The Outside Story
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The Outside Story: Solar avatars
Among the most widely cultivated and recognizable plants growing in gardens this time of year are sunflowers, members of the genus Helianthus. The showiest species and hybrid varieties…
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The Outside Story: The boggy beauty of the white-fringed bog-orchid
Along the edge of a remote pond, among a spongy carpet of interlaced vegetation, an orchid of graceful and gossamer beauty rises.
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The Outside Story: A meal worth the sting
Colby Galliher writes about conservation, ecology, and environmental policy.
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The Outside Story: The grassland bird in a reverse tuxedo
The bobolink has one of the most impressive migrations of any passerine.
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Wild oats: a bashful bellwort for spring
A humble mainstay of the forest floor that is sure to win you over.
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The Outside Story: Spring’s Late Riser: The Meadow Jumping Mouse
As we enter their season of wakefulness, be on alert for these small hoppers in open habitats.
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The Outside Story: Why did the frog cross the road?
If you go outside on a rainy night this spring, be on the lookout for amphibians.
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Phantoms of the North: Great Gray Owls
The great gray owl, a rare winter visitor to the Northeast, is the world’s largest owl by length, a silent hunter whose dense plumage and keen hearing allow…
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Bundling up: soil microbes in winter
Mcrobes rely on a thick coat of snow to stay warm.
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Native hollies offer more than holiday cheer
Few plants evoke winter holidays in the north more dependably than the Christmas holly.
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The Outside Story: finding the pink star caterpillar
The Pink Star Caterpillar was discovered last summer by naturalists with The Caterpillar Lab in Swanzey, N.H.
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The Outside Story: Humans aren’t the only sugarmakers
As steam rises from sugarhouse cupolas and early morning coffee pots, sugarmakers are working overtime to turn maple sap into golden syrup. But as it turns out, they…
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The Outside Story: Ravens forage during the winter
It’s a familiar sight in winter: An inky-black raven soaring over a landscape white with snow. Though similar in appearance to the American crow, the common raven (Corvus…
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The Outside Story: Look up! You might spot a squirrel drey
In the starkness of winter, squirrel dreys reveal themselves in the tree canopy. They’ve been there all along — just screened by trees’ leafy crowns for much of…
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The Outside Story: Bohemian waxwings, intrepid winter wanderers
Walking along a dirt road last winter, I heard a collection of pleasant, sputtering trills coming from a stand of conifers and hardwoods nearby. I’m used to the…
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The Outside Story: Bark helps trees weather winter
When I think about winter survival, my mind first goes to wildlife: field mice curling up in nests, chickadees flocking to bird feeders, and amphibians burrowing into the…