There is a blight on my land, and it just killed my favorite chestnut tree. The so-called chestnut blight, introduced a century ago, wiped out 4 billion American chestnut trees and is still a potent exterminator of all the new trees sprouting from the old roots. I had great hope that our 30 [...]
We had a big blow the other day, and as I went by the Wachusett Reservoir it was whipped up into big white caps. It was impressive to see the momentum these waves had as they cruised across the lake. It reminded me of the recent conference I attended where some 200 companies introduced a [...]
How does a plant grow from a rock? I was wondering this as I looked at the black birch seedling sticking out of the hunk of granite. Looking a little closer I could see that it had a toehold in a small crack, where it was able to summon the ingredients for growth. This is [...]
I was cross country skiing last weekend, enjoying a crisp winter afternoon, when I came across a flock of birds picking over a carcass. Rather than gather seeds peacefully from the millions of pine cones in the forest, these creatures chose to battle each other for a few scraps of coyote (or whatever the [...]
Standing on the top of Mt. Watatic last weekend with a view in all directions, it became clear to me why Google Earth is so limited. With wind in my face I could not only see distant lakes and mountains, but I had a sense of what they were like. It is this [...]
Hurricanes – not a typical New England thing – have been on my mind lately. With two near misses in the last couple weeks (Bill and Danny) the threat is no longer a CNN tour of devastation in the southeast US. If not for a mound of air pushing in from Canada, the East Woods [...]
I had an uneasy feeling as the car wheels slid sideways in the mud. Spring is here and with it comes warmth, buds, birds, … and mud. Getting traction in the slippery stuff is sometimes a tricky thing. More effort usually gets you moving less. Similarly, I often see wonderful products come to the market [...]