By Barbara Mackay The church service was about to begin when some breathless kids pulled me out of my seat to “come see this awesome, pretty, pink-and-yellow, fuzzy baby moth!” on the Sunday school door. It was a rosy maple […]
Tag: barbara mackay
Column, The Outside Story
American goldfinch: a common bird with uncommon habits
By Barbara Mackay I love the fact that there is always something new to observe in nature. Take goldfinches, for example. I have often watched them devour milkweed seeds from an acrobatic, upside-down position. Recently, I spotted several bright yellow […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: See what’s in the milkweed patch
By Barbara Mackay Eight or so years ago I collected milkweed seeds and painstakingly buried them one at a time under leaf debris at the back edge of my yard, hoping they would mature and attract more monarch butterflies to […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story
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 […]
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 […]
Arts, Dining & Entertainment, Column
The Outside Story: Catch a falling snowflake
By Barbara Mackay Who hasn’t marveled at a lacy snowflake coming to rest on a jacket sleeve? Do you wonder how it could survive the fall to earth in one piece, or if it’s really true that no two snowflakes […]
Column
The Outside Story: Would a woolly bear tell a lie?
By Barbara Mackay Autumn is coming to a close. The brilliant fall foliage is past peak, if not already layered in the compost bin. The last geese are honking their way toward winter homes. Predictions are proffered (sometimes cheerfully, mostly […]