Knots and Bolts

“It just looks like grass.” I’ve heard this many times from non-botanists after I’ve pointed out some subtle plant. Indeed, many flowering plants blend in readily with…

As spring arrives, we revel in the budding out of plants and trees and the emergence of insects, birds, and animals. The lengthening days awaken many species, and added warmth contributes to…

When Walter Kersch saw the sign announcing “400 acres for sale” across from his driveway back in 1971, he worried about what would happen if someone purchased the property and…

Pickerel frogs emerge early in spring from their muddy, pond-bottom hibernacula. They mate in April and May in the Northeast, and males call to attract females for four to six weeks. The calls…

A black bear emerges from her den in the early days of spring. The snow has melted in Vermont’s Green Mountains and percolated through the soil layers to become groundwater. The…

In winter, porcupines seek out ready-made dens, such as this tree cavity. (Porcupines are one of several wildlife species – from invertebrates and salamanders to birds and other mammals…

In previous issues, we have explained the origins of scientific names behind pine and spruce species. Here, we offer a look behind the monikers of balsam fir, eastern hemlock, and eastern…

It rained overnight. A morning walk along the well-worn path in the family’s woodlot is not crunchy and soothing, as it is on many fall mornings. Today it’s a bit sodden, with the…

Ralph DiCosimo never imagined he’d move so far north. He spent his childhood in an apartment in the Bronx, and another two decades on a suburban lot on Long Island, but he always dreamed…

The 450-acre Hall Tavern Farm sits along the bank of the Deerfield River in Franklin County, Massachusetts. Jay Healy, whose family has owned the property since the early 1900s, has managed…

During early and mid-autumn, eastern chipmunks are busy gathering nuts, seeds, and fungi to store for winter. Their cheek pouches can stretch to hold as much as 70 sunflower seeds, 32…

Picea is the classic Latin name for a conifer that produces a resinous material; the Latin term is probably derived from the Greek word for pitch, pissa. In the 1700s, several botanists used…

The American woodcock is a favorite of bird enthusiasts and hunters alike, delighting people with its quirky walking style, bug-eyed appearance, spectacular aerial courtship displays, and…

No flower can last forever. Indeed, most seem to last only a few days – or hours! – and leave us wanting for something less transient. The more delicate the bloom, the more…

One of the common setups in science fiction is that of an extraterrestrial life-form laying eggs in people who serve as involuntary hosts. Eventually, alien babies burst forth to continue the…

The New England – Acadian Forest ecoregion covers most of Maritime Canada, a slice of eastern Quebec, northern New England, and the Adirondack Mountains. Each conifer species in this…

Painted turtles (like all reptiles) are ectothermic, or cold-blooded, and basking in the sun helps them warm up. Also, leeches and algae that attach to them as they swim dry up and fall off,…

Ruth Cutler’s property in Ashford, Connecticut, has been in the family for nearly 100 years. Her grandfather purchased the original 127 acres in 1927, and the family has called it…

Botanically curious people often ask me, “How do you tell a sedge from a grass?” Many have heard that “sedges have edges,” but distinguishing grasses from sedges is…