This Month's Features

An uphill climb can transport you from an Amazon-like jungle to an alpine woodland. Dry stretches of forest and pockets of verdant wetlands lie in the shadow of volcanoes.

Ideally, people would have long-term friends they can comfortably rely on not only for social friendship, but to assist them in time of need, especially when it comes to health emergencies.

In 1733, a Quaker named Amos Janney settled in an isolated corner of Virginia and built grist and saw mills beside a narrow creek. About a decade later, a group of German immigrants established a community in Maryland that became a resting place for pioneers driving wagon trains to the West.

David Davis remembers that November 1963 weekend as clearly as if it happened last month. “I remember everything,” said Davis, 60, of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the events that followed.

Whether from the deck or the sliding glass door in my cabin, there was always something to see, from steep vineyard hills and medieval castles to industrial plants.

Gone are the days when you’d need your own carpenter to install an access ramp to help someone with impaired mobility get up your steps.

Mention Chincoteague Island, Virginia, and you’re likely to be asked, “Isn’t that where those ponies are?” The answer is “yes.”

While the family-run businesses that give New England much of its identity have become less the norm, those that remain have preserved a way of life where everyone knows your name — or face.

I stood frozen with fear as the terrifying image drew closer, his curved sword swinging wildly. Just as he seemed about to separate my head and body, I snapped back to reality.

There were 2,541 new foreclosure filings in Massachusetts in July, according to www.RealtyTrac.com, a website that tracks foreclosed properties nationwide.