Magazine Series

Inonotus obliquus, more commonly known as the chaga mushroom, is parasitic to its birch host but purportedly provides a variety of benefits to humans. Chaga is rich in antioxidants, high in…

April 5 – From the blinding white snow of the hayfield I look down on the wetland mosaic I call The Great Alder Carr. On my third straight day of coming here I see the first glimmerings…

Bee hunting is the sport of finding wild colonies of honeybees. You usually start by catching a half-dozen or so worker bees inside a small contraption called a “bee box.” Next,…

When Vermont State Police and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department need to search the woods, they call on this special group of air scent dogs and their handlers. The keys to…

I wake in darkness, and spend a full five minutes trying to decide why. The tip of my nose is frozen where it protrudes from the icy hole of my sleeping bag. The rest of me is marginally…

Young campers caught this blue morph green frog at Townshend State Park in Vermont, where Tiffany Soukup and her husband Chris served as rangers. In blue morph frogs, a genetic mutation…

Above our field, the land dips and rises, and in the fold there’s a vernal pool. It’s well shaded and slow to thaw, and this time of year, it serves as the family rink. The kids…

Our readers often have questions about old-growth forests: what they are, how to identify them, their relevance to climate change mitigation, and (absent a time machine) how to replicate their…

Mitch Ryerson is an artist, designer, and craftsman of fine furniture. In recent years, he has also created play structures for schools and parks. He uses Berkshires-sourced black locust for…

Seed, Transplant, or Just Let Nature Take Its Course? Some Considerations. As I walk through my woods in spring and early summer, I usually stick to the trails. I want to avoid stepping on any…