Matt Dickerson: Beauty, horror and mystery in autumn

The end of our hundred-yard walk carrying our canoe from the parking lot to the lake ended in something between disgust and dismay when we looked down into the water. The surface of the lake looked nothing like water. It appeared more like green paint — like a bucket of latex ready to be spread on the side of a house. We couldn’t have seen a rock half an inch below the surface, it was so thick and opaque. Neither my wife nor I had any interest in setting our canoe down on top of it, risking getting whatever … (read more)

Dear Homeward Bound, I’ve been hearing a lot about blue-green algae these days and how it can be dangerous to dogs. What is it and why is it dangerous? Curious Dear Curious, There are lots of reports of this scary phenomenon these days. We did some resear … (read more)

VERMONT — Warm weather is a welcome sign of summer, but it also creates ideal conditions for cyanobacteria to grow in Vermont waters. Cyanobacteria (sometimes referred to as blue-green algae) are tiny microorganisms. In large numbers they sometimes form b … (read more)