There’s something about the angle of light on early spring days in Vermont, when the snow cover is almost gone, and the sun shines through the stark canopy right down to the forest floor. The…
Art Review: Viiu Niiler
Viiu Niiler of Marshfield, Vermont, is the consummate artist: a lifelong painter, glassmaker, tapestry weaver, fashion designer, gourmet cook, master gardener, and musician. Considered a kind of…
How to Remove a Stubborn Axe Handle
Tips & Tricks for Hanging an Axe, Part 1
Sitting on the passenger’s side floor of my pickup are three broken axes/mauls, all succumbed to the same fate by excited friends and neighbors who had “wooded” and snapped their…
Picking Fiddleheads
The moon not yet up, we forage in near darkness, out back in the woods, the wet spot to the north, where they grow in clumps, bunched like fists, and push their first wound heads through earth in…
Managing Woody Invasive Plants
The short video above explains how to use a Buckthorn Blaster to control invasive plants. As our forests awaken from a long winter, some plants green-up sooner than others. While many of our native…
The Splendor of Birdsong
From the first harsh (but oh-so-welcome) kong-ga-ree of a red-winged blackbird as early as late February, to the complex and voluptuous harmonic of a wood thrush in mid-May, our northern forest…
Widening the Circle: How Three Summer Camps Are Introducing More Children to the Outdoors
It’s a hot, humid August morning in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, the kind that usually yields thunder and lightning by day’s end. But at nearby Buck Lake – just 700 feet higher in the…
1,000 Words
Mainly nocturnal and amazingly well camouflaged, eastern screech-owls can be very difficult to spot. Weighing a mere 4 to 8 ounces, these short, stocky owls often roost in tree cavities. Photographer…
Editor’s Note
At the small-town middle school I attended, all students were required to take woodshop and home economics in 4th grade. I didn’t really take to sewing, but working with wood and learning to use…
From the Center
In my home state of Vermont, annual Town Meeting Day takes place at the chilly edge of spring. Vermonters rightly take pride in the usual civility of these events. That said, early March can be a…
Crafting Treasures from Throwaway Wood
After nearly a half century of making finely crafted studio furniture, Hank Gilpin has learned one simple truth: There is no bad wood. The master craftsman has produced more than 4,000 pieces of…
Wild Edibles Walk-About in Your Yard
While there are many benefits to buying fresh produce at grocery stores and farmers’ markets, your own yard can also be a source of seasonal and nutritious flowers, fruits, nuts, tubers, and…