Follow the Trail with Bill Reid,
The Last Green Valley's Chief Ranger
Exploring The Last Green Valley – Walktober 2021
Wednesday at 3:20 p.m. marks the Autumnal Equinox, the official end of summer and the start of the seasonal change towards winter. For some, autumn is their favorite time of year with cool sweater weather and the colors of fall leaves changing from shades of…
The Nipmuck Trail
“A good trailsman always leaves a trail a little better than he finds it.” ‑‑ Edgar L. Heermance, “Father” of the Connecticut Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail System, from Connecticut Walk Book, 20th Edition, 2017. Some of the wonderful outdoor resources we have in the 26 Connecticut towns…
Jumping “Crazy Snake” Worms in The Last Green Valley
My friend Dick Waterman from Hanover, one of the three villages of Sprague, is a regular reader of this column. Thanks to his inquisitive nature, coupled with years of documenting the natural world in his neighborhood, he has provided me with several ideas to share…
Finding Beauty in a September Day
“For days now, monarch butterflies have been drifting through. While birds are migrating south by night, in starlight and moonlight, these butterflies are moving south by day, in brilliant sunshine and under the shadows of clouds. The night of the migrating songbird finds its parallel…
A Visit to the Tantaquidgeon Museum
“Father and brother Harold built the little stone original museum that was begun in 1930 and completed and opened in 1931. The purpose of this little stone room was to house our collection of various artifacts that had been made and used by our people…
Going Batty with CT DEEP Wildlife Biologist Devaughn Fraser
On the evening of July 24, I was joined by 28 intrepid TLGV members, their children and friends at the Wyndham Land Trust’s Lyon Preserve in Pomfret. We were there for a program led by CT DEEP Wildlife Biologist Devaughn Fraser. She is an expert…
Calling All Photographers! Show off Your Talent in TLGV’s 2022 Calendar
The Last Green Valley, Inc. (TLGV) is searching for 13 photos capturing the unique spirit of the National Heritage Corridor. The selected images will appear in the 2022 TLGV Calendar and hang proudly in businesses and homes throughout the National Heritage Corridor and beyond! Photos…
The Elusive Hummingbird Moth
We have an old honeysuckle bush in our front yard twisting up a pipe 10 feet into the air. Planted by the previous owners, the orange-red flowers spreading out five feet around attract hummingbirds to their trumpet-shaped flowers. On sunny, warm days they move between…
Finding Beauty on an August Day
“The scales have tipped and the days have more of early fall than early summer in them. Mornings dawn with heavy mists that burn away in time. The annual overturn in sound has already taken place. The chorus of singing birds has diminished; the music…
A Summer of Wonder and Concern in Birdland
The summer of 2021 will go down as one of my more satisfying and yet concerning summers when it comes to my fascination and interest in birds. My wife refers to our backyard as Birdland due to the variety of species visiting and residing near…
Giant of the Forest: The Splendid Tulip Poplar
“I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.” — Henry David Thoreau One of my favorite places to visit is Nathan Hale State Forest at the Nathan…
Finding Beauty in a Summer Day
The Summer Solstice may be in June, but for us New Englanders it is July when summer really starts. The heat of the season draws me outdoors to the wealth of beauty right out my doorstep. Here is what I’ve been seeing so far and…