Follow the Trail with Bill Reid,
The Last Green Valley's Chief Ranger
More Bears Seen in Our Backyards
Perfect Habitat for Forest-dwelling Bears Hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear of a black bear sighting somewhere nearby. I have seen them dart across woodsy roads and once came upon black bear scat too close to my house for comfort. During the…
Walktober Offers Something For Everyone This Fall
To be a true New Englander is to enjoy and live gladly within the essence of the four seasons. To me, no month defines New England and our seasons like October. Autumn may astronomically begin in September, but October entrances the senses. The sudden chill…
The Amazing Monarch Butterfly Can Be Raised — By You
“The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity.” — George Carlin There is nothing quite like seeing a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), our best-known and most popular butterfly in North America. Its large size and brilliant orange, black and white…
Autumn in The Last Green Valley Filled with Adventure
Last night, at exactly 9:45 p.m., the seasons turned with the autumnal equinox. Today is the first day of fall, the best time of year to experience New England and, certainly, a big reason why we love living here in The Last Green Valley. With…
Devastating 1938 Hurricane Not Forgotten
Here in New England, we have experienced our share of hurricanes, but it is the Great Hurricane of 1938 that is still remembered today for its devastation and destruction. When I was 4 years old my family moved to a new house in the town…
Slow Down and You’ll See More
“Nellie’s advance is always at a snail’s pace. I once timed her on a solitary circuit around the pond and found that, at that speed, it would take her eleven hours to travel a mile. Her motto, she says is: Go Slow and See More.”…
More to explore as season starts to change
September is here. Summer is slowly ripening into autumn and the bounty of the harvest is ready for picking. The seasonal cycle whispers in our ears the softer yet persistent sounds of nature. The singing birds are quiet now, their chorus replaced by the staccato…
TLGV active in keeping rivers clean, region green
Finding discarded litter along roadsides, walking trails, in rivers and streams is a major pet peeve of mine. For the life of me, I just can’t understand what could possibly being going through someone’s mind as he or she tosses food wrappings, coffee cups, cigarette…
American eel’s journey is an amazing one
“As long as the tide ebbed, eels were leaving the marshes and running out to sea. Thousands passed the lighthouse that night, on the first lap of a far sea journey. And as they passed through the surf and out to sea, so also they…
Green Darner Dragonfly an Amazing Acrobat
On a hot and humid July night, I stood gazing out over a friend’s three-acre horse pasture abutting the Natchaug River when I witnessed a sight I had only ever heard about. In the lower pasture I noticed a dragonfly air force squadron patrolling the…
August Means Start of Agricultural Fair Season
“By August’s end the warblers are moving through here again, on their way south. But more quietly than they came north in May. I see them, but I have to listen to hear them. The Summer wanes, well before the Equinox.” From, “Beyond Your Doorstep:…
Brooklyn is a small town full of history and heroes
Brooklyn is one of my favorite towns in The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor. Located at the intersection of Route 169 and Route 6, I travel though Brooklyn frequently as I make my way around the The Last Green Valley. From historical heroes, to…