Just about the time that this magazine reaches your mailbox, Northern Woodlands will be hopping the Connecticut River to take up residence in Lyme, New Hampshire. Our nonprofit’s new…

A Primer on Apple Tree Release and Grafting Techniques In the early nineteenth century, John “Johnny Appleseed” Chapman sallied forth from Leominster, Massachusetts, to sell and sow apple…

I have been living with an otter. He’s long and sleek, a graceful swimmer with an insatiable appetite for fish. At first he was just my boy, a chubby little toddler, happy to snuggle and follow…

The Herbs Around Us by Meghan McCarthy McPhaul;  Floodplain Forests: Resurgence of a Long Lost Ecosystem by Tim McKay; A Hayfield Home for Fish by Tom Rogers; Making Paper at the old Groveton…

In folklore and literature, Jack Frost is often portrayed as a mischievous guy, sort of Old Man Winter’s younger self. He’s a personification of everything cold. In our region he’s a…

Strange markings on a red maple tree’s bark. What caused it?

In the old days, when most people were farmers, the deep cold months were spent working wood. Maybe you logged the back 40 for income, maybe you just put up 50 cords to burn in your drafty,…

Eastern cottontail rabbits are frequently described as crepuscular, meaning active at dawn and dusk. The Virtual Nature Trail at Penn State New Kensington, an online site documenting various plant and…

I have been keeping a close watch on my birdfeeders. Not only because I love seeing the juncos and goldfinches that arrive in flocks, and the black-capped chickadees that zip around, and even the blue…

With so many good tracking books already available, you might think that all has been said on the topic. But Linda Spielman’s new addition to the field, A Field Guide to Tracking Mammals in the…

Being fond of plants, I expected to like Anita Sanchez’s new book about Carolus (Karl) Linnaeus. What I hadn’t expected was my emotional reaction – I found myself a bit teary-eyed…

I hope to live long enough to see catamounts come home to the Northeast. Not just one or two mountain lions, mind you, but viable breeding populations that haunt deer, ratcheting their attention,…

Small mammals like squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and voles play a surprisingly significant role in determining the tree composition of most forests. That role is based largely on their choice of which…

Applying salt to snowy roadways is an effective way of melting snow and ice and making driving safer. But what happens when that salty snowmelt runs off into nearby lakes and ponds? It has long been…

What do bear fur, deliquescent mushrooms, wasp nests, antlers, and stones have in common? Yes, these things can all be found in the forests of the Northeast. But more curiously, they’re also all…

While driving down from Isle La Motte in early December, my son and I noticed a fine skim of ice floating down the Alburg Passage. As it collided with the Route 2 bridge supports, it broke into…

The anchors on the early morning television news were discussing Groundhog Day this morning; the weatherman suggesting that the groundhog might see his shadow, the peppy young anchors cheering the…

Thanks to Anne Huntington for sending along this photo. The picture was taken (in Wayne, Maine) after a heavy rain that was followed by a cold snap. What’s going on with this tree?

Your photos this month hewed to landscape and ice scenes, reflecting the stillness and extreme cold that began the year. Flooding and freezing along the Androscoggin created an icy high water line,…

Every winter, as part of a general effort to raise funds for our nonprofit (and amuse ourselves),  we put together a Woods Savvy Quiz: a tricky multiple choice test that refers back to content…