive

  Volunteers at First Church of Reading organized a food drive outside the church! People were invited to drop off food for the community at tables on the lawn.
• Cooper

  This past year has highlighted how vital love and connection are to human beings. When we were no longer able to hug our parents and loved ones, see our friends, or get within six feet of our neighbors, my dog became my lifeline. I know it might seem silly, but having his companionship while I work alone from my home all day has eased the pain of isolation that I, and so many others, are feeling. I will always look back on this time, knowing Cooper helped me through!
• Climate control campaigners

  Reading citizens supporting legislation to reduce the impact of global warming
• Black Lives Matter

  On June 4th 2020 hundreds of residents gathered at Reading Town Common to peacefully protest the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police.
• Black Lives Matter

  Reading citizens along with concerned citizens of other communities parade for raising awareness that we are all equal and must redouble our efforts to improve race equality, especially people of color.
• Rhapsody in blue

  During the pandemic, I spent a lot of time in a family cottage; it was someplace I could go for a change of scenery and from where I could "work from home" while my office was closed. A pair of bluebirds took up residence in the yard and raised two broods; it was a delight to watch them take food to the nest then bring their fledglings to the feeder. I stopped by one day in the winter and saw that they had overwintered in my yard, and I was able to snap this shot of them. Bluebirds are a symbol of happiness. Watching these carry on also reminded me that we will return to normalcy, or adapt better to our "new normal."
• 2-Dimensional guests

  We have at least one annual holiday party every year and were so sad to have to cancel in 2020. We did our best to dress up the characters who live in the house year-round in the ways that our guests normally might have...
• Peace

  While living in quarantine.... getting out into nature and taking nourishment with family. Enjoying the peace of the woods brings hope!!
• Olde Redding Express

  Volunteers gathered for the Olde Redding Express - an annual faire that was adapted this year to be Covid safe. The outdoor express faire had a number of parts that people could participate in from ordering a meal to take home to purchasing different goodies. Here volunteers organize flowers for people to pick up as they come by.
• Ye Olde Redding Express

  Betsy and Jim stand behind the check out table at the pandemic adapted Annual Olde Redding Faire. This event is usually a large Faire throughout the entire church for the entire community to enjoy. In 2020 it became a smaller outdoor market where people could stop by for a moment to say hello socially distanced.
• Covid girls

  I brought little Tessa the Maltese (right) home from just outside Reading, Pennsylvania five days before the Mass. lockdown. I'd found her older sister Teddie (left) five months earlier, and wanted her to have a sibling, so got her actual sister (same parents.). Tess was born at just the right time and grew throughout the lockdown, making every day joyful, despite Covid. These little girls, and my older pug, were my constant companions who gave me routine, laughter, love and joy while handling the online teaching, fear for family, friends and our community, and isolation. Because of the pandemic I was able to be home with my puppies for most of their puppyhood. They are spoiled rotten and loved beyond belief, though we are still working on Tessa's socialization issues! I will never forget how much joy Tess and Teddie gave me during this difficult year, and treasure these pups every day. This photo is not excellent quality, but really shows their personalities, relationship and lovable natures.