Everyone loves a butterfly. They’re brightly colored and graceful as they flit between blooms, daintily sipping nectar, productively pollinating, and just generally spreading happiness wherever they go.
F ruit trees and oak forests with acorns are the supermarkets of the forest. Animals’ success in autumn foraging to fatten for winter survival is correlated to heavy fruit and acorn seed years.
In springtime, porcupines cause me headaches.
It is stunning, even for those who can’t quite imagine what it must be like to summit Mount Everest, to see the recent pictures of climbers ascending the 29,000-foot peak in long lines that make it seem more like the line for Space Mountain at Disney World. Does Mickey Mouse greet them along…
The difference is jarring if you know the place. But the views of the White Mountains are still there.
Master wildlife tracker Sue Morse smiled comfortably as adult students lashed on their snowshoes and slung daypacks on their backs in anticipation of a guided animal tracking group hike.
More than 150 years after the Jackman brothers recorded the discovery of Lost River Gorge in Kinsman Notch, a different set of brothers followed in their footsteps last weekend to explore the new rules of the road for outdoor attractions operating under the state’s reopening guidelines.
I saw a question recently asking if there have been more unusual bird sightings this spring. There haven’t — but what is unusual is the sheer number of people staying close to home during the COVID-19 pandemic who have begun watching birds.
I caught up with Dover’s Evan Hennessey while he was on his way to Mount Major for a brisk winter hike with his kids after a stop at the climbing gym.
Not long ago I had no idea what conservation actually meant.
I t’s 9:30 p.m. and you’ve just finished tidying the house after putting your kids to bed when you suddenly receive a notification. This is not a drill — you have an hour to grab your ready-pack and get to the trailhead.
We are perennially fascinated with the seasonal ability to trace the path of critters that we know are in the woods, but don’t always see.
F ruit trees and oak forests with acorns are the supermarkets of the forest. Animals’ success in autumn foraging to fatten for winter survival is correlated to heavy fruit and acorn seed years.
O ne of my favorite things to do this time of year is search for new and returning life that is emerging from the forest floor.
S ince mid-March, my family and I have been doing a lot of walking in the woods. Daily hikes on quiet, local trails have become our sanity in this constricted and complicated reality that we are living in.
Late winter sunshine strengthens, days grow warm and snowmelt accelerates in the northern half of New Hampshire.
How and why did a great black hawk come all the way to New England? What is it like to be the first of your species to see snow?
As a conservation easement steward, I spend a lot of time in the woods or behind a computer screen.
N atalie Cleavitt thinks New Hampshire’s sugar maples may be having trouble growing up.
The modest snowfall canceled school. My son, Cody, arrived with his future brother-in-law as a sugarhouse apprentice for an afternoon of learning while boiling sap.
If you live near a patch of forest or hang a backyard feeder in winter, you’ve probably got a few black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) flitting around outside as you read this.
Winter precipitation can include heavy, wet snow or freezing rain and trees must endure it. Despite what sci-fi or fantasy authors might imagine, trees can’t lumber away to a more hospitable climate.
It’s officially stick season — and while there may be less green in the woods at this time of year, that can sometimes be a good thing.
There’s an odd pleasure that comes from climbing on a tractor and mowing a field. You can measure your accomplishment of the task in the neat parallel tracks that the tractor lays out behind the bushhog. It speaks to the desire to impose your own sense of order on what can sometimes appear t…
As a kid, I remember the joy of splashing in puddles.
New Hampshire’s most-climbed mountain could use your help this month.
Andy Deegan was filling birdfeeders and letting the dog out in the early morning gloom when he encountered what he thought might be “the biggest squirrel I’ve ever heard” scrambling up a large white pine just outside his New London home.
Not everyone who seeks to explore the woods is a peak-bagger. The allure of “redlining” all the trails in the Belknaps or hiking all 48 4,000-foot summits in New Hampshire doesn’t appeal to all.
“Keep America Beautiful.” “Give a Hoot: Don’t Pollute.” “Pack it In, Pack it Out.” “Please Don’t Litter: Help Keep Your Community Clean.” “Leave No Trace.”
As I sit at my computer in a wool hat with a blanket on my lap, I’m forced to remind myself that winter isn’t official until Friday.
April pulls the same dirty trick every year — particularly after we relax or let our guard down at the end of winter. A few decent days, then April delivers a gut-punch: swirling snow, sleet and freezing temperatures under gray skies.
As I sat in my woodsy cabin, listening to the remnants of Hurricane Florence rain down this month, I was reminded of another storm nearly 80 years ago.
Everyone loves a butterfly. They’re brightly colored and graceful as they flit between blooms, daintily sipping nectar, productively pollinating, and just generally spreading happiness wherever they go.
What was the last trip you took before everything changed?
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At the Forest Society, our mission as both a land trust and a forestry organization includes protecting and managing a network of 185 permanent Forest Reservations in New Hampshire.
Let’s pretend for just a moment — turn off the TV and look away from the internet — that we all agree that climate change is real and that those changes will make things increasingly difficult for human beings on Earth.
Another remarkable autumn lies ahead; make plans now to get in touch with your own inner fall foliage season.
What's full of camaraderie and fun, and makes you feel young? Grab a pair of sturdy shoes, throw on some clothes for getting dirty, and meet me at the trailhead to find out.
