We finally had a day of sun on new snow. I’ve been waiting all winter as every snowstorm slid into rain and froze solid. This time snow fell at night and we woke up to fresh powder and a gleam in the evergreens, and I went for a walk at […]
Read articleHemlock 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 […]
Read articleIce sculptures on the rocks grow naturally in the Berkshires
In what we like to call an old-fashioned winter, when temperatures fall well below freezing, we live in a shining land. Throughout the Berkshires I have photographed waterfalls and cascades both summer and winter, but locally few frozen spectacles cause as much excitement as the massive natural ice sculpture and […]
Read articleSpringside Park in Pittsfield offers gentle walks in winter
Springside Park’s 237 acres of mostly undeveloped field and woodland fit gently into the residential neighborhoods of Pittsfield’s North End. Far more trees — and squirrels — live in this part of town than any other, in the city’s largest park. How large is the park? Jim McGrath, open space […]
Read articleBartholomew’s Cobble guides explore the woods in the bare season
A week ago, I watched Carrianne Petrik-Huff take the temperature of a skunk cabbage. The thermometer, held inside the curl of the young plant, read 36 degrees — almost 20 degrees warmer than the outside air.
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