Vernal pools: Hatch, grow and get out By Barbara Mackay Three things happened this week: bluebirds and tree swallows returned, my road was graded, and the red maple buds popped. It’s time to search for vernal pools. Vernal pools are […]
Category: The Outside Story
The Outside Story
The Outside Story
Fish go with the flow By Tim Traver There are times when fish appear telepathic. Consider the uncanny way a school of bait fish moves as one to avoid a predator, or the way goldfish in their lighted bowl turn […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story
Tasty teas (and more) from trees: black and yellow birch By Russ Cohen Scratch and then sniff a black or yellow birch twig, and the pleasant aroma will likely put a smile on your face. What you are smelling is […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story The education of a young bald eagle
By Elise Tillinghast A deer died by the river near my home. The crows found it, as did other scavengers–a bald eagle and two big brown raptors that were hard to identify. Both had white flecking on their heads, wings […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: For roads and nature, brine is better
By Kristen Fountain All of a sudden, sap season is here and winter’s on its way out. Chances are, though, a few more snow or ice squalls are still to come. The next time you find yourself driving behind a […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: April Fool! Nature myths and misbeliefs
By Michael J. Caduto Walking through the woods on a cool spring morning, I saw a barred owl in an old maple tree. I circled the owl three times from a distance. Its head kept turning to follow me, tracking […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: From winter to spring in a bear cub’s den
By Barbara Mackay The transition from February to March is not subtle. With hardly time to recover from a truncated month, we attend Town Meeting, cede an hour to our clocks, and navigate spontaneously erupting frost heaves. The forest is […]
Column, The Outside Story
The Outside Story: Sneaky ducks and scrambled eggs
By Carolyn Lorié If you peek into a wood duck nesting box during the breeding cycle, you might find 10 to 11 eggs, which is the bird’s normal clutch size. But you might also stumble upon a box overflowing with […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: Nothing rotten about deadwood
By Joe Rankin A guy down the road has been working in his woods for the last couple of years. He’s cleaning them up-—and I mean cleaning. He cuts the underbrush, takes out the dead trees, the downed logs, the […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: Positioning a game camera for best results
By Janet Pesaturo My town had the job of removing a dead beaver from a culvert pipe cage, a rather sad and odorous affair, but also an opportunity. I alerted the usual suspects–there’s nothing like a rotting carcass to bring […]