The scoop on soil

By RUTH SMITH

We often call it dirt, but the soil beneath our feet, in our gardens and under the plants of the forests and fields is far more than grit and mud. It is comprised of a complex mix of living and non-living elements that create the foundation for all...

Horses will flee; cattle may fight

By CAROLE SOULE

Have you ever wondered which is smarter: cows or horses? I think they’re intelligence is about equal, but their behavior is different. Here’s what I mean:Horses’ primary protection from predators is flight. In the wild, when a pack of coyotes...

Her boyfriend died mountain climbing. A new film about their lives brings back the heartbreak

By MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN

Red River Theatres will screen “The Alpinist” on Friday, Saturday and SundayAfter the accident, Brette Harrington didn’t know if she’d ever return to the mountains. She just wanted to disappear.Before that day in 2018, when her boyfriend Marc-André...

On Gardening: Double Play Candy Corn creates amazing beauty in every combination

By NORMAN WINTER

“Dad, you’ve got to come look at this spring combination,” said my color deign guru son, James. It made me want to scream wow because it was so beautiful. He chuckled, saying it was kind of an accident. The stunning partnership featured Double Play...

Toot toot, not hoot hoot

By RUTH SMITH

During a recent evening trip to the shed to fetch some firewood, I heard a strange sound in the woods. I recognized the sound but listened intently to be sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing. It resembled a truck backing up, but we live in...

Rare sight of wood turtle a reminder of need for protection

By MICHAEL J. CADUTO

Last June my wife Marie and I encountered a mature wood turtle while walking through a forest near our home. We admired the intricate topography of its shell, inspiration for this species’ scientific name: Glyptemys (“carved turtle”) insculpta...

5 reasons to buy a cow (or part of one)

Want to buy a cow? It could live in your backyard and eat the grass. Then you could feed it expensive fermented hay all winter. It could supply all the manure you could ever want – and more. To the point, how would you turn an inconvenient pet into...

Foe or friend? Blue jays provide an important service to other wildlife

By LEE EMMONS

Plenty of backyard birdwatchers consider blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) the villains of the avian world. Mark Twain best summarized anti-blue jay sentiment when he compared the bird’s principles to that of an ex-congressman. In Native American lore,...

The Outside Story: Garter snakes can be surprise guests

By SUSAN SHEA

One summer day I lifted the black plastic top of our composter and jumped back, startled — a large snake was curled up on top of the compost. The yellow stripe down the center of its dark back and two yellow stripes along its sides identified it as a...

Explanation of history of plastic surgery

By EMESE KALNOKI-KIS

What is the plastic surgery specialty and its history?Plastic surgery is one of the broadest surgical specialties. Plastic surgeons are trained in craniofacial surgery, microsurgery, aesthetic surgery, pediatric surgery, and hand surgery. They’re...

10 books on American historical figures

By Trevor Fraser

So the hype got to you, you finally checked out Hamilton on Disney Plus and now you want to learn everything you can about the influential figures in American history. (You also have all of King George’s songs stuck in your head for which there is no...

FINDING FERNS

By RUTH SMITH

At this time of year many people, not just gardeners, think about plants. Gardens are lush with flowers and ripening vegetables. Meadows, wetlands and forests are rich with the colors and textures of hundreds of species of flora. But one group of...

Horns are nothing to fear on gentle cattle

By CAROLE SOULE

At Miles Smith Farm, we have two kinds of cattle: Scottish Highlanders and Angus/Hereford cross-breeds. There are many differences between these breeds, but one is particularly striking. The Highlanders, both males, and females have enormous horns,...

The Outside Story: Muskrats swimming through summer

By MEGHAN McCARTHY McPHAUL

We were touring the neighborhood backroads one summer evening when the kids noticed a sleek movement through a small pond. At first, we thought it was a beaver, but its smaller size and — once we got a closer look — slender tail revealed this swimmer...

Old fashioned measures to wrangle cows

The first call came in at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Eleven of our cattle had escaped from a borrowed pasture at Early Sunrise Farm on Sargent Road in Gilmanton.The demand for grass-fed beef had depleted our existing herd, so I had recently purchased...

Land nesters

By RUTH SMITH

If ever there was a time to look to nature for some grounding, a place to escape and a reminder of normalcy, this is one of those times. Recently, I’ve been especially drawn to witness the aerial courtship display of the male American woodcock.This...

What does the fox say? From yips to shrieks, talk runs the gamut

By SUSIE SPIKOL

Sometimes it pays to be an insomniac. One frigid winter night, I climbed out of my restless bed and slipped outside to stand under a sky littered with stars and take in the complete silence of darkness. Suddenly, a ruckus broke out along the edge of...

Sam Trammell says worst moment is being encased in plastic wrap for hours on end

By NINA METZ

On the eighth and final season of Showtime’s Homeland, Sam Trammell has joined the ensemble as the stubborn veep-turned president, which puts him in a position of authority over CIA brainiac Saul Berenson, played by Mandy Patinkin. “Mandy’s such a...

Learning the different cuts of meat

By CAROLE SOULE

I was a vegetarian for five years, mostly because I didn’t want to support massive feed-lot operations which corral 150,000 cattle or more and can process 3,000 a day. I didn’t have any plan to save the planet from beef. But I did – and still do –...

Requirements to getting married in state

If you’re planning to get married in New Hampshire, here’s what you need to know to make sure everything is legal. The Granite State is a pretty simple place to get married, you just need a marriage license and an officiant. That makes eloping super...