Let’s begin with the original lower tree, which appears to be one of several similar-looking dwarf cultivars of white spruce. These are very common in the nursery trade, prized for…
Magazine Series
From the Center
Approximately eight years ago, my dogs, husband, and I held a meeting. By unanimous showing of hands and paws, we agreed it was time to end our pattern of bouncing around cities and find…
Outdoor Palette
Bryan Nash Gill, Leader, 2011 30.5" x 21.5", relief print on Okawara paper We often come to understand things by isolating them. We pluck something from its environment, look at it…
Field Work: At Work Celebrating Raptors with Mark Baker
Mark Baker’s friends call him Birdman, and it’s easy to see why. There’s the alertness in his dark eyes, his baseball cap with a bald eagle embroidered on its crown, and the…
1,000 Words
Photographer Chris Mazzarella loves to capture the moment of nature in his photography, and the dispersal of cattail paracute seeds offered him the perfect opportunity to do this. "I took…
Woods Whys: A Sawyer’s Lament
We milled a bunch of beautiful-looking white pine logs the other day and found that many boards had red rot in them. Can you tell me more about red rot? Red rot is the local name for a common…
Birds in Focus: Fat, Flight, and Fitness in a Blackpoll Warbler
Two wings and a prayer will carry a blackpoll warbler on a remarkable journey to South America this autumn. Well, two wings, a prayer, and the energy packed into a scoop of Ben &…
Where’s the Peak? How Weather and Climate Affected Last Fall’s Foliage
“Excuse me. Is this . . . the peak?” This query, from a perplexed tourist whose family had traveled from Italy to enjoy New England’s world-renowned foliage last fall,…
On the Lookout: A History of Fire Towers in the Northeast
Anyone in Maine who was paying attention knew that by the end of September 1947, a forest fire was likely. There had been almost no rain during the previous 10 weeks of high summer.…
Whole-House Heating With Wood Pellets
Renewable Energy with the Convenience of Fossil Fuel It’s a scene you’ve undoubtedly witnessed many times: a fuel truck lumbers up to a house, the driver attaches a hose to the…