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What Colors Can Deer See?

If you’re a hunter who’s ever ordered something from a sporting goods company, it’s probably safe to assume that you’ve been inundated with catalogues over the past four…

Cherry Tree Mystery

Penelope Harris forwarded these photos of a friend’s cherry tree in Bakersfield, Vermont. She was curious: what had caused the gelatinous material seen on the tree?

Some Insights Regarding the Aerial Caribou

Rangifer tarandus var. rudolphus, also known as the aerial caribou (or aerial reindeer in Europe) lives most of the year in more northern latitudes. However, its appearance in the United States in…

Adirondack Hermits: Solitary Life in the Northwoods

This is a story about Adirondack hermits, but the place and time in which it unfolds are as big a part of the tale as anything else. It was the late 1800s, see, and everything in America was changing.…

Owl’s Winter Hunt

For several days last winter, a barred owl perched atop a dead white birch tree in our field. As winters go, last year’s was very cold, and the owl puffed up against the stubbornly…

Shedding Light on the Working Forest

We did a Google image search of the phrase “Vermont art,” and our computer monitor filled up with paintings of barns, cows, and church steeples. Most were lovely – clearly the work…

A Family Forest Takes Shape

We’ve owned our forest in Starksboro, Vermont, since 2005, and have added to it over the years by purchasing adjacent properties; the entire parcel now totals 290 contiguous acres. We spent the…

Under the Water, December’s Peak Leaf Season

By December, foliage season is long over for us humans, but it’s peak season under the water. Last month, as the last bus of tourists departed for home, fallen leaves accumulated in our streams…

A Case of Curious Curling

We heard from someone who just brought home a balsam fir Christmas tree and noticed a few places where the needles had curled and twisted. The same distortion is seen in this photo from UMass…

Lessons in Butchering Venison

We hung a grizzled old deer in camp this year who was in less than ideal condition, meat-wise. He was sort of randy smelling in general – just all rutted up and glandular. That a shot hit him…

November 2015

In your November photos, a pileated woodpecker dined on grapes, a mink struck a pose, and oh no!, Mr. Bill turned into a cherry tree! This November was much warmer than last year, and wildlife seemed…

When Mushrooms Attack

The oyster mushroom: delicious, frequently spotted on veggie pizzas, and predatory. That's right. The hyphae of many fungi, including the oyster mushroom, attack and paralyze prey. Then, as R.…

From the Center

As you read this, please imagine a drum roll, or better yet, the sound of a ruffed grouse whomping the air with its wings. With this issue, the Center for Northern Woodlands Education is launching a…

With Cooler Water, Better Prospects for Shad Migration?

There was a time in the waters known by the Abenaki peoples as Kwenitegok, “Long River,” when migratory fish moved in such multitudes that their backs appeared as a living bridge from…

Charged-Up Chainsaws

Earlier this year I had a chance to try out some electric (battery-powered) chainsaws. My expectations going in were pretty low: I figured that they would either be laughingly toy-like in their…

No Place Like Home

What bird made this distinctive nest?

Eye Protection

You and I have two opaque eyelids, one above the eye and one beneath. When we blink, they meet in the middle. Some birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, and mammals have three eyelids – two similar…

Tracking Tips: Beavers at Home for the Winter

Most folks know that stream-flow ponds impounded by dams built of sticks, stones, and mud are created by beavers. Conical or dome-shaped lodges surrounded by water are also recognizable signs of…

Editor’s Note

We cut about 10,000 feet of white pine last winter off a little nob in the south end of the sugarbush. This summer we’ve been turning the logs into lumber for the home we’re building. By…

The Apple Bears

Last week, a black bear in a blaze orange collar showed up in our yard. Two cubs followed close behind. The sow paused to observe the house, then led her cubs up across our field and down into a small…