On a recent chilly, drizzly day, I ventured up Basin Road with a friend. The flume trail was not available, due to some work project. Our time was limited, so we stuck to the road, up and back.

Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association honors 120th anniversary Friday ahead of grand ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 30.

Easy and delicious way to cook fish.

On a day in mid-May with alternating sun and showers, a friend and I took a stroll on the Outer Point Trail. Our original intent was a walk on the Rainforest Trail, but that idea was jettisoned vigorously and immediately upon seeing a horde of tourists beginning a guided tour there. The Outer Point Trail was ours for a time, and a few others came later.

Environmental change is making it harder to rely on the way we’ve traditionally responded to extreme events. What used to be rare — “storms of the century” or major disruptions — now feels increasingly common. Cold snaps, heat waves, floods, and landslides are happening more often and with greater intensity.

Another season, another request for help to keep the games fun.

Here in Southeast, two species of swift reach the northern extent of their breeding range, although they are not common here.

Carpenter Media’s downsizing means generic ‘staff’ bylines on articles that are mostly rewritten press releases — yet it may be a successful business model.

The nice thing about this dish is that you can choose your favorite vegetables or whatever is in season.

The snow is still thick on the ground in some places and my pond still has a lot of ice. The small alders that grow at the pond edge were bent double by those heavy snows and still have their tops locked in the pond ice. Pairs of mallard visit the pond every day, foraging around the edges and on the fallen seeds on the ice. Other spring things are happening too!

The deadline has been my quietly relentless muse for the last 30 years. She used to give me headaches. But then I met her so many times that the headaches stopped.

Ice-out at Twin Lakes! Some swans soon discovered the open water and quickly took advantage of the access to submerged vegetation. Skunk cabbage inflorescences grew larger, bringing their cheerful yellows to the dark grounds. Mountain bluebirds continued to show up in the wetland, delighting many of us as they head north; they are gone before the end of April.