As a boy, I was exploring the loft of my grandmother’s barn when I disturbed a bumblebee nest among the moldering hay bales. In my memory, I leap...
The northern watersnake, Nerodia sipedon, has a lot going against it in the eyes of most people. I’ve watched this medium- to large-sized snake...
There will always be thistle, said the late U.S. Poet Laureate Maxine Kumin in one of her poems, because “Sheep will not eat it / nor horses nor...
The church service was about to begin when a group of breathless children pulled me out of my seat to “come see this awesome, pretty, pink-and...
If freshwater insects did senior superlatives before graduating from aquatic life, what would yearbook entries say about dobsonflies? Largest...
I have always admired turtles and their armored ways; how they bask in the sun and retreat when the world is too much. Last summer, through the...
Years ago, friends and I spotted a group of huge nests high in the trees along the edge of a large pond: a great blue heron rookery. From across...
“Mom, there’s a really big crow in the compost,” my son said one day early this spring, followed closely by, “Wait. What is that bird? It’s huge...
If you were fortunate enough to grow up with freedom to roam outdoors, there are likely certain places that stick with you. For me, one of these...
Janet Hayward Burnham, of Bethel, was driving to the bank one day when she saw a tree on the side of the road that looked like it was covered in...
When I was growing up, my family rented a vacation home on a mountain in southern Vermont. One night we were awakened by our dogs barking. Soon we...
When you think about the essential landforms of the Northeast, what comes to mind? The mountains, of course. The lakes. Of course. Rivers? Probably...