At its annual meeting in November, the New England Wildflower Society presented its 2004 Taylor Education Award to Northern Woodlands magazine. In making this presentation at the Society’s…

By this time of year, most local farmers and gardeners have finished pawing through the seed catalogs and planning this summer’s harvest. What most have tried not to think about is the other…

What was it we learned about earthworms? When we were kids, they were squiggly things that either fascinated or disgusted us. If we fished, they were likely the key to our first angling success. As we…

Could it really be true that no two snowflakes are alike? Most New England school children are raised with the story of Warren “Snowflake” Bentley of Jericho, Vermont, an introverted…

Spreading salt to make treacherous ice magically disappear from road surfaces must have seemed brilliant in the early days of its use. Naturally occurring, abundant, and cheap, road salt allows us to…

We humans are pretty lucky when it comes to winter. When the temperature plunges to 20 below, we can venture bravely forth clad in our stylish new slim-puffy jackets and Ugg boots. But what about all…

How many times in your life have you seen a deer antler? Not hanging on someone’s wall, but out in the woods? If you answered “never,” you’re in good company. Few people have.…

As you stand poised at the edge of the winter woods, it may be hard to imagine that within that stark, white, silent landscape, the resident animals are going about their routine of finding food and…

At the beginning of each winter, I snowshoe past a few rock ledges near my house to see if there are any local porcupines in residence. Some winters there is a lot of activity, but during others, I…

At the age of nine, I bought a mail-order telescope. I practically lived at the post office until it arrived. I soon dropped a marble down the telescope’s barrel (don’t ask), and the…

We brought our just-cut Christmas white spruce inside from the cold, nearby forest. Within the hour, little creatures, abruptly warmed, skittered across the living-room floor as I scrambled in…

Canines, including wolves, foxes, coyotes, and – yes – Spot, have something special that enables them to live in the North: tough feet. If you marvel at Spot’s blissful, extended…

The coldest night of the year. It’s still too soon to know when it will occur this year, but whichever night it is, it’s almost certain to have three things going for it: it will be clear,…

Twenty-five years ago, Sam Doyle of Hanover, New Hampshire, had just met Erhard Frost, a consulting forester from across the river in Thetford, Vermont, who was just beginning his career. Doyle loved…

I know that bucks grunt because, a few Novembers ago, I heard one do it. The sound was both peculiar and somehow unmistakable, residing somewhere in the aural matrix bounded by a Buddhist monk’s…

Are you tempted by the advertisements that promote the availability of so-called “deer feed” at the store? Don’t be, wildlife biologists say: feeding wild white-tailed deer may harm…

The Center for Woodlands Education has received its first-ever gift of land. In August, the family of Edward and Lilian Oresky donated to the Center a 103-acre woodland in East Burke, Vermont. The…

At their best, ski glades are forests with exceptional skiing possibilities. At worst, they are ski trails with damaged and dead trees in the way. They are very different from conventional ski slopes.…

Both the Green Mountain National Forest and the White Mountain National Forest are currently updating their 15-year management plans. Wilderness advocates are pushing for more…

In October, I spent two days at the High Point Market in North Carolina. While we in the Northeast have a long history of making furniture, North Carolina is widely recognized as this country’s…