History, Natural History & the Arts
LGBTQI+ Pride Month is normally associated with colorful parades and marches and speeches by local, regional, and national leaders, but it’s part of an important political history as well.
Out of all the months in the year, why June? [Read more…] about LGBTQ Pride Month Is History In Action
The high school I attended was too small to have football or track-and-field, which was no great loss, as the only sport I have ever been good at is jumping to conclusions.
We all know correlation does not equal causation, but when appearances point to a culprit, it’s hard to resist. If a baseball just smashed through your window and there’s a kid with a ball glove out in the yard, most of us would not feel any need to investigate further. [Read more…] about Lichens Only Look Guilty
Cornell Cooperative Extension has announced a virtual program on Worm Composting, set for Thursday, June 18th at 2 pm. [Read more…] about Worm Composting at Home: A Tutorial
There are two weeks remaining to comment on the Draft Fisheries Management Plan for Inland Trout Streams in New York State. The purpose of the plan is to guide the efforts and resources of DEC toward managing New York’s trout stream fisheries according to their ecological and recreational potential. [Read more…] about Trout Stream Management Plan Comments Sought
I grew up on a street lined with tall, stately elms. While walking to school one day, I found a bird’s nest that the wind had blown down. The nest was a beautiful, silky gray pouch. My teacher helped me identify it as a Baltimore oriole’s nest. Over the years, I found a couple of similar nests, as elms are a favorite nesting tree of orioles. [Read more…] about The Decline of Lord Baltimore’s Orioles
Before the mid-eighteenth century, turtles were largely untried as edibles in North America. For considerable time, the turtle was assumed to be poisonous. An infernal creature, a “resident of hell,” it should not be cultivated for food.
But attitudes changed. By the mid-nineteenth century, civic banquets would inevitably offer turtle on the menu. [Read more…] about When Eating Turtle Was All The Rage
Probably everyone has a sound they associate with high summer. For me, nothing says “holy cow, it’s hot” like the drone of cicadas, their song is a miniature buzz saw that cuts across a hot afternoon, undulating a bit and then dropping off near the end of its arc.
Cicadas are stout, ancient-looking bugs with bulgy eyes and clear wings. While the largest species is about three inches long and has a seven-inch wingspan, the ones in our neck of the woods range from 1 to 2.5 inches in length with a wingspan of three inches or so. [Read more…] about The Natural Sounds of NY Summer: Cicadas
You can find wildflowers just about anywhere, at your local park, in your backyard, in fields and forests, and along roadsides. Not only are they nice to look at, but can be food for wildlife, including pollinators. Wildlife may eat the leaves, flowers, seeds or stems. [Read more…] about Discover Wildflowers Right Outside Your Door
The latest episode of A New York Minute In History podcast explores the mystery of who is the inspiration for Natty Bumppo, one of the most recognizable characters from James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales series of novels.
Bumppo was described by Cooper as a rugged frontiersman who dressed in tanned leather and was a skilled hunter and scout. His character was famously ridiculed by Mark Twain. [Read more…] about James Fenimore Cooper: Who is the Real Natty Bumppo?
This week on The Historians Podcast, movie historian and SUNY Albany lecturer emeritus Audrey Kupferberg discusses film preservation. [Read more…] about Preserving Motion Picture History (Podcast)