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

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…

“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…

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…

I grew up outside of Boston, and as a kid was told the story of one of my ancestors who fought in the battle of Bunker Hill. It was the first major battle of the American Revolution and while the colonists lost the battle, they…

Last Monday was the summer solstice and the official start of summer. We have a tradition at The Last Green Valley (TLGV) to take in the summer solstice with a sunset paddle, and Monday about 30 of us enjoyed a beautiful evening at Mansfield Hollow…

Earlier this month my colleague, LyAnn Graff, brought in an interesting looking fuzz ball surrounding a thin leafy branch of a burr oak tree. It was about the size of a golf ball, but with red-tipped small points on the wooly surface. I figured it…

“Before the work of the day, taste the poetry of the day! Our poor, battered minds and sprits need the dawn. There is the calm of nature, the sanity of the earth, in each breath of scented air on a sunrise in June.” — Edwin…

June is here, and like the old Rodgers and Hammerstein’s song from the musical “Carousel,” it is busting out all over with blooms and the warming sun announcing the coming Summer Solstice. I did a bit of research and was not surprised to discover June…

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a day we take time to celebrate those who gave their life for our country while serving in the armed forces. To honor the fallen we hold parades, set out graveside decorations, listen to speeches and remembrances by local dignitaries and…

A few weeks back, during one of the warmer days of April, I was sitting on our back porch enjoying the spring air. What looked like a plump bumblebee was circling and darting about and then zoomed up close and hovered in front of me.…

Garlic and mustard are staples in my house. We love the intense bold flavors. But garlic mustard, now that is a whole other beast. It’s a plant, Alliaria petiolate, and it’s a highly invasive and destructive plant that is blooming right now. I seem to…

Here we are 7 weeks after the Vernal Equinox, and it finally seems like spring has arrived. The daffodils that bloom in our front yard didn’t appreciate 2 inches of snow that arrived in April but thankfully they sprang right back up as soon as…