First day of summer longest but not hottest
The warm, sunny days in early May made part of spring feel like summer. Summer technically doesn’t begin until the summer solstice on June 20…
Tag: Seasons
Pheasant populations dependent on weather and habitat
Every time I drive through the valley on Copeland Road I look for pheasants near Farm to Market Road, especially in autumn and winter. Most…
Tracking the year with full moons
A full moon rising over the eastern horizon is a magnificent sight especially on a clear winter night. For millennia, humans have watched the full…
Being green in winter isn’t easy
Compared to the Midwest, the forests of North Idaho are filled with more conifers than deciduous trees. Conifers keep our forests green through winter as…
Molt, snowfall don’t always coincide for snowshoe hares
A flash of white darts across the road into a brown thicket of leafless vegetation. The snowshoe hare typically blends into its surroundings but with…
Canada geese can be migratory or residents
As the temperatures cool and the leaves fall, the familiar “a honk, a honk, a honk” can be heard overhead as Canada geese fly in…
Can woolly bear caterpillars predict winter weather?
What will winter be like? Many look to the woolly (wooly) bear caterpillar for a prediction. The black and orangish-brown banded caterpillars may be the…
Only cartoon turtles can remove their shell
Burrowed in mud at the bottom of a pond are turtles waiting out winter. Come spring, they will be basking on logs and rocks soaking…
Camouflage a means of survival
I catch a slight movement out of the corner of my eye and stop to scan the brushy slope. After a few seconds I spy…
Autumn arrives early in the Arctic
As I walked towards the water-filled gravel pit early one morning last week, a sound filled the air that I hadn’t heard since spring–the honking…
Winter is around the corner
Technically it is still summer until September 23, the autumn equinox. But above the Arctic Circle, autumn is well under way with winter weather close…
First Day of Summer
Rain clouds filled the skies this morning but eventually gave way to partly cloudy skies in the afternoon. The sun was determined to shine on…
Pheasant populations dependent on weather and habitat
Every time I drive through the valley on Copeland Road I look for pheasants near Farm to Market Road, especially in autumn and winter. Most…
Tracking the year with full moons
A full moon rising over the eastern horizon is a magnificent sight especially on a clear winter night. For millennia, humans have watched the full…
Being green in winter isn’t easy
Compared to the Midwest, the forests of North Idaho are filled with more conifers than deciduous trees. Conifers keep our forests green through winter as…
Molt, snowfall don’t always coincide for snowshoe hares
A flash of white darts across the road into a brown thicket of leafless vegetation. The snowshoe hare typically blends into its surroundings but with…
Canada geese can be migratory or residents
As the temperatures cool and the leaves fall, the familiar “a honk, a honk, a honk” can be heard overhead as Canada geese fly in…
Can woolly bear caterpillars predict winter weather?
What will winter be like? Many look to the woolly (wooly) bear caterpillar for a prediction. The black and orangish-brown banded caterpillars may be the…
Only cartoon turtles can remove their shell
Burrowed in mud at the bottom of a pond are turtles waiting out winter. Come spring, they will be basking on logs and rocks soaking…
Camouflage a means of survival
I catch a slight movement out of the corner of my eye and stop to scan the brushy slope. After a few seconds I spy…
Autumn arrives early in the Arctic
As I walked towards the water-filled gravel pit early one morning last week, a sound filled the air that I hadn’t heard since spring–the honking…
Winter is around the corner
Technically it is still summer until September 23, the autumn equinox. But above the Arctic Circle, autumn is well under way with winter weather close…
First Day of Summer
Rain clouds filled the skies this morning but eventually gave way to partly cloudy skies in the afternoon. The sun was determined to shine on…