Crow communication is cawfully complicated By Joe Rankin “Caw! Caw!” Every spring we hear it. And my wife says, “that’s My Crow.” It’s apparently the bird’s name. She capitalizes it in her tone. I think she hasn’t bestowed a more […]
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The Outside Story: Witch’s brooms
By Joe Rankin Harry Potter rode one during the Quidditch matches at Hogwarts. The Wicked Witch of the West zipped around on one in the Wizard of Oz. We’re talking, of course, about witch’s brooms. No one knows exactly why […]
The Outside Story, Bee mimics: their buzz is worse than their sting
By Joe Rankin A while back I had a few hives of honey bees parked at a beef farm down the road, tucked up against a stone wall just outside a pasture. One day the owner called to say that […]
The Outside Story
Go figure: how tree burls grow By Joe Rankin I’ve had my eye on this maple in my woods for some time. Not because it’s a beautiful timber tree. It’s only about eight inches in diameter, after all. But it […]
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: trees and ice
By Joe Rankin Ice storm. If you live in northern New England, those words can send a chill up your spine. They portend demolition derbies on the roads, power outages and the ominous cracking sound of limbs breaking and trees […]
The Outside Story: Old Trees
By Joe Rankin There’s something in us that can’t help but be impressed by an old tree. Perhaps we’re simply in awe of something that has outlived generations of humans and will outlive us. We acknowledge this when we compare […]
The Outside Story: Gray jays, these birds have attitude!
By Joe Rankin I have friends who live in the North Woods. Moose graze on their lawn. Loons call from the pond. And the gray jays line up on the deck railing for breakfast. They swoop in when they hear […]
The Outside Story: Late bloomers – Asters arrive at summer’s end
By Joe Rankin Living this far north, we’re attuned to signs of a waning summer: shorter days, cooler nights, red maples in low-lying areas turning their trademark color. But when the asters bloom, I know the curtain is coming down […]