Maple Sugar by Sarah Hatfield

Maple Sugar by Sarah Hatfield

I have started the early seeds inside – onions, leeks, celeriac. The indoor herbs are started too, and the lemon tree I got last year opened its first flower. Remarkably fragrant, one flower perfumed the entire room. Spring is just around the corner, but one of the...
On Weather by Jennifer Schlick

On Weather by Jennifer Schlick

As I type, the wind is chasing clouds across a pale blue sky and making the boughs of the Scotch Pine and serviceberry trees outside my window bounce and sway. Now, here’s something a bit weird: Until recently, I don’t know why, I didn’t think of weather when I...
How do we know what we know about Nature?

How do we know what we know about Nature?

Teaching in a school yard the other day, a third grade boy pointed at the ground and shouted “There’s a deer track!” Another girl thought it was a rabbit track. To prove their points, they simply talked louder. Obviously, if you can talk louder than the other person,...
Nests

Nests

There is both skill and art involved in taking natural materials and fashioning them into a useful object. Humans have done this in the past, harvesting plants and turning them in shelters, clothes, furniture and tools. I can’t help but wonder how they figured it out,...
Apples by Katie Finch

Apples by Katie Finch

The pictures of spring flowers in children’s books are bright pinks, purples and yellows. But look around at all the white flowers – in the fields, on the shrubs and in the trees. And as your eyes scan the landscape and are drawn to the tree in a coat of white,...