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

A Winter Hike in The Last Green Valley

February 2, 2021

Every season of the year brings an opportunity for an enjoyable day outdoors, whether it is spent exploring forest or field, river or lake. Months and weeks turn purposefully through the lifecycle of our natural world. Our encounters and experiences change within that annual cycle…

On the Letterboxing Trail in The Last Green Valley

January 26, 2021

For folks looking to get outdoors with family, friends, or just a solo hike in nature, let me suggest a letterboxing activity as a fun way to explore. If you have youngsters and would like to spark their interest in nature, then the enticement of…

Eagle Month in The Last Green Valley: The Midwinter Eagle Survey

January 19, 2021

Every January for the past 11 years I’ve visited the Quinebaug Valley Trout Hatchery to look for eagles. Last Saturday I returned again, this time with seven other eagle searchers. We were there to take part in the annual Midwinter Eagle Survey organized by the…

First Day Exploration of a “Young Forest Habitat” at Mount Misery

January 12, 2021

Jan. 1 dawned with temperatures in the low 30s, low hanging clouds and the occasional peeks of sunlight. My wife and I have a tradition of a hike or walk to begin the new year. “First Day” hikes are a fun tradition for many people,…

Finding Beauty in January Freshly Fallen Snow

January 5, 2021

“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…

A 2021 Monthly Guide to Exploring The Last Green Valley

December 29, 2020

New Year’s Day is Friday and each of us will welcome 2021 in our own way. I will be happy to see 2020 in the rearview mirror. The challenges this past year were unprecedented in my lifetime, and, even with the turn of the calendar…

Welcome to winter – the season of snowshoes

December 21, 2020

The snows of winter arrived early this year, even before this week’s storm that covered The Last Green Valley in significant inches. Despite the recent arrival of the white stuff, winter actually starts Dec. 21 at 5:02 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Welcome to the Winter…

Giving the Gift of Nature & Conservation in The Last Green Valley

December 21, 2020

As the holidays approach I have been thinking about what gifts to purchase for family and friends. I try to shop at smaller local businesses as much as possible and in recent years have focused on giving “experiences” rather than things. This has led me…

A late fall invasion of blackbirds: the common grackle

December 9, 2020

Two years ago my wife Julie and I were driving through Hartford on the way to visit our daughter in West Hartford. We had crossed the Connecticut River and were through the city when suddenly the sky was full, and I mean full as in…

Exploring the Last Green Valley: Beauty found in December evergreens

December 1, 2020

“Each pine is like a great green feather stuck in the ground. Myriad white pine boughs extend themselves horizontally, one above and behind another, each bearing its burden of silvery sunlight…” — from Henry David Thoreau’s journal, Nov. 30, 1851 Today’s column is the third in…

The Amazing Cranberry: More Than a Thanksgiving Side Dish

December 1, 2020

There are many seasonal and holiday foods that appear on supermarket shelves throughout the year. Halloween and Valentine’s Day bring out candy. There is lamb for Easter and corn beef and cabbage for Saint Patrick’s Day. Thanksgiving is all about turkey, and I know folks…

The Princess Pine of the Forest

November 17, 2020

No matter the time of year I always discover something fascinating when on a woods walk. Every month of each season the forest gives up its secrets for us to encounter and admire. On Nov. 3 (following an early morning visit to the polls) I…