The Outside Story

Inside our homes lives a collection of wildlife that is about as wild as life gets. Most of us are aware of the bigger stuff that wants to move in with us – pigeons, snakes, mice,…

In the English language, someone who overeats is called a “pig”; a coward gets labeled a “chicken.” If you raise pigs or chickens, you know that these barnyard associations are deftly…

Our lawn is a scruffy assortment of grasses and weeds that receives zero care apart from mowing. The beleaguered grass struggles in the face of competition. However, green grass persists in…

“I kind of thought it was a tornado,” the woman said, her disappointment apparent, “but they said it was straight-line winds or something.” This was from a newspaper article earlier…

The edges between field and forest are obvious places to search for wildlife, but the transition within a forest – between softwood and hardwood stands – can be equally alive. This…

A female mosquito buzzes in the waning light of a late-summer evening. A week ago, she bit a robin at a bird bath, drawing a proboscis full of blood to help create her eggs. The bird’s…

The ethical debates between vegetarians and meat-eaters aren’t likely to be resolved anytime soon. But there’s a new twist to the vegetarian argument that bears examination: the suggestion…

Flyfishing from a canoe in a small headwater pond at the tippity-top of the Connecticut River is usually a quiet experience. That’s why the sudden splash caused me to turn my head just in…

It’s late afternoon on a dog day of summer, and you’ve just finished a joyful canoe ride along the banks of a big pond shaded by hills and trees. Now it’s time to pull the Old Town from…

Darting through the air while twittering in constant conversation, chimney swifts are a cheering presence over many cities and towns. True to their name, which comes from the Old English…

“Rats with wings,” says Marsha, a student in my field ornithology class, when I point to a pigeon flying overhead. “Pigeons are very interesting birds,” I respond,…

There’s an artificial quality to a red pine plantation that you don’t find elsewhere in Vermont and New Hampshire, a vibe that stems from the fact that all the trees were put…

People most often climb New England’s high mountains seeking grand views from their treeless summits. But even on the cloudiest days, when the big views are obscured, there are exquisite…

One day in the next few weeks, you may be walking through a field on a sunny day. You may see a tiny blue butterfly, with wings the size of thumbnails, flitting over the meadowsweet. If you…

There has been a lot of bad buzz about bee populations lately, mostly about the decline of European honeybees that are used across North America to help pollinate everything from California…

Two months ago a predictable eruption began on the lawn surrounding our house. Rough clumps of rich, dark subsoil appeared upon the still barren ground. “Those **@#$&%** moles again,”…

You can’t shake a stick in New England these days without hitting someone in the energy field who wants to talk biomass. But what exactly is biomass? And is it a green source of energy?…

City dwellers and puddles don’t mix; we country folk are more tolerant. In wet weather we drive through one muddy morass after the next, uttering unprintable words, yet few of us would…

Our abnormally early spring caught many by surprise. Take, for instance, Gary Pelton, who manages natural resources for the Army Corps of Engineers at flood control dams on the upper…

Early May is a gut-wrenching time for those of us who love ash. The trees take their time leafing out, appearing stone-cold dead for weeks after the maples have flowered and put on their fine…