The fleeting interval between late-April and mid-May, after the snow has melted yet before the canopy of leaves overhead is fully deployed, is when many of our native woodland flowers,…

Horsetails and scouring rushes are among the commonest plants around, especially noticeable early in spring when the evergreen species among this group stand out against an otherwise mostly brown…

Back when we started Northern Woodlands (as Vermont Woodlands in 1994), we hardly knew what we were getting in for as far as the business end of it goes. If you had told me I would be going to trade…

Here are some ways to get rid of dandelions: spraying 2,4-D (an herbicide, banned in several countries for its health risks, but not in the U.S.); pulling up by hand; mowing the flowers before they…

To wildlife biologists, the benefits of maintaining healthy riparian buffers are self-evident. But to most people, these terms are obscure. Riparian comes from the Latin riparius, meaning…

It might seem odd that a person would really and truly enjoy Green-up day. Around here, it’s on the first Saturday in May that people don gloves and walk the roads to pick up the assorted and…

Roadside carrion is a sure sign of spring, and when I saw a raccoon shuffling along the shoulder of the interstate highway in full daylight today, I wondered about its prospects for longevity. After a…

It’s always a treat when one of your alumni makes good. That’s how I felt when I just read a glowing review of Catherine Tudish’s new novel, American Cream. Catherine worked at…

And now, a few words on a topic that might have slipped your mind: your septic system. Despite the temptation to treat your septic system as “out of sight, out of mind,” you need to pay…

In 1848, workers constructing the railroad line from Bellows Falls to Rutland, Vermont, found the remains of a mastodon buried 11 feet deep in a Mount Holly bog. One tusk was nearly eight feet long.…

A few Saturdays ago, I attended the third annual Vermont Town Forest Project summit. It was held in Hinesburg, Vermont, a town that lies about half in the rising, forested slopes of the Green…

Veterinarians pay attention to it. So do animal trackers. If you own a pet, you are probably paying attention, too, because you have to clean it up. Yes, I’m talking about poop, scat, feces, or…

Delivery Time: New subscribers can expect their first issue 10-20 days after receipt of the order. We fulfill new orders in scheduled batches. Merchandise orders get processed the day they arrive in…

Why did the animal cross the road? The yellow sign, familiar to many, proclaims “Moose Crossing.” But, we wonder, how can anyone predict that a moose would cross at this particular spot,…

When observers of goings-on at the State House in Albany, New York, recall the events of March 10, 2008, chances are they will remember it as the day the news broke about Eliot Spitzer. They will not…

It’s a warm evening, and the only signs of snow are the eroding piles beside the driveway. Down in the valley, there is a chorus erupting, and up on the hill in a pond, another is just beginning…

As we worked on editing the Outdoor Wood Boiler article in the current issue of the magazine, I began to think seriously about installing such a unit on our farm. We live in the midst of 90 acres of…

With winter breaking up and spring on its way, I spied a small pool of water glinting in the sunlight where meltwater seeps across a meadow. The pool’s surface was speckled by hordes of…

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When you buy a car, you receive an owner’s manual. When you buy an appliance like a refrigerator, you get an owner’s manual. It makes sense. As the proud new owner of an expensive piece of…