SOUTH BURLINGTON – The longer, warmer days of spring spark phenological changes in trees, from root to tip. As the limbs of trees stretch and twist toward the sky in search of sun, their trunks grow wider to support the new weight. New wood is added year after year to[Read More…]

BURLINGTON – As the days get longer and the sun warms the forest floor, hepatica flowers start emerging. These charming early bloomers captivated the writer and naturalist John Burroughs, who extolled their “winsome grace” in his poem “Hepatica.” Hepatica flowers close on cloudy days and when night falls to preserve[Read More…]

READING – Fractals are sometimes referred to as a “visual representation of math.” They can be observed in the spatial arrangements found in many familiar forms, patterns, and shapes in nature: from the branching of trees, ferns, river systems, and lightning, to the patterns found in leaves, seedheads, crystals, seashells,[Read More…]

NEW ENGLAND – Muskrat mating is so sensational that songs have been written about it. Fans of 1970s pop music might be familiar with a certain ballad, written by Willis Alan Ramsey and popularized by bands like America and Captain & Tennille, about two anthropomorphic muskrats falling in love. Though[Read More…]

AREA TOWNS – Since the emerald ash borer was first detected in Vermont in 2018, Plainfield has been unlucky in its relationship with the invasive beetle. The town is a hotspot for infestations right now, leaving dry, rotted-out ash trees ready to crash. But Hardwick, just a few towns north,[Read More…]

NORWICH — Spring doesn’t just herald the return of birds, frogs, and bees; it also signals the emergence of many native moths, which deserve some of the spotlight. Enter the Infant Moth (Archiearis infans). Also called the First-born Geometer because of its early emergence, these diurnal (day-flying) moths can be[Read More…]

NORWICH — Spring ephemeral wildflowers are perennial woodland plants that sprout from the ground early, bloom fast, and then go to seed—all before the canopy trees leaf out overhead. Often found in calcium-rich woods alongside Sugar Maple and Northern Maidenhair Fern, they include Dutchman’s Breeches, Blue Cohosh, Wild Ginger, spring beauty and[Read More…]

NORWICH — For us bee biologists, nothing says spring quite like the first bumble bee of the year. Sometime between late March and early May, a loud, familiar buzz will get our attention and we will once again get reacquainted with these charismatic minifauna. For the more casual bee enthusiasts,[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — When the winter snow melts and the spring rain begins, vernal pools appear on the landscape. These ephemeral wetlands form in depressions in forests or ridge lines and offer essential breeding habitat to amphibians and invertebrates, including wood frogs, spotted salamanders and fairy shrimp. Because vernal pools[Read More…]

LOWELL, Mass. — You’re probably familiar with the basic amphibian life plan: start as a wriggly water-breathing tadpole, transform into an adult that breathes air. This is the pattern followed by all our frogs and toads, and our mole salamanders as well. Enter the eastern newt, an amphibian with three[Read More…]

BOLTON — Rudbeckia hirta. Solanum lycopersicum. Acer saccharum. Have you ever seen these names on plant tags or seed packets and wondered where they came from? We can thank Carl Linnaeus for taxonomy, the study of categorizing and naming organisms, and binomial nomenclature, the precise, two-termed naming system we use[Read More…]

HOPKINTON, N.H. — In early spring, a reddish haze appears in the woodlands. With most deciduous trees still dormant, the red maples are living up to their name. Their awakening buds lend color to a gray landscape and signal that spring is coming. I love watching the steady progression of[Read More…]