By Todd McLeish Driving home from work the other day, I saw my first road-killed skunk of the year. And if this year is anything like the last few, it won’t be the last one I see this season. While […]
Tag: the outside story
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: How are caves created?
By Susan Shea To enter the cave, we donned hard hats and descended a vertical drop with the aid of a rope. We crawled on our knees and bellies through a wet, narrow passageway, emerging into a large underground chamber […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: Weasel “Evel Knievels”
By Elise Tillinghast My friend Gordon Russell sent me a letter recently describing a wildlife encounter. He had been following deer tracks along a stone wall when a movement caught his attention. “Almost before its image could travel to my […]
The Outside Story
In cold, wet woods, needle ice sprouts
By Rachel Sargent The bare ground of the trail wound through dead leaves and patchy snow. At a short overhang in the trail, I noticed spiky threads of ice growing up from the soil in crunchy clusters. A careless boot […]
The Outside Story
Lichen—not technically a plant
By Joe Rankin On cold winter days, while feeding sticks of firewood into my woodstove, I sometimes pause, my eye caught by lichens. Splotchy circles, lacy tendrils. Soft gray, muted gray-green, black. They mottle the bark. When I look out […]
The Outside Story
Goshawk: apex accipiter
By Thomas Ames, Jr. “The Boke of St. Albans,” a 15th century sportsman’s handbook, decreed that only a nobleman could hunt with a falcon, but a mere yeoman might settle for a goshawk. “In the talons there was death,” wrote […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: Have you seen a mountain lion?
By Madeline Bodin In the photo, the mountain lion lies on its side on the shoulder of a Connecticut parkway. Taillights shine in the distance. A Connecticut state trooper snapped the photo after a motorist had struck and killed the […]
Column, The Outside Story
Ice magic
illustration for this column was drawn by Adelaide Tyrol By Laurie Morrissey Last night, the floodlights were on at my favorite skating lake. Several children wearing plastic skates and shiny helmets were gliding on the ice, shepherded by young parents. […]
The Outside Story
The Outside Story: What colors can deer see?
By Dave Mance III If you’re a hunter who’s ever ordered something from a sporting goods company, it’s probably safe to assume that you’ve been inundated with catalogues over the past four months. God help you if you save your […]
The Outside Story
Under the water, December’s peak leaf season
By Declan McCabe By December, foliage season is long over for us humans, but it’s peak season under the water. Last month, as the last bus of tourists departed for home, fallen leaves accumulated in our streams and rivers, starting […]