Headed North!
Over the holiday weekend we headed North. We have a camp in Coos County, New Hampshire that we do not get to often enough! It’s an entirely different world up there, …
Quick and dirty.
This past week was a busy one with the launch of our summer project – Backyard Biology 2016, a crowdsourced natural inventory of our community! Residents and visitors to the …
A peek in the woods….
A few weeks ago we pulled over to take a picture of a quite beautiful patch of blooming Epigaea repens. As we were walking back to the Jeep, Keith peeked up …
The spring ephemerals continue…
Find the habitat, find the plants. That’s a good Keith quote. Our friend Parker from White Mountain Mushrooms suggested we try a spot that he had scoped out earlier, and it …
The spring ephemerals have sprung!
It’s around this time of year that folks to the south and west of us start sharing pictures of spring ephemerals, the glorious first blooms of spring! Spring ephemerals are …
Fairy shrimp. Just fairy shrimp.
Goal for last weekend – fairy shrimp! Neither Keith nor I had ever seen one, but fairy shrimp are an indicator species of vernal pools and the to-do list for the …
Big Night Amphibian Migration
Big Night…. the first warm rainy night of the spring….might be one of the best kept secret in the amphibian world! After hibernating all winter, salamanders, newts and frogs take …
Harvesting wild cranberries and, of course, moss
Vaccininium macrocarpon, or large cranberry, is found in bogs throughout New England and is a true native American fruit. You’ve probably driven by a cranberry bog, not realizing that a …
Mosses, Liverworts and Lichen
Mosses, liverworts and lichens. That’s what you’ll find in this week’s snow-less March woods! Ptilium crista-castrensis, or Knight’s plume moss, has a unique feather shape that is easy to recognize. …
A spring walk in Sidney Butler Smith Woodland
Sidney Butler Smith Woodland is a Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests tract in Tuftonboro NH. I’d never been there, but Keith had visited it during hunting season …
Springtails! It’s spring!
Water springtails mean we are soooo close to spring! While everyone just a bit south – and east – and west – of us is enjoying Big Night, the official coming …
How to Take Snowflake Pictures!!!
Yes, there are a few exclamation points on the end of “How to Take Snowflake Pictures!!!!” I’m excited, ok? It takes a certain snowstorm to be able to take snowflake …
Bottle dumps, lichens and orchids, oh my.
It certainly does not feel like winter! The lack of snow is a little worrisome for the spring wild mushroom season (two lack-luster morel seasons in a row would not …
Field Guide Review: Wildflowers of New England, Timber Press Field Guide
Finally, a new New England wildflower guide. Wildflowers of New England, a Timber Press Field Guide, was just released this week! Written by Ted Elliman, in partnership with the New …
Opening a Polyphemus moth cocoon
The REAL title to this post is “Opening a Polyphemus moth cocoon or, what to do when it’s cold as f*$%.” A few weeks ago we found a random cocoon …
