By Susan Shea Most winters, the dark-eyed junco is one of the most common birds at my feeder. While I rarely see juncos in summer, except when hiking in the mountains, small flocks of juncos typically appear soon after I […]
Category: The Outside Story
Column, The Outside Story
Lichen colors offer protection
By Rachel Sargent Mirus As I stroll through the cemetery near my home on a snowy day, splashes of golden orange, bright as daylilies in July, pop from the gray stones. These patches are elegant sunburst lichens, which provide a […]
Column, Featured, The Outside Story
How to preserve a snowflake
By Frank Kaczmarek Wilson Bentley (1865-1931) lived his entire life in Jericho, Vermont, where he developed a passion for snowflakes at an early age. He started by collecting snowflakes and trying to create detailed drawings of each one, but the […]
Column, The Outside Story
Balsam fir is a favorite Christmas tree
By Susan Shea Every year my husband and I cut a Christmas tree on family land. We look for a young balsam fir growing in the power line right-of-way or in a forest clearing. Fir is our favorite type of […]
Column, The Outside Story
How to provide shelter for birds
By Lee Emmons Come winter, after the bears have retreated to their cold weather dens, many backyard bird enthusiasts hang feeders to attract — and nourish — avian visitors. Birds need more than a supplemental food source, however. Whether they […]
Column, The Outside Story
Woodland jumping mice are truffle specialists
Circulating spores far and wide By Susie Spikol “Shhh,” I tell my 5-year-old son, “there are animals sleeping, right under our feet.” He presses his ear against the frozen ground, hoping to hear the slow, sleepy breath of a snoozing […]
Column, The Outside Story
It takes gall(s) to make this ink
By Frank Kaczmarek What do the following items have in common: the Declaration of Independence, Da Vinci’s notebooks, Bach’s musical scores, Rembrandt’s drawings, Shakespeare’s plays, and the Magna Carta? Give up? These examples, along with countless other documents ranging from […]
Column, The Outside Story
Decomposing into the rainbow
By Rachel Sargent Mirus As we stroll down a forest trail, we pass trees of all types and sizes, with red and orange and brown leaves strewn below, a riot of ferns fading to yellow, and intermittent moss-covered rocks. Amongst […]
Column, The Outside Story
Bats prepare for winter
By Susan Shea Years ago, I visited two Vermont caves in winter to help biologists count hibernating bats. After descending through a hole into the first cave, I immediately noticed that it was much warmer than above-ground. The cave was […]
Column, The Outside Story
Fungi and fairy rings appear
By Frank Kaczmarek My German mother was a highly superstitious soul, especially when it came to the natural world. Case in point, one day a “fairy ring” of mushrooms appeared in our yard. My mother became agitated and told me […]