Magazine Series

Is longer better when it comes to chainsaw bars? Personally, I like a shorter bar. It allows me to use a saw with a smaller engine, which reduces overall strain on my back and muscles. Plus,…

In 1694, with its whitetails already devastated by overhunting and habitat loss, the Massachusetts Bay Colony prohibited deer hunting for half the year. New Hampshire did the same in 1741.…

It’s a rite of fall: the splitting of logs for firewood. It’s arduous, but great exercise, to be sure. It’s also a chance to see a host of fascinating creatures hidden deep…

On a steep slope in the woods above our house, one particular sugar maple stands out for both its great size and its longevity. Some of the lichen-covered bark is sloughing off its trunk, but…

Things were simpler when we were kids, right? Culture certainly was, before 457 channels and the internet and smart phones. Probably global politics were, too. The Cold War – Rocky vs.…

Dave Allard grew up in Lyndonville, Vermont with a father who never said no. This meant something different back then. When Dave wanted to build a sugarhouse at age 12, his father…

Earlier this year, we decided to experiment with the “NPR funding model,” seeking underwriting support from organizations that share our educational mission. The results of that…

Pack a lunch, climb a mountain, and witness thousands of hawks gliding south over hills blazing with fall foliage. If only this romanticized rite of autumn were so easy. If only migrating…

At age 12, Paul Reed plunked down $275 for a new Jonsered, his first chainsaw. The boy’s father ran a small sideline firewood business, and while dad had spare chainsaws, of course,…

I went to Northeastern Wyoming a few weeks back; vague childhood memories of Devil’s Tower and Yellowstone did nothing to prepare me for just how different the landscape is out there.…