If you’ve spent any time outside during the last month, you’ve no doubt noticed a profusion of mushrooms. A very wet summer (the most rain ever from July – September) combined with typical heat and humidity created the perfect climate for rich fungal growth. For...

During winter, I make an effort to take a solitary walk in the woods at least once a week. I don't always get around to it, but I'm trying my best to follow through on this commitment. Winter is a season where it's easy to...

If you live in New England, you are well aware that we are in the midst of one of the worst droughts in decades. Where I live in northeastern Massachusetts, we just set the record for the lowest rainfall in recorded history between June and...

Despite the extremely mild winter we’ve had (so far 29 days have been above 50 degrees this winter – that’s 1/3 of the season!), these are still lean times for many of our local animals.  And while the warm nights and thin snow are a...

Beavers are frequently maligned animals in our region.They are blamed for flooded basements, creating stagnant ponds that breed mosquitoes, and (in the town in which I live) declining water quality.  While beavers may be a nuisance to homeowners, the value they provide to the greater...

My kids often ask me which month is my favorite.  I usually demure and talk about how each month has its pros and cons: I love playing in the snow of January, I also enjoy walking the barren woods of November replete with its browns...

I apologize for the lengthy interval between blog postings.  Clearly a lot has been happening in nature since my last post in March!  So instead of trying to recap the last 3 months and the amazing changes that occurred (the melting of 40” of snow,...

WARNING: This post contains some fairly graphic images of a partially eaten deer. WARNING #2: This post is kind of long.  I get really excited by Eastern coyotes. A few days ago, I decided to carve out some time to hike around the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary...

Last week a colleague of mine, Cori Brauer, made an amazing discovery with her homeschool class at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield, MA.  Encased in the ice of a vernal pool was the silhouette of a frog. [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="451"] Frog Silhouette in...

The other day I posted a grainy video of a long, thin worm gyrating in a peanut butter jar full of water on the North Shore Nature Program’s Facebook page.  Here’s a slightly better photo. This animal was found in a drainage pond at the Town...