Fields throughout the Chautauqua Watershed are ablaze. One of nature’s spectacles, the fall blossoming of goldenrod is underway and will continue until the first hard frost. Rest assured that if you have hay fever allergies, goldenrod is not the cause of your affliction. The culprit is ...

Pruning is one of the most fundamental tasks in gardening, and knowing when to trim is as essential as knowing how. Pruning woody plants at the wrong time can interrupt bloom cycles and damage stressed plants. “It’s time to prune whenever your pruners are sharp” is an old adage that ...

Plastics have been around in their current form for decades, and estimates suggest that more than 8 billion metric tons have been created since large-scale production of plastic started in the 1950s. The vast majority of plastic that has been created is still in existence today, resting in ...

Now that summer is winding down and temperatures have begun to moderate, it’s a joy to sleep with a cool, gentle breeze wafting through open windows. The sounds of nature make a perfect lullaby. The voices of owls and frogs subside in September, allowing insect sounds to dominate summer ...

Nature and her creatures are suffering, and they’re calling for our help. The message of the monarchs, Danaus plexippus, a once widespread and iconic organism now threatened with extinction, is but one of many species in unprecedented decline, pleading for our attention and action. Monarchs ...

Of all the flora and fauna in the region, snails are not one I think about very often. On hikes, they fall into the “just” category. Oh, it’s just a snail. Oh, it’s just a crow. Oh, it’s just a dandelion. They are so easy to overlook because they appear commonplace. Ordinary. ...