Jim Neureuther and his wife, Donna, meet Berkshire naturalist Thom Smith in Lanesborough and invite him to view the town’s Arboretum at Laston Memorial Park, just up past The Old Forge on Route 7.
Read articleThom Smith has been walking in the Berkshire woods for generations.
He is a local naturalist and a nature columnist for the Berkshire Eagle, and for many years he was the natural science curator at the Berkshire Museum. He has been writing about his favorite Berkshire expeditions for years and sharing them with me.
Coltsfoot blooms in early spring
The first adventuresome blossoms of the tiny yellow dandelion mimic we call coltsfoot come up in March, and a April settles in, masses will appear along the banks of gravel roads.
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Thom Smith looks for giants — old growth trees
Old growth woods have never been harvested. As much as 70 percent of the Berkshires’ woods were cut down between the arrival of the first European colonists and the Civil War — but in pockets, often in hard-to-reach places, giant trees still grow.
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Fall wildflowers come in with a flourish
Throughout the Northeast, nature rushes to display one last event of the growing season. The late summer and early autumn flourish of brilliant wildflowers on a September or October afternoon are worth an outing. To see it at its best, you’ll need to stroll through meadows and fields, although in […]
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Thom Smith snowshoes in the back country
Thinking back 16 years, Scott Jervas who worked with me managing the Berkshire Museum aquarium, had an unlikely winter pastime — searching for long-closed ski areas returning to forest.
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Gentle snowshoe treks in the Central Berkshires
When temperatures hover around 25 degrees F, or even a bit higher, it seems only logical to take a hefty dose of cabin fever remedy — head to the woods and give the snowshoes a workout. The Berkshires border the Snow Belt, and not every winter is a snowshoe winter, […]
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Berkshire naturalist Thom Smith scales the frozen Wahconah Falls in winter
Berkshire County waterfalls are far more abundant than many visitors realize. Other than downtime during a summer drought, most hold excitement any time, and they are safe if we explore with care — especially when they are frozen over. Back in my days of discovery, I tried to visit as […]
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Hemlock trees warm the winter woods with evergreen color
Here in New England, we know it by the name eastern hemlock or hemlock spruce. It is evergreen, but not a Christmas Tree — it will be a happier tree outside than inside, as its needles fall easily when they dry out. It is a common tree in cool woods with […]
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Berkshire Natural Resources Council preserves trails in the hills over Lenox
Berkshire naturalist Thom Smith and his family explore three BNRC trails in Lenox — a view, a marsh and a waterfall — on a fall afternoon.
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Outdoor sculpture brings color to The Mount in leaf season
As the summer season wanes, outdoor sculpture in leaf season takes on a new light, and The Mount in Lenox continues to draw people in even before they reach the mansion. Take a relaxing stroll along one of the Berkshires’ loveliest of driveways toward what once was the Gilded Age home […]
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