I went timber cruising last weekend. No, this is not aimlessly driving the back roads of New England, but rather, walking around the woods selecting trees for next year’s firewood. I take little pink ribbons and tie them around the trees that will eventually keep us warm during the blizzards of January 2012.
Though the forest [...]
The other day I came across the most ornery looking creature I have ever seen. It was 4 inches long, green and covered in blue, yellow, and orange knobs with little black spikes sticking out of each one – absolutely bizarre like some sci-fi genetics experiment gone wrong. This cecropia caterpillar is, however, a [...]
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 [...]
I was hiking up the side of Tumbledown Mountain in western Maine last week when the trail disappeared and I lost my way. I was looking forward to the wonderful views from the rocky summit, but that was not to be. Similar to many companies embarking on a clear path to success, somewhere [...]
Bode Miller beat me. Yes, I actually raced against him at Cannon Mountain last weekend, and he was faster than me (as were about sixty 10-12 year-olds…) I must say that I thought I went pretty fast until I saw him go by in a blur. Besides being the best ski racer ever to hail [...]
I was drinking in a beautiful spring-like afternoon on Saturday when I heard the unmistakable honk of the Canadian geese. A few more honks and a moment later I saw the big birds flying overhead in their signature V formation. I was struck by this not only because it was the first indication [...]
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 [...]