Follow the Trail with Bill Reid,
The Last Green Valley's Chief Ranger

This can be a very difficult time of year for those who like to sleep late in the morning. The dawn chorus of birds can start as early at 4:30 a.m. and continue well into the morning hours. Even those of us humans who are…

One of my favorite poems by Robert Frost is Nothing Gold Can Stay. He employs the color of tree flowers and leaves as a metaphor for a much deeper message of life anew and life at end. To me his simple opening lines to the…

This year Earth Day will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 22nd. Those of us who work and volunteer for The Last Green Valley, Inc. (TLGV) consider every day as Earth Day. We know how fortunate we are to live in a beautiful place and in…

As the snow melts away and you have the opportunity to venture out into The Last Green Valley’s woods and forests, look for vernal pools. If you make repeated trips to these natural wonders during the spring and early summer months, the world of amphibians…

A few weeks ago, The Last Green Valley woke to a crisp winter morning. Soft, wet snow fell overnight, and the storm had blown itself out, replaced by a stiff breeze and clearing skies — perfect conditions for wildlife tracking. I grabbed my coat and…

“On this day of bleak cold, the earth seems dead. Yet every northern field and hillside, like a child, has seeds and powers of growth locked within it. From cocoon to bur on a winter’s day, there is everywhere life, dormant but waiting,” By Edwin…

“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” Winnie the Pooh I’ll never forget my first encounter with a black bear in the wild. It was 1972 and along with…

The sound was unmistakable and led me outdoors to face the thick woods across the road. In the advancing twilight the sound pierced the darkness again, and then again. The ghostly mournful wail, best described as a lonely whinny with “tremulous” descending pitch, could only…

“I imagine the turtles are developing quickly this hot summer. The embryos in the earlier eggs of the season must have reached the point at which they begin involuntary movements. With the first exercise and the increased metabolism it brings, they are preparing for the…

“Fireflies create a magic that transcends time and space. Their resplendent displays change ordinary landscapes into places ethereal and otherworldly.” From Silent Sparks: The Wonderous World of Fireflies by Sara Lewis. Folks in our neck of the woods enjoy the 4th of July with their…

“What finer time of year could one ask for in which to be born than on a day in June? Here on this old farm, which seems the perfect setting for two so interested in the out-of-doors as Nellie and I, another birthday finds me…

“Now all buds may swell, methinks; now the summer may begin for all creatures.” May 5, 1852, From the Journal of Henry David Thoreau Two weeks ago, I stepped out into the early morning chill to watch the sunrise paint the eastern horizon. Silently welcoming…