[We're very much looking forward to the return of "our" honeybees to our Four Acre Farm. The more we learn about the bees, the more impressive they become. I hope we do not suffer the same fate as Frederick Kenyon! This short video reminds us how different this world is from the one I see... Continue Reading →
The Outside Story Suggested headline: The Canada Goose Migration: A Grand Spectacle of Nature By Susan Shea Word count: 780 The musical honking of Canada geese and their V-shaped flocks streaming overhead are classic signs of autumn. I hear the clamor of geese as they fly low over my house, preparing to land in the... Continue Reading →
The Outside Story By Jen Weimer For many of us, this season involves hunting, gathering, and preparing for a long, cold winter. This often includes stacking (or restacking) the firewood that’s been seasoning while we enjoyed the laid back warmer months of summer. Humans have used wood as a source of heat since they learned... Continue Reading →
[I'm writing this on a day that the thermometer just barely reached zero and overnight got down to minus 16. On top of Mt. Washington a windchill of minus 108, the lowest ever, was recorded. Here's a primer on how other animals cope. Silverbacks, of course, are smart enough to live in The Jungle where... Continue Reading →
[In honor of Valentine's Day, we're devoting this entire week to the subject of sweetness. SB SM] An anthropologist explains the evolutionary origins of why so many people seem practically programmed to love sugar. By STEPHEN WOODING 4 JAN 2023 THE SWEETNESS OF SUGAR is one of life’s great pleasures. People’s love for sweet is so... Continue Reading →
The Outside Story By Anna Morris Last autumn, around the same time I was laying the winter quilt on our bed, my cat became very interested in the space beneath the kitchen sink. Unsurprisingly, a mouse was huddled down there, seeking shelter in the warmth. Though I was sympathetic, and all wildlife is welcome in... Continue Reading →
[Why, as a species, do we keep being stupid in the same way? Wouldn't you think that after our ruinous fling with nuclear power we would ask "Duh, what happens if we run out of lithium? Duh, what do we do with the used batteries once they are depleted? Duh, how do we maintain our... Continue Reading →
The Outside Story By Anna Morris One January day, my husband and I set off on a walk around our neighborhood. The temperature was a bone-chilling negative 19 degrees, and although we worked to get our blood pumping, our fingers and toes eventually revolted. As we turned back toward the warmth of home, I spotted... Continue Reading →
The Real Meaning of Groundhog Day BRYAN PFEIFFERFEB 1Chasing Nature is Bryan's excellent newsletter. Subscribe by clicking the link. https://chasingnature.substack.com/p/sex-in-the-daylight?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) / © Bryan Pfeiffer THOSE OF US watching the world unfold here in North America can ignore the usual nonsense of Groundhog Day. A rodent, of course, can no sooner predict... Continue Reading →
Bryan Pfeiffer is, by his own description, a "field biologist, recovering journalist, fledgling geezer, boy explorer. I chase flying things (mostly birds and insects) and worthy ideas about human nature." His online newsletter, Chasing Nature, publishes "dispatches on wildlife, wild places, and the human condition." Here's an example: WTF No. 6: The Eroticism and Mythology... Continue Reading →
