The Spruce Budworm Returns, A Primer on Plant Signatures, Weaving History (and Ash), French Forestry, Salvaging Sunken Wood, Neat Things About Needles, and much more

As you put together a dinner plan for this Thanksgiving, perhaps you're looking for something to add a little variety to the traditional holiday meal, or ways to eat healthy food while supporting…

Wood-splitting is a rural pastime rooted in tradition and experience – experience that’s often measured in broken axe handles and creative curses directed at knotty chunks of cordwood.…

It may be tough to believe after this past year, but it appears that winters are getting shorter and shorter. By studying the growth cycle of vegetation at daily intervals, a team of British…

Since 2010, many white pine trees in northern New England have become infected with one of several fungal diseases that have caused yellow and brown discoloration of one year old needles, particularly…

By late October, with the summer birds long gone, I find myself growing ever more appreciative of the birds that stick around, including wild turkeys. With their leathery necks and odd gaits, they are…

When Maine zoned two percent of the northern part of the state as deer wintering areas in the 1970s, its goal was to provide habitat that would increase deer density to 10 animals per square mile. But…

Bruce Connor of New York sent along a photo of this “large growth by the leaf pile,” noting that the multi-tool included for reference is 6 inches long. What is it?

Vermont's deer rifle season opens Saturday, which means our editor was distracted all week at work before finally disappearing Thursday night. Why the early start? This essay from 2009 attempts to…

This time of year, squirrels and chipmunks are rushing to fill their winter larders with seeds and nuts, often loudly squabbling with each other. It’s harvest time in the woods, and not just for…

In Alaska and the more open terrain of northwestern alpine meadows and muskeg habitats, a rutting bull will flash and flag his massive antlers like “social semaphores,” as described by…

There’s something in us that can’t help but be impressed by an old tree. Perhaps we’re simply in awe of something that has outlived generations of humans and will outlive us. We…

The lab (okay, garage) here at Northern Woodlands was the scene last week of some high-tech testing. Using the latest in scientific hardware – a small glass vial purchased on Amazon for $12.54…

Tracker Lynn Levine sent along this neat shot. She knows what made the tracks, do you?

Approximately 8,000 years ago, a period of global warming called the Hypsithermal Interval stimulated timber rattlesnakes to move north from the vicinity of Long Island. They followed river corridors…

When you find a bird feather in the woods and stoop to pick it up, does your mom’s voice echo in your brain? Can you hear her say, birds have lice, don’t pick that up? Mom was mostly…

At first, Beverly Kaiser and her husband Phillip were pleased when a father-and-son logging team stopped by their house in Washington, Vermont, in late August 2008. Ken Bacon Sr. and Jr. of Barton,…

Autumn is coming to a close. The brilliant fall foliage is past peak, if not already layered in the compost bin. The last geese are honking their way toward winter homes. Predictions are proffered…

This small black patch was seen on the forest floor in early October in southern Vermont. What is it, and what helped cause it?

As I write this I’m listening to a tractor trailer back up to the office; it’s here to deliver the first shipment of our new seasonal nature calendars. I have a sample on my desk, and at…