In 1974, Cliff Allard opened Allard Lumber Company, a hardwood sawmill, on the site of his family’s former dairy farm in Brattleboro, Vermont. The outfit was a simple, four-man operation with a…

Tucked into the northeast corner of Connecticut, Steve and Karen Broderick’s 42-acre Town Line Tree Farm straddles the towns of Eastford and Woodstock. The Brodericks purchased this land in…

If there’s a bright side to the lengthy darkness of winter, I’d say it’s the much-expanded opportunity for stargazing. Stars and distant planets glitter in the early morning sky and…

Winter in the Northeast is a time of dormancy for most insects, but you may have noticed an increase of tan-colored moths fluttering around your porch light as the days grow shorter. These may be one…

’Tis the season for balsam fir, the fragrant evergreen that adorns our homes through the winter holidays. Its scent and long lasting needle retention make this the most popular Christmas tree…

Have you noticed the cheery evergreen sprig with pearly berries, currently perched over the doorways of Yankee traditionalists and those desperate to be kissed? That’s common mistletoe (Viscum…

Through the cold and snow of winter, some plants remain evergreen. Here are four we found recently in the woods. What are they?

Your November photos included split milkweed pods and wind-borne seeds, forest plants in fall color, spectacular autumn skies, and the arrival of ice and snow. In Stoddard, New Hampshire, Sue Lichty…

Michael Wojtech remembers being enthralled by the natural world from a young age. But it wasn’t until well into adulthood that he became fascinated, in particular, by trees. A decade after the…

Santa’s reindeer need fuel to pull that sleigh full of toys, and one of their primary winter foods is reindeer lichen, also known as reindeer moss. These are puffy, many-branched, pale green or…

Wooden boat builder and outdoorsman Kevin Martin discussed his new book Big Trees of Northern New England. He shared how he got involved with the Big Tree Program and how it relates to his boat…

Grinning and giggling, my one-year-old son ran across the living room, only to trip over his own feet and faceplant on the carpet. Sometimes, two legs can be too many to coordinate. How, then, do…

Axes and crosscut saws have survived in the American mind as evidence of our utilitarian relationship with forests. Most of the crosscut saws I see today are hung above mantles or serve as a canvas…

The world’s forests are an essential site of carbon sequestration and storage. As nations work to achieve “net zero” emissions in the coming decades, detailed estimates of how much…

Jackie Robidoux captured this great blue heron pair during a late winter snowstorm in Horse Hill Nature Preserve in Merrimack, New Hampshire. A photographer and wildlife rehabilitator, Robidoux has…

Soft drinks are the very model of industrially processed food. No one is surprised that they contain artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners. But people might be surprised that root beer, one of…

On the New England breakfast table, two things reign supreme: coffee and maple syrup. No stack of pancakes would be complete without a cascade of Grade A and a hot cup of joe – but the…

This rust-colored log reminds us of Picasso’s 1910 work, “Girl with a Mandolin.” Assuming that the artist hasn’t reincarnated and begun traipsing around the woods of the Northeast, what…

Forest succession is the process of forest development, a series of stages through which forests progress, each stage following – succeeding – the last. It is tempting to think of…

Roger Damon served more than 48 years on the Mount Washington Volunteer Ski Patrol, but he didn’t know that we would be publishing a photo essay in this issue focused on the Mount Washington…