Those reddish spruce needles you see adorning some mountaintop spruce trees are dead, killed by freezing. They are a flagrant indication that the host tree could not stand the weather. Such…

What are these gnarled formations on this birch branch?

Move your hand to your groin area and trace your inner thigh to where your leg becomes torso. You’ll feel a cord-like muscle there that seems to attach your upper and lower regions together.…

Ever wonder why those Angry Birds on your smartphone app are so mad at those pigs? It’s probably because the pigs are feral. According to estimates by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),…

White nose syndrome, a fungus that attacks bats while they’re hibernating, has been devastating to bats in the Northeast. (Editor’s Note: See our story “Bats on the Brink,”…

Winter can be a lean time for birders. The vast majority of our avian diversity has moved south, and watching the few species that visit our birdfeeders from the comfort of a cozy living room often…

While Vermont’s forest and wetland bird species are generally doing well, a recent survey documented a significant decline of grassland and shrubland birds. The Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas,…

Most gardeners are familiar with what has become known as “the nursery effect,” in which genetically identical plants acquired from different nurseries grow and respond to stress…

One of the most important relationships in the forest is between mycorrhizal fungi, a highly diverse group of soil microbes, and a wide variety of tree and understory plant species. The fungi attach…

Penny Harris of Cambridge, Vermont found this gelatinous ribbon of brown stuff on a log next to some moss. Do you know what it is?

“Government” is a dirty word these days. As the election cycle ramps up, so does the anti-government rhetoric from the Republican candidates for President. Not to be outdone, President…

Spreading salt to make treacherous ice disappear must have seemed brilliant in the early days of its use. Naturally occurring, abundant, and cheap, road salt allows people to get to work on time and…

After a high-water event, there are people who will say that the way to prevent future flooding is to dig out the river channel so it can hold more water and armor plate the banks with riprap. That…

As the landscape settles into winter, one of the things we notice (and likely enjoy) is the virtual absence of insects. As small, cold-blooded creatures, insects cannot stay active at low…

The larvae pictured here may seem a bit out of place on a snowy winter’s day. Who are these guys? We don’t have a video for you, but they were reported to be alive and wriggling when found…

I have a friend who’s in the process of trying to buy a woodstove, and like many of us in this down economy, money’s an issue. The new stoves that sit gleaming on the showroom floors are…

So your tech-savvy child or spouse got you an iPad for Christmas and assured you that this device would change your life. “Thanks,” you said in a drawn-out way, smiling with your mouth…

There was a time when I considered the mourning dove to be too commonplace and familiar to be worthy of much attention. All of this changed one winter when I began to notice that some birds at my…

When hunter Matt Harwood from Shaftsbury, Vermont showed us a drum he’d made from a deer hide, we were struck by the practicality of the endeavor. In talking with him about it, though, it…

There are few symbols of the holiday season more universally recognized than the Christmas tree. Selecting it, chopping it down, trimming it, and placing on the star are traditions anticipated year…