The outside story: Looking up for Geminid meteor shower

I’ve always loved the idea of watching the sky for shooting stars. But I’m much more likely to be up to watch the sunrise than I am to stay awake past midnight, when most meteor showers happen.

Among summer’s many sweet offerings are wild berries. And among these, blueberries are my favorite.

I’d not known these flowers before we moved to this place, some 18 years ago.

Here’s a quiz for Harry Potter fans: What kind of owl played Hedwig in the movies?

VERMONT — A couple of decades ago, I spent several winters living in Crested Butte, Colo., where I learned to peer into the cottonwood trees between Route 135 and the East River on the rare occasion when I needed to travel south to the closest “big” town. … (read more)

Woolly bear caterpillars seem to be everywhere these days — creeping across the lawn, along the road when I’m walking the dog, hidden in the wilted cut-back of the perennial garden. Last week I found a woolly bear curled up in a shoe I’d left on the front … (read more)

Eighteen years ago, when I moved back to New Hampshire, I rarely came across ticks. The dog didn’t carry them unwittingly into the house, and I could spend the day in the garden or on wooded trails and not see a single, hard-shelled, eight-legged, blood-s … (read more)