• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

nature

Shady Business: Trees and Drought

July 11, 2020 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

Sugar Maple courtesy Wikimedia user Bruce MarlinOne of the perks of having trees nearby is that social-distancing rules don’t apply – you can hug as many as you like without risk of contracting Covid-19. Another benefit, of course, is shade.

When the heat’s on and you need to lie low for a while, it’s great if some of your friends are shady characters. Especially if they’re tall, mature types with solid builds. Yeah, trees are cool. [Read more…] about Shady Business: Trees and Drought

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: nature, trees

The Northeastern Pine Sawyer Beetle

July 11, 2020 by Tom Kalinowski Leave a Comment

Northeastern Pine Sawyer Beetle courtesy University of Wisconsin-La CrosseFrom the afternoon into the early evening in mid to late summer, a silence often develops as the heat of the day peaks and then starts to cool; as birds cease to sing and amphibians lose their urge to call.

In the stillness between periods when leaves rustle from light summer breezes, the sound of a grinding or twisting-scraping can be heard coming from a fallen softwood log or a dead standing evergreen. [Read more…] about The Northeastern Pine Sawyer Beetle

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Western NY Tagged With: Forestry, insects, nature, Wildlife

Fishing Spiders: A Primer

July 9, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Fishing Spider by Adelaide TyrolLarge fishing spiders walking on water can be fascinating – or terrifyingly unnerving. The latter reaction is common among Saint Michael’s College students as we sample Vermont’s streams and ponds.

On one occasion, a normally macho student screamed, dropped his net, and leaped from the stream to avoid a particularly large specimen. But have no fear; these beautiful beasts will not carry your offspring away. In fact, they are completely harmless – at least to humans. [Read more…] about Fishing Spiders: A Primer

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: nature, spiders, Wildlife

Adk Garden Club Announces 2020 Grant Awardees

July 7, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

adirondack garden club logoThe Adirondack Garden Club has announced the Ellen Lea Paine Memorial Nature Fund grant awardees for 2020.

The Adirondack Garden Club Ellen Lea Paine Memorial Nature Fund was established in 2005 to give financial assistance to individuals and not-for-profit organizations involved in programs whose purpose is to study, protect and enjoy the natural environment within the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about Adk Garden Club Announces 2020 Grant Awardees

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Food, Nature Tagged With: Adirondack Garden Club, Grants, nature

Bear Killed: High Peaks Campsites, Lean-Tos Reopened

July 7, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

black bear provided by decThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reopened campsites and lean-tos in the Lake Colden area in the High Peaks of the Adirondack Park, after a black bear that DEC says had “a documented escalation of the bear’s aggressive behavior since 2018” was euthanized.

Camping in the area was temporarily closed after numerous incidents with what are believed to have been the same bear over the past several weeks, according to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. [Read more…] about Bear Killed: High Peaks Campsites, Lean-Tos Reopened

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: black bears, camping, DEC, High Peaks, Lake Colden, nature, Wildlife

Broad-Winged Hawk Migrations

July 4, 2020 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Broad Winged Hawk ChicksEach fall, thousands of broad-winged hawks soar across Northeastern skies in flocks known as kettles, on their way to wintering grounds in South and Central America.

The sky swirls with hawks bubbling up on thermals of hot air and then streaming southward. It is enough to take your breath away – all those raptors, more than you could imagine seeing in a lifetime, coursing across one stretch of sky together. [Read more…] about Broad-Winged Hawk Migrations

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: birding, birds, nature, raptors, Wildlife

Identify Giant Hogweed, Then Avoid It

July 4, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

giant hogweed plantGiant hogweed plants are beginning to bloom across many parts of the state, making it a prime time to spot this harmful invasive. Giant hogweed is a large, flowering plant from Eurasia with sap that can cause painful burns and scarring. [Read more…] about Identify Giant Hogweed, Then Avoid It

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Western NY Tagged With: DEC, Invasive Species, nature, Wildlife

Trout Fishing, Drought and Low Water

July 2, 2020 by Tom Kalinowski 1 Comment

Fly fishing in a river courtesy Wikimedia user ZigaTrout fishing is a challenging endeavor, yet it can be the most rewarding backcountry activity, as success ordinarily means a meal or two with a great tasting main course. Because trout require cool, clean waters in which to live, anglers who want to engage in this popular summer pastime traditionally head to those places where conditions remain favorable for these hardy game fish. [Read more…] about Trout Fishing, Drought and Low Water

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Climate Change, Fisheries, fishing, nature, Trout, Wildlife

Pill Bugs: A Primer

July 1, 2020 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

Pill Bug courtesy Wikimedia user Franco FoliniYou’ve probably seen these little fourteen-legged chimeras at some point, though you may not have paid them any mind since you were a kid.

Part shrimp, part kangaroo, and part armadillo, the ubiquitous pill bug (Armadillidium vulgare) is a harmless, if sometimes annoying, critter which scuttles about at night feeding on dead vegetation.

Also known as potato bugs or roly-polys, these are the guys that pull themselves into a tight little ball for protection when disturbed. [Read more…] about Pill Bugs: A Primer

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: gardening, insects, nature, Wildlife

Rattlesnake Relocated from Columbia County

June 29, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Rattlesnake slithers under porch of Columbia County residenceEnvironmental Conservation Officer Jeff Cox reported that on June 20th he received a call from a concerned homeowner in Copake reporting a large rattlesnake on their front porch. [Read more…] about Rattlesnake Relocated from Columbia County

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature Tagged With: DEC, ECOs, nature, snakes, Wildlife

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 76
  • Go to page 77
  • Go to page 78
  • Go to page 79
  • Go to page 80
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 89
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Help Finish Our 2022 Fundraising

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Ralph on Skiing Comes to the Sullivan County Catskills
  • Bernard McCann on Old Fort Niagara During the Civil War
  • Ellen Brown on The Adirondack Park Agency At 50: State Leaders Are Missing The Point
  • Edythe Ann Quinn on Black History Historiographic Genealogies: Sources & Resources
  • Your New Neighbor on Saratoga Corruption & The Destruction of Cale Mitchell
  • Joyce Kelly- Feeley on Troy Orphan Asylum: Vanderheyden’s Legacy Exhibit Opening
  • Adrienne Saint-Pierre on Hibernation: How It Works
  • GARY SCHOEN on Moose Are Back in New York State: A Population Update
  • Deb Heller on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • John Warren on Civil War in the Mohawk Valley: The Battle of Oriskany

Recent New York Books

The Great New York Fire of 1776
The Sugar Act and the American Revolution
battle of harlem hights
Ladies Day at the Capitol
voices of wayne county
CNY Snowstorm book front cover
The Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era
Expanded Second Edition of Echoes in These Mountains
historic kingston book

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide