The Outside Story

Earlier this winter, I took to the pond ice – not to skate, but to peek below the surface. Although lake ecologists once considered the plankton in frozen lakes to be dormant during…

A few weeks ago, I noticed a dark, football-shaped shadow skulking quietly among the stems of honeysuckle and lilac by our driveway. I was throwing seeds to the blue jays that wait for it in…

During winter, I catch glimpses of crows as they fly swiftly over our valley, cawing, or gather in small groups to feed on roadkill along the highway. Sometimes I find their wandering tracks…

I was settling in to answer a few emails when I heard, “Dad, some huge bug just flew into the lamp shade!” As the designated bug catch-and-releaser, I pressed into action. A…

Were it not for compelling evidence to the contrary, I’d believe I descended from birds – migratory birds in particular. So familiar to me are the urges and behaviors of migratory…

Winter is a far cry from being prime mushroom hunting season. Most fungi stop producing mushrooms, or fruiting bodies, in early autumn, and their hyphae (filamentous structures that are the…

On winter mornings, I often venture outside to photograph the assembly of birds that visit the feeders in my front yard. One of the regular visitors is the diminutive downy woodpecker…

Legend says a stake through the heart will kill a vampire. But it’s a bit more complicated if you’re plagued – as moose can be – by tens of thousands of tiny…

Here’s a quiz for Harry Potter fans: What kind of owl played Hedwig in the movies? If you guessed a snowy owl, you’re correct. With their bright yellow eyes, bulky-looking bodies,…

In November, I was making soup to stock the freezer when I looked out my kitchen window and spotted a red squirrel rustling through the leaves in search of acorns. Both of us were preparing…

Most winters, the dark-eyed junco is one of the most common birds at my feeder. While I rarely see juncos in summer, except when hiking in the mountains, small flocks of juncos typically…

As I stroll through the cemetery near my home on a snowy day, splashes of golden orange, bright as daylilies in July, pop from the gray stones. These patches are elegant sunburst lichens,…

Wilson Bentley (1865-1931) lived his entire life in Jericho, Vermont, where he developed a passion for snowflakes at an early age. He started by collecting snowflakes and trying to create…

Every year my husband and I cut a Christmas tree on family land. We look for a young balsam fir growing in the power line right-of-way or in a forest clearing. Fir is our favorite type of…

Come winter, after the bears have retreated to their cold weather dens, many backyard bird enthusiasts hang feeders to attract – and nourish – avian visitors. Birds need more than…

“Shhh,” I tell my 5-year-old son, “there are animals sleeping, right under our feet.” He presses his ear against the frozen ground, hoping to hear the slow, sleepy…

What do the following items have in common: the Declaration of Independence, Da Vinci’s notebooks, Bach’s musical scores, Rembrandt’s drawings, Shakespeare’s plays, and…

As we stroll down a forest trail, we pass trees of all types and sizes, with red and orange and brown leaves strewn below, a riot of ferns fading to yellow, and intermittent moss-covered…

Years ago, I visited two Vermont caves in winter to help biologists count hibernating bats. After descending through a hole into the first cave, I immediately noticed that it was much warmer…

My German mother was a highly superstitious soul, especially when it came to the natural world. Case in point, one day a “fairy ring” of mushrooms appeared in our yard. My mother…