If, when browsing the antiques shops of Washington County, you should spot an old hat with “March 12-13, 1888” marked inside, there is a story behind it. A story almost not fully told.
“It is unnecessary to speak in detail of the storm,” The Granville Sentinel reported on March 16, 1888. “It has been everywhere and all know its effect.” Then, as if the editor had second thoughts, the report continued for the full column and about half of a another, a rare luxury of space afforded only the most important of news stories in 19th century newspapers.
It was definitively the biggest storm of the season, and possibly of the century. [Read more…] about The Great Blizzard of March 1888 in Washington County
Winter is the time when wildlife activity ebbs. Many residents of our fields and forests have retreated to shelters beneath the surface of the soil in an attempt to escape this season of low temperatures, snow and ice, and little if any food.
A warm southerly breeze in mid-March brings with it loose, granular conditions on the ski slopes, a layer of mud on dirt roads, and the return of the first seasonal avian residents – among these are the red-winged blackbirds. 
Most New Yorkers agree that one of the best aspects of winter is the total absence of pesky, flying bugs outside. Freezing temperatures and an extraordinarily dry atmosphere that would desiccate any fragile-bodied organism combine to prevent such smaller forms of life from becoming active during this harsh season in our northern climate.
The winter season presents a series of challenges for wildlife, such as food shortages, colder temperatures and large snowfalls. Fortunately, native wildlife has developed unique physiological and behavioral traits to help them survive and thrive in New York’s cold winter climate. 
On a clear mid-winter day several years ago, my student Sarah Wakefield and I pulled on snowshoes, donned backpacks, and headed up through Smugglers’ Notch in Vermont.