There’s a barn by a river, and tree swallows in the sky. They could be a flock en route from Quebec, or maybe just tardy locals, fattening up on insects that were displaced by the…

On summer evenings, Sam Jaffe has a tendency to loiter in gas station parking lots. This behavior has resulted in a continued acquaintance with the local police. Fortunately, he has the…

Last March, I kept company with a red-breasted nuthatch who hunted insects on a dying sugar maple outside the Northern Woodlands office. My second floor window provided a close-up view of the…

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…

Last autumn, at our first writers conference, we set up a table featuring 10 different brands of maple syrup from around New England, New York, and Quebec and encouraged people to pick their…

Northern Woodlands was founded more than 20 years ago, and the idea back then, as I understand it, was to focus on the forests and forest culture of Vermont. In time, the state boundaries…

Someone left a plastic zip bag full of soggy pink something, labeled “bobcat,” in the office sink. Naturally, I asked Dave Mance for an explanation. He pushed back from his…

Susan Morse has contributed to this magazine since its early years. One of her first articles appeared in our Winter 1997 issue. The topic was lynx. The opening paragraph mentioned her…

Well, it took some practice, but I’ve finally learned to pronounce “anthocyanin.” This is the pigment that manifests as deep, glossy red in staghorn sumac – one of the…

A frequently cited study (circa 2002) states that 70 percent of magazines never make it past their first issue, and approximately 50 percent fail in the first year. In other words, new…