The Outside Story

In late March or the beginning of April, trembling aspen flowers, like those of the familiar pussy willow, are among the early signs of spring. The gray-green catkins open well before the…

Given an estimated around-the-globe average of 100,000 per cubic meter of soil, it seems astonishing that springtails (the tiny creatures often called “snowfleas”) are frequently…

Like Town Meeting, which coincides roughly with the season’s start, making maple syrup is a perfectly democratic activity. It attracts farmers and loggers, quarrymen and surgeons,…

Everybody knows that New Hampshire and Vermont are different. But few know just how dissimilar the so-called twin states are – they’re different right down to the core. Cross the…

For many, the greatest joy of spring is the return of migratory birds and the chance to observe—from a polite distance, of course—their busy rituals of courtship, nesting, and…