Rat-a-tat-tat. Showers of acorns hit the ground and tapped our heads as my husband and I hiked the Appalachian Trail. Thousands of acorns strewn...
A walk in the woods during fall is likely to reveal an array of forest fungi. Ranging from delicate, tan mini-umbrellas to fleshy, white softballs...
One summer day I lifted the black plastic top of our composter and jumped back, startled — a large snake was curled up on top of the compost. The...
Recently I saw a beautiful orange butterfly speckled with black — a great spangled fritillary — feeding on orange hawkweed in a meadow. I observed...
I grew up on a street lined with tall, stately elms. While walking to school one day, I found a bird’s nest that the wind had blown down. The nest...
Thump. Thud. Something was hitting our window! It was a bright red cardinal flying at his reflected image in the glass — which he perceived to be...
I love that time in spring when the hills around my house change from gray and brown to shades of yellow, green and red. The trees have not yet...
Late one January afternoon, my husband and I stood on the shore of a frozen pond below the summit of Camel’s Hump, admiring the view. Suddenly we...
Black-capped chickadees are one of the most frequent visitors to our bird feeders in winter, but do we really know them? This common bird exhibits...
“Squish, squash.” I was walking gingerly on a soft, spongy carpet of sphagnum moss in a northern Vermont bog. Magenta blossoms decorated the sheep...
Visiting a forest along one of our major rivers, such as the Connecticut, in late spring is like entering a special world. Big silver maples tower...
Hundreds of years ago, haunting bugle-like calls echoed through these hills and valleys. The sounds were made by bull elk to attract mates and fend...