Category Archives: Out and about

Smoky Days

Posted on 08/11/2025 by chick

The smoke from the Canadian wildfires became a problem here again last week. Poor air quality plus extreme heat has certainly made athletic training more difficult this summer, confining our activities to late in the day and sometimes making them … Continue reading →

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Outside in the Middle of the Day

Posted on 08/10/2025 by chick

The sweet pepperbush’s season is all but over. I can no longer smell its fragrance on the air, and most of its flowers have turned brown. A few clovers linger in the front yard and the bees still visit, one … Continue reading →

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Much Ado About the Dewberry

Posted on 07/16/2025 by chick

When my friend and I were walking in Putnam earlier this year, I noticed a low-growing white flower that looked maybe a little strawberryish. Imagine my surprise when I later found what appeared to be that same type of plant … Continue reading →

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Into the Woods

Posted on 07/22/2023 by chick

I went for a walk in the woods today, inappropriately appareled, and will no doubt bitterly regret it tonight when I can’t sleep because of the dozen mosquito bites on my arms. My goal initially had been only to check … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Halloween

Posted on 11/05/2021 by chick

We took the kids trick-or-treating on Halloween. As an outdoor activity, it seemed safe enough Covid-wise. Marshall wore a taco costume, and Livia dressed as a wolf. It was a relatively subdued night compared to previous years. There were fewer … Continue reading →

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Charmer

Posted on 10/26/2021 by chick

It’s a good thing I was hunting so carefully for interesting things in the woods last week or I might have walked right past this charming wildflower. Isn’t this plant lovely? My field guide calls it “tall cordyalis,” but many … Continue reading →

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An Abundance of Wildflowers

Posted on 10/25/2021 by chick

It’s usually difficult to identify wildflowers when they aren’t in bloom, but sometimes they have such distinctive foliage that you can figure out what they are, even if you’ve never seen their flowers. Such was the case with the round-leaved … Continue reading →

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Look at It Go

Posted on 10/24/2021 by chick

The job of all the senses is to pick up clues from the outside world in various forms: lightwaves, changes in air pressure, chemical signals. That information is translated into millions of tiny electrical pulses. Your brain reads these electrical … Continue reading →

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Out of Season

Posted on 10/23/2021 by chick

It is fall, and most of the local plants are behaving accordingly, but not all. Is there any significance to there being so many plants blooming or fruiting at an odd time? I don’t know. I have often seen common … Continue reading →

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Not Birds of a Feather

Posted on 10/22/2021 by chick

I took a walk in the woods yesterday. Up at the Scenic Overlook, there was a strange sound, raspy, like something being scraped over and over again. I wanted know what it was, so I crept closer, expecting to find … Continue reading →

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