I tend to measure summer’s passing not by the calendar but by the flowers in bloom. This weekend, driving north after a week away, I was alarmed by the hint of purple along the roadside.

Flower gardens are well known for their support of pollinators like bees, butterflies and beetles, but do forests provide the same benefit?

After months of winter hush, spring feels loud. It begins with that first ‘hey sweetie’ from a frisky chickadee in late February. And when the red-winged blackbirds first pierce the quiet, you know the springtime noise is about to get real.

Recently Joe Dembeck, Somerset SWCD's Executive Director, presented a webinar hosted by Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) that provided greater details on these two NRCS cost-share programs for Maine woodland owners.

When pruning trees that have not been pruned in a while (10+ years) - or never, think of it as a multi-year task. Years 1-3 are focused on removing dead wood, creating shape amongst branches, and providing a balanced shape to the tree. Years 4+ will be focused on maintaining shape and production.

February 2022 has been recognized as Browntail Moth Awareness Month in Maine to encourage people to take advantage of the dormant season of the insect and join together to reduce impacts from browntail moth (BTM).

On your next winter walk, find a birch tree and you will likely find its neatly packaged seeds spread out across the snow.

One of my favorite winter stewardship activities is pruning younger, well-formed white pines. The pruning of the lower branches is solely focused on allowing future growth of clear “knot free” wood, thereby increasing the value of the tree as a higher-grade sawlog.

By providing habitat, nutrients, shelter and more, down logs like my beloved oak are the biological capital that fuels the long-term health of a forest ecosystem.

My younger self would never have thought that all those hemlocks would be gone less than 25 years later. And the impacts on the wildlife have been tremendous

Late fall is an ideal time to locate many invasive species. While most of our native plants have dropped their leaves, invasive species tend to hold on to their leaves longer into the season. Any foliage you spot in the woods right now is worth a close look; in many cases, you will find a troublesome invader such as shrubby honeysuckle, burning bush, or Norway maple.

New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) teamed up with West Field Production Co. to produce “Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species”. It tells the story of invasive species in NY and how DEC and its partners are tackling them. The film looks at a number of species we are battling in Maine, plus a host of others heading our way. Watch the one-hour film below.