Knots and Bolts

“If I was queen for a day, there wouldn’t be separation of terrestrial and wetland conservation,” said University of Maine’s Aram Calhoun, a dogged vernal pool advocate…

As the year turns toward spring, some of the earliest flowers on the landscape are pussy willows (Salix discolor). These fuzzy catkins are a happy sight, but more important, as a designer of…

There’s a new invasive in the Northeast, with the potential to spread rapidly in fields and forest clearings. Mile-a-minute weed (Persicaria perfoliata) is an annual vine that lives up…

In the Northeast, if you don’t live on the coast or in one of a few inland locations where double-crested cormorants breed, you will probably only see these large birds as they pass…

For such a tiny creature, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) can cause a remarkable amount of devastation. This non-native, aphidlike insect sucks the nutrients out of hemlock trees, and –…

The horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), so named for its tiny feather tufts resembling miniature devil horns, is the only true lark species native to North America. These birds nest on…

At Hoffman Evergreen Preserve in Stonington, Connecticut, southern trees are growing in forest clearings. Where dense stands of hemlock once shadowed the ground, the terminal buds of loblolly…

There is nothing that can match the feeling of being on a mountain summit, standing on what seems like the top of the world. Here – with peaks and valleys stretching into forever –…

For an owl, choosing the perfect place to nest is a balancing act. It’s not just about finding a hole in a tree or the side of a barn. The entry must be big enough to let the owl and its…

The yellow orange fly agaric (Amanita muscaria var. formosa) is common in the Northeast, especially where conifers grow. While this mushroom is often a bright red color in much of its range…

Arborist Fred Breglia has a lifelong fascination with big trees. As a child, he often heard his mother speak about a great oak tree near their home in the Catskill Mountains. When he was old…

For those of us who worry about the decline of monarch butterflies, milkweed species have special status as the butterflies’ obligate larval hosts. Early autumn – as the pods of…

During the summer, in addition to stocking five cords of firewood for the colder months, I spent time preparing for an autumn moose hunt in the forest of northern Maine. My hunting companion…

Beech bark disease, a complex ailment involving a scale insect and two species of Nectria fungi, arrived in North America more than a century ago. The disease complex kills large beech trees,…

I love a good treasure hunt. I’m not talking about a quest to find buried gold, but the dip and pull of my ponding net. I delight in each search and sort, finding gems such as green…

For wood sculptor Danielle Rose Byrd, the creative process is much like a conversation, an intuitive back-and-forth with the block of wood she will carve into a work of art. She considers the…

Young ospreys usually remain at or near their nest for at least 10 days after they can fly, and their parents continue to bring fish to them. When the young are roughly 3 months old, their…

When you see an unfamiliar bird, do you reach for a book … or your smartphone? For many of us, it’s the latter. There’s a profusion of bird-identification apps available,…

Dewy Meadows Farm in northeastern Pennsylvania has experienced many changes during the past two centuries. One constant, however, is the Dewing family, which has owned this 500-acre parcel…