I know many of you reading this don’t hunt. But even so, I’ll bet you’ve heard the one where the hunter bags his first buck. How the opportunity came as a surprise after…
Magazine Series
From the Center
A postcard arrived in the mail last week, encouraging me to “clean up” or “sell out” my woodlot. There were people in my area waiting to assist me! I should act now,…
Outdoor Palette
Riki Moss looks into the forest and imagines another world; a world filled with spirits and ambiguous life forms. For years, she has been engaged with her ever-growing, ever-shifting…
Getting to the Bottom of the Scrape
He stretched his massive neck, closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead, eyes, and antlers back and forth across the spruce’s overhanging branch tips. Periodically, he would stop, open…
1,000 Words
Photographer Frank Kaczmarek took this photo on a dew-laden, early autumn morning. “One of my favorite web-building spiders is the black and yellow argiope (Argiope aurantia), said…
What are those Blisters on the Bark of Balsam Firs?
Those bulging cysts on the otherwise very smooth, gray-brown bark are a distinguishing characteristic of balsam fir trees. They’re all over most fir stems. Aside from the really young…
Tracking Tips: Red Squirrel Stashes and Caches
The Latin name for the red squirrel, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, gives us more than a hint about the summer and fall foraging behaviors of this bold and busy creature. Tamias apparently has a…
Big Tree, Small Bar
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,…
Paying for State Wildlife Conservation
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.…
Life in Your Logs
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…