Garden Favorites, From Fiddleheads to Asian-Style Asparagus
We've got some spring recipe ideas from Kathy Gunst.
View ArticleFor Some Plants, Getting Green Means Starting Early
For some plants, the race to harvest sunlight to make food starts early, in March. Skunk cabbage and many alpine plants begin to photosynthesize under the snow using red "anthocyanin" pigments which...
View Article3.20.14: The Birds, The Bees, & The Birds And The Bees
While the weather these days might not be an indicator, spring is officially here. Which got us thinking in the Word of Mouth pod...about the birds and the bees. And also birds and bees. On today's...
View ArticleVernal Equinox Means Equal Night
The Vernal Equinox has arrived! For one brief moment, everywhere on planet Earth, day and night are equal: 12 hours from sunrise to sunset and sunset to sunrise.The length of daylight compared to dark,...
View ArticleThe Sugaring Life
Maple time in New England brings out the essence of the trees and the character in the people. For those who love trees, a tongue-tip taste of fresh maple syrup is a sacrament, maple communion at the...
View ArticleSaw-Whet Owls
There are a lot of unusual sounds out there in the natural world. Here’s one from the nighttime forest, often heard this time of year.No, it’s not a school bus backing up.It’s a tiny owl, the northern...
View ArticleHistoric Ice-Out Of Winnipesaukee Expected
The man who officially declares the annual ice-out of Lake Winnipesaukee says this year’s announcement could be a record-setter.Dave Emerson of Emerson Aviation in Gilford said this winter’s cold and...
View ArticleGranite Staters Relish Belated Springtime Weather
After a long winter and several false starts, it looks like New Hampshire might finally be heading into spring. Mild temperatures on Sunday brought many Granite Staters outside to enjoy the weather....
View ArticleSpring Sunlight
Daylight floods a rural NH valley. A rooster crows in the village. The morning songbird chorus features mourning doves, red-wing blackbirds, a cardinal. The symphony will soon swell with grouse...
View ArticleRed-Winged Blackbirds
Move over robins; red-winged blackbirds are the real harbingers of spring.The male’s scratchy “oak-a-lee” songs are heard when the world is still blanketed with snow and maple sap is just beginning to...
View ArticleTiny Tree Flowers
Spring blossoms of our largest plants - woody trees - are small and inconspicuous. Trees flower early - before leaves emerge. While showy wildflowers on the forest floor rely on specialized insect...
View ArticleThis Year's Allergy Season / N.H. Hospital Tax Ruled Unconstitutional
Predictions for a Rough Allergy Season Following a Cold WinterBiologists say this year’s cold Winter and late Spring could mean a wallop of an allergy season, a so-called “pollen vortex” adding to a...
View ArticleA Soft Spot For Bluebirds
I've learned that a sighting of a bluebird on a bird watching field trip stops everything. We'll pause a long time as people take turns looking through the spotting scope. Involuntary gasps of...
View ArticleWater In The Trees
The patter of rain. Fingers of wind comb the canopy of tender leaves. These are exotic sounds of the new tree canopy in late May. New Hampshire forests are adapted to withstand rigors of wind and...
View ArticleThe 'Dirt' On Soil
This time of year finds a lot of people working in their gardens. Good gardeners pay attention to their soil.Just like above ground, there’s a diverse world of wildlife below ground competing for...
View ArticleSomething Wild: The Eerie Sounding Veery
The song of the veery is a haunting, ethereal song. Males sing at dusk, a time when not many other birds sing and daytime winds have calmed. It's also a time when the air turns damp; dense, moist air...
View ArticleMayfly Ballet
It’s not just anglers who follow emerging mayflies. The drama plays to appreciative audiences above and below the water. Hatching nymphs rise from dark, watery depths up to the wide blue sky, a...
View ArticleSpectrum of Birdsong
Mid-May is like rush hour in the bird world. Migrants have returned for the nesting season and the air is full of birdsong. As you might guess, birdsong is as varied as birds themselves. In fact,...
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