By Laurie D. Morrissey If you are out walking on an early winter morning, you might be lucky enough to see some of nature’s most beautiful and ephemeral sights: hair ice and frost flowers, both snow-white and delicate against the […]
Category: The Outside Story
Column, The Outside Story
Common redpolls: Coming to a feeder near you?
By Tyler Hoar As winter settles in, people watching their birdfeeders hope to catch a glimpse of something out of the ordinary – perhaps a visitor from the Far North. Nothing satisfies this desire like the bubbly and charismatic common […]
Column, The Outside Story
Tufted Titmice flock to feeders
By Lee Emmons As winter approaches and snow coats the ground, the tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) will again become a ubiquitous backyard visitor. Familiar to even the most casual observers of nature, titmice readily come to feeders, especially those filled […]
Column, The Outside Story
Mighty oaks of the Northeast
By Susan Shea 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 across the path atop multi-colored leaves made for treacherous passage. We were hiking […]
Column, The Outside Story
Life goes on in hollow trees
By Tami Gingrich I can’t seem to pass a hollow tree without stopping to snoop. If there is a cavity within reach, an investigation is in order. Wear and tear around a hole, evidence of food items on the ground, […]
Column, The Outside Story
The skinny on voles
By Susie Spikol Bent down in an apple field searching for a lost earring, I found a different treasure: a stout mouse-like animal, with a short tail and stubby ears. It gave me one quick look, then disappeared through a […]
Column, The Outside Story
Life within the brush pile
By Lee Emmon For nearly a decade, I’ve been adding to a brush pile in the woods behind my home. A depository of pruned branches, dead flowers, discarded logs, old leaves, and an occasional Christmas tree, the pile is a […]
Column, The Outside Story
Nothing barren about pine barrens
By Laurie D Morrisey Pine barrens are certainly piney – but they’re not the least bit barren. They were so named not because they lack life, but because colonists found them unsuitable for raising cattle or growing vegetable and grain […]
Column, The Outside Story
Fabulous Forest Fungi
By Susan Shea 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 to foot-long, orange-yellow shelves growing out of rotten logs, they come in […]
Column, The Outside Story
The defenses of hairy caterpillars
Last October, a young student in one of my nature journaling workshops pointed out a fuzzy yellow caterpillar with long black tufts. “Those kind sting!” he declared. He was the third student that month to point out the same kind […]