Susan Shea
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White-footed mice are just seeking a warm house
During winter, I often hear gnawing and the scurrying of little feet inside the walls of our house. Mice have taken shelter in our old farmhouse again.
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The Outside Story: The evergreen Christmas fern
Tromping through our woods in December in search of a Christmas tree, I often notice an evergreen fern, one of the few green plants on the forest floor…
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The Outside Story: Blanding’s turtle makes its annual journey
As spring warms the water, a turtle, covered by leaves and mud at the bottom of a wetland where she hibernated for the winter, awakens.
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The Outside Story: Crows in Winter
During winter, I catch glimpses of crows as they fly swiftly over our valley, cawing, or gather in small groups to feed on roadkill along the highway.
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The Outside Story: Balsam Fir — A Favorite Christmas Tree
Every year my husband and I cut a Christmas tree on family land. We look for a young balsam fir growing in the power line right-of-way or in…
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The outside story: The secret lives of salamanders
On a warm, rainy April night a few years ago, I drove up our muddy, rutted dirt road through the mist, steering around the wood frogs hopping across…
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The Outside Story: The mighty oaks of the northeast
Rat-a-tat-tat. Showers of acorns hit the ground and tapped our heads as my husband and I hiked the Appalachian Trail. Thousands of acorns strewn across the path atop…
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The Outside Story: Exploring a swamp
There was a sucking sound as my rubber boot sank into the deep black muck. Naturalist Jon Binhammer and I were standing in the middle of a hardwood…
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The Outside Story: A closer look at chickadees
Black-capped chickadees are one of the most frequent visitors to our bird feeders in winter, but do we really know them? This common bird exhibits some remarkable behaviors…