-
Why do birds fly south for winter?
cbell1 on EcoBlog
by Doug Morin I opened my backdoor and stepped into the yard to a flash of red and buzz of wings – a hummingbird. Maybe the last of his kind I will see this year, he perched on a small branch, tilted his head to either side, then flew off down the road. Here in […]Posted September 28, 2011. -
Chicken of the Woods
cbell1 on EcoBlog
by Becky Cushing Frog legs, rabbit, octopus, sea lamprey: Tastes just like chicken. But a mushroom? That might take some convincing. Purple toadstools dot moist ground. Tiny aliens emerge from rotting wood. A stalk shoots from leaf litter on the forest floor. Like Alice’s Wonderland, the damp woods in and around Burlington are splattered with wild […]Posted September 24, 2011. -
Subtle Wonders of the High Sierra
cbell1 on EcoBlog
by Cathy Bell After a night spent deeply burrowed into the warmth of my down sleeping bag, I wake to discover that my tent has abruptly transformed itself from a cozy refuge to a swelteringly confined space. The sun has only just cleared the ridgeline of Cirque Peak, but its rays are strong here at 11,000 feet […]Posted September 22, 2011. -
A Bypassed Giant
cbell1 on EcoBlog
by Rachel Garwin What’s the last amazing thing you overlooked? I discovered mine last Wednesday in Centennial Woods, a 65-acre natural area near the University of Vermont campus. A friend and expert naturalist was sharing his local knowledge with a group of undergrads, and I had tagged along. The familiar path turned to the left in […]Posted September 16, 2011.