The invitation was irresistible. I was chatting with Dave Small, president of the Athol Bird & Nature Club, who’d just given a winter lecture on moths. The images he’d shared…
Knots and Bolts
The Big Boom: 100 Years on the Upper Hudson
Ernie Brooks got his men out and rolling well before dawn at his Mud Lake lumber camp deep in the Adirondacks. A longtime lumberman from Speculator in Hamilton County, Brooks logged near…
Natural Succession on the Back Acre
In 1984, I bought a two-acre house lot that had been part of a hayfield on a historical farm in Tiverton, Rhode Island. It was located on the narrow coastal plain of Rhode Island’s East…
From Boatbuilder to Furniture Craftsman
Geoff McKonly’s journey as a furniture maker is much like his creations: unconventional. A former boatbuilder, McKonly not only taught himself the fine art of furniture making, but also…
The Varied Diet of Beavers
It is common knowledge that beavers are herbivorous, but the extent of their herbivory is not always appreciated. A beaver’s massive front incisors, along with the muscles attached to…
Taxidermy as a Tool for Conservation
As a child growing up in Miami, Divya Anantharaman didn’t have much exposure to wild animals. Then, her family visited an African mammal diorama at a local natural history museum, and…
Growth of a Fungi Advocate
Photographer Meg Madden grew up in Vermont and learned how to identify trees and the local fauna from her neighbor, a retired agronomy professor who took her on nature walks. When the pandemic…
Malaria Moves North, Infecting Loons
With its striking black-and-white coloration and haunting calls that echo across the water, the common loon is an iconic species of the Northeast. Once widespread and truly…
Fostering Forest Diversity at Tearmunn Hardwoods
From the time he was a small child, Craig Troeger knew he wanted to tend his own land. He bought his first property – 83 acres in Van Buren, Maine – in 1974, at the age of 19.…
Crafting Treasures from Throwaway Wood
After nearly a half century of making finely crafted studio furniture, Hank Gilpin has learned one simple truth: There is no bad wood. The master craftsman has produced more than 4,000 pieces…
Wild Edibles Walk-About in Your Yard
While there are many benefits to buying fresh produce at grocery stores and farmers’ markets, your own yard can also be a source of seasonal and nutritious flowers, fruits, nuts, tubers,…
Recipes with Wild Foods
While conducting wild edibles inventories on properties around western Massachusetts, environmental educator Arianna Alexsandra Collins appreciates the delight of homeowners in discovering…
Wood Ducks Returning
A welcome sign of spring in northern New England and New York is the return of wood ducks to wooded swamps and wetlands. There are seven species of ducks in North America that regularly nest…
A Legacy of Stewardship in the Adirondacks
When the Edwards family closed its four-generation dairy farm in 2001, Kurt and Kristie Edwards turned their attention to the mostly forested property, a few miles away, which has been in…
The Sociable Hermit
“Hey Fred,” said Geoff Dennis over the phone. “I have a tame hermit thrush in my woods that is practically eating out of my hand. Would you like to come over and photograph it?” Oh…
A Forager’s Library
When I was young, I dreamed of apprenticing to a wise elder who could train me in the ways of the wild. Alas, as a child growing up in a Connecticut suburb, I never found such a teacher. But,…
Red-tipped Feathers on Cedar Waxwings
Both cedar and Bohemian waxwings derive their common names from the red, waxy tips of some of their secondary feathers.The color of this wax is due to the presence of the pigment astaxanthin.…
Raptor Dimorphism
Although the largest vertebrate that has ever lived is the female blue whale, in most species of birds and mammals, males are larger than their mates. In birds of prey (hawks, falcons, eagles,…
Seeing the Whole Picture at Jockey Hill Farm
Jockey Hill Farm in Shrewsbury, Vermont has been in the Stout family since 1942. It has been protected by a conservation easement since the early 1990s and been enrolled in Vermont’s…
Like a Walk Through the Woods
Imagine a deck of playing cards that allows you to play a game of gin rummy and also offers an invitation to explore our northern forests and to understand them in a deeper way. David George…