WriterByNature.com

October 30, 2007 6:45 am

These heirloom apples are not much to look at, but one bite and everyone I know becomes a huge fan.

I had to go to New York City to find a farm in the Hudson Valley with russet apple trees. My favorite way to enjoy these apples is to pick them myself. This farm has picked all their russets. Next year I’ll find out when they pick and ask if I can join in.

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September 28, 2007 8:12 pm

It’s been hot and sunny for a couple of weeks. A significant weather front passed by, but my area got virtually nothing in the way of rain.

What we did get, was a brief thunderstorm around 5:15 EDT. I haven’t seen a rainbow in almost three years. Actually there are two rainbows.

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September 26, 2007 9:55 pm

It’s a warm, clear night and this month’s full moon, the full harvest moon, dominates the sky. I see no stars.

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February 23, 2007 3:49 am

Practice getting lost. Seriously.

Once you’re lost, it’s not the time to learn a new skill.

Here are a few techniques that will help you cope if you are ever really lost on land, even if you don’t have a compass. (more…)

January 1, 2007 4:26 pm

This is the largest of the annual meteor showers, even bigger than the Perseids.

With an average of 100 meteors descending each hour, this is a spectacular winter light show. (more…)

August 10, 2006 4:57 am

This annual summer event will peak on August 12 this year.

While viewing is best after midnight and far from city lights, the proliferation of meteors (an average of 65 shooting stars per hour) in the northeast sky promises some exciting viewing.

Many scientists believe that over one hundred million meteors enter earth’s atmosphere each day. This is the largest meteor shower, second only to the Quadrantids in January. Most of these meteors vaporize in the upper atmosphere. On a rare occasion, a chunk finds its way to earth.

Watching this display of lights provides another opportunity for nature observation.

July 23, 2006 4:03 am

Watching a thunderstorm form and unfold is dramatic. I am grateful to be spared the devastation that continues to impact people on the east side of the Hudson River.

Billowing cumulonimbus clouds crowd the sky like quilted fabric in every shade of gray. (more…)

June 24, 2006 1:54 am

It’s so oppressively hot, even the insects are not moving. If you’re lucky enough to be near water, then you might get a breeze.

Weather like this is conducive to a thunderstorm, so if you have to get to shelter, how much time will you have? (more…)

June 1, 2006 9:22 am

I’ve been out at the lake before sunrise for the last several days.

The calendar may say it’s spring, but the heat and humidity say it’s summer.

At dawn the air is cool, scented with pinkster and sweet fern. Yesterday fog swirled above the lake surface; today there is a barely perceptible breeze. (more…)

May 27, 2006 3:46 am

Here’s what was on my mind this past week while (mostly) immersed in nature. (more…)