The Outside Story: The solar eclipse

In the cosmic dance of heavenly bodies, no phenomenon possesses the drama of a solar eclipse, when the moon passes directly between the sun and earth.

The Outside Story: Maple sugaring adapts to climate change

Boiling maple sap into syrup is a time-honored tradition in the Northeast, to the olfactory delight of anyone who has spent time in a steamy sugarhouse while inhaling the sweet maple scent of the season.

The Outside Story: The complicated lives of conifer seeds

My yard is full of eastern white pine trees, and every three years or so, it is full of pine cones. This is one of those years. Pine cones have fallen all over the yard, the sidewalk, the driveway.

The Outside Story: Thundersnow

It’s deep in winter, and a nor’easter is dumping snow outside. In between the howling winds you hear a boom!

The Outside Story: Little creatures in winter streams

One winter day, while teaching a winter ecology class, I pulled on waders and rubber gloves, grabbed a catch net, and led my “Minibeasts of the Stream” program, discovering a rich variety of insects in the frigid waters of Kedron Brook in South Woodstock, … (read more)

The Outside Story: How trees prepare for Vermont winters

Of all life’s synergies, I appreciate most the one between my propensity for domestic procrastination and my love of moving through the outdoors — countless adventures are born of it.

The Outside Story: Otters among us

In winter, river otters head upstream into the uplands, seeking areas of fast-moving water that remain open — at least open enough for an otter to slip into a stream in pursuit of fish.

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.

The Outside Story: Why do some mushrooms glow in the dark?

Mycologists have speculated for centuries about the reasons fungi produce light. Here’s the story of some that do.

The outside story: Spittlebugs hide in plain sight

Spittlebugs are the color of a new spring leaf, their bodies both tiny and so fat that you hardly notice their six miniature legs underneath.

The outside story: Summer lights: It’s firefly season!

It happens on a warm June evening: in the darkening field near my house, I notice a brief flicker of light. Then another. And another.

The Outside Story: Pigeons in love

Humans often ascribe traits that we admire to other animals. I’d like to add another candidate to this list of animal virtues: a pigeon’s ardor. 

The Outside Story: Oh deer! How deer contribute to the spread of invasives

A winter walk in the forest reveals a flurry of wildlife activity that often goes unnoticed during other times of the year.

The Outside Story: ‘Bombs away’ misteltoe moments

Have you noticed the cheery evergreen sprig with pearly berries, currently perched over the doorways of Yankee traditionalists and those desperate to be kissed?

The outside story: Prevent spreading pests through firewood

One notable example is the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect easily transported in firewood, which has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in the United States since it was introduced to Michigan from Asia in 2002.

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