Why do birds fly south for winter?

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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 [...]

Chicken of the Woods

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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 [...]

Subtle Wonders of the High Sierra

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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 [...]

A Bypassed Giant

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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 [...]