They look like blobs of shiny tar, a melted lollipop, or a crayon left in the sun too long. They come in vivid colors from orange to yellow to white to black to pinkish. They have a disconcerting…

On a crisp, sunny day in September, at the end of what was probably a typical summer for a dragonfly (lots of flying around, killing things, and mating beside a pond), a common green darner took off…

The Center for Northern Woodlands Education (Northern Woodlands) intends to archive reader photos on its website, and may use these images for other purposes in the future. To that end, we want to be…

In the woods behind our house, there’s a pile of cones and gnawed apart bracts – easily two feet deep and twice as wide – built against the trunk of a tall hemlock. We’ve…

Browse a selection of woodlands-related items in our online shop. You can order online, mail in your order with your payment to: Northern Woodlands, PO Box 270, Lyme, New Hampshire 03768, or call…

This item was seen on the snow at the edge of an old field. What is it?

Editors Dave Mance and Patrick White are holed up in their offices this week, working away on final drafts for the Northern Woodlands spring issue. So now seemed a good time to stage a blog coup, and…

According to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, last winter was among the top five coldest on record in Ithaca, New York, when you consider the number of days the temperature…

Yes, foraging can be risky. But most people approach wild foods with unnecessary caution. Foragers are often the subject of anxious looks even when nibbling wild plants that are no more dangerous or…

Ice storm. If you live in northern New England, those words can send a chill up your spine. They portend demolition derbies on the roads, power outages and the ominous cracking sound of limbs breaking…

In the spring of 1976, Bangor, Maine, was preparing for war. Douglas C-54 Skymasters, the same four-engine behemoths used during the Berlin Airlift, sat wing-tip to wingtip on the tarmac of the small…

Every animal must develop its own way of dealing with winter. Migrate, hibernate, or insulate; these are common strategies.  For a few small mammals, survival depends on the snow itself, and the…

On the seventh of December, men stood in the garage and said: “Yep, snow before Pearl Harbor Day; it’s gonna be a good winter.”  Then, armed with electrical cords, blow torches,…

Though they were spotted this fall at the Maine Tree Farm of the Year event at the Hidden Valley Nature Center, these forest pests seem appropriately festive for this time of year. Can you name them…

Why Do Evergreen Needles Look So Different From Deciduous Leaves? Ask anybody to draw a leaf and damn few would draw a pine, spruce, hemlock, or fir needle, and even fewer would draw the green scales…

Walking through a large chain store this past October – at least a week before Halloween – I stumbled upon a display of decorations. Not witches and pumpkins, but trees and bells.…

Tracking appeals to us because we enjoy sorting out nature’s subtle clues – clues that lead us to visualize and appreciate the behavior of different wildlife species. Simple tracks of…

Every year, I eagerly await the winter solstice, which this year falls on December 21. My anticipation is driven not from an affection for winter, but a hunger for sunlight. I want the ever-shrinking…

Why are there stripes on this forest floor following a light dusting of snow?

I went through a wicked dinosaur phase in my pre-teen years, and was convinced that if my future as an NFL quarterback didn’t materialize I’d make a lateral career move and become a…