Follow the Trail with Bill Reid,
The Last Green Valley's Chief Ranger
Summer Solstice Ushers in Farmers Market Season
The longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice will begin at 6:07 a.m. Thursday (probably before most of us rise from our beds) and mark the official astrological beginning of summer for the Northern Hemisphere. I looked up the definition of the Summer Solstice…
June a Busy Month for Nature and TLGV Rangers
“The big surge of green is past. Now there will be several weeks of urgent growth before the Midsummer lull when that growth will be completed, and energies will go into seed maturing. Trees are more uniform green. Meadows are lush. Farmers begin to cut…
Nathan Hale was an Original American Patriot
Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who gave their life for our country while serving in the armed forces. Many towns will hold parades, invite dignitaries to make speeches and lay a ceremonial wreath at a war memorial. New flags are placed…
Get Out and Paddle Along Our Rivers This Spring
Rivers are the lifeblood of The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor. They define our region’s history, from transportation and sources of food for the original inhabitants of our beautiful valley to powering the age of industry. Today, our rivers provide exceptional recreational paddling opportunities…
Spring promises a variety of song and eggs
In my office I have a photograph of two bald eagles in a nest with two young hatchlings. The eagles built it about 10 years ago in a tall sycamore tree adjacent to the Quinebaug River. The nest is at least six feet in diameter…
Nature’s Transformation Has Begun With Winter Finally Behind Us
We are gratefully sliding from April into May. Frankly, I am happy to see April headed toward the rear-view mirror. It, along with March, was unseasonably cold and snowy. I have been joking with friends that 2018 saw the creation of a “fifth season” non-affectionately…
Red Fox is The Ghost of The Forest
This winter, I spent several days skiing in Vermont. Several large snow storms created a canvas of fresh snow on the mountainside, and every morning a new scene played out in the fresh tracks that were revealed. The chairlift to the summit was the perfect…
Consider Joining a Cleanup for Earth Day
Next Sunday is Earth Day, celebrated each year on April 22. For many of us who live and work here in The Last Green Valley, every day is our own personal earth day. We enjoy a region that remains 77 percent undeveloped land dominated by…
Spring’s Early Arrivers Have Made Their Return
Spring may be here, but at this writing many of our avian signs of spring are still to the south waiting for later departures. May is the month when songbirds seem to abound in New England with courtship songs, displays, territorial disputes and nest building.…
Time to Spring Outdoors
What a winter it has been here in The Last Green Valley. Winter skated into December with deep-freeze temperatures. January brought a whole new mind-boggling meteorological term, “bomb cyclone.” I didn’t hear a bomb or see a cyclone, though we had some snow and high…
Snowshoe Hare Hop Around Northern Parts of the State
Last month, I ventured to my family’s property in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. Located in the Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire, Fitzwilliam is about 90 minutes from where I live in Putnam. My grandparents bought the property in 1933, my father took it over in…
First Woman of Dentistry Practiced in Killingly
Over the past six months I have spent several hours in a dentist’s chair. My teeth have endured three crowns and paradental gum procedures. Luckily, I have dodged the dreaded root canal (so far). While I appreciate receiving much-needed and excellent dental care, getting to…