It’s Only Natural — May 2013
By Star Childs A good old-fashioned winter has come and gone here in the Icebox of Connecticut. Asked to comment on how our local forest ecosystem fared in a winter like this, I would simply have to say “quite well.” The forests throughout the state entered the dormancy of winter with more than enough precipitation […]
Uptick in Lyme Disease Expected in 2012
Significant increase already being seen By Joel Howard Northwest Connecticut is no stranger to Lyme disease, but experts are predicting a significant increase in cases during the coming months. The convergence of several events, including increased populations of white-footed mice and blacklegged ticks, are coalescing to create a situation whereby residents should be extra vigilant […]
Community Based Conservation of Migratory Amphibians
It’s Only Natural By Martha Klein In our highly mobile society, there are four million miles of roads and 200 million vehicles, so it’s not surprising that there are several million deaths of vertebrates every year on United States roads. For some species of animals, roadkill can take out 20 percent or more of their […]
Bad and Beautiful, Purple Loosestrife Threatens Norfolk’s Wetlands
By Shelley Harms Purple loosestrife has been spotted this summer in wet spots along Norfolk roadsides. A showy plant with spikes of magenta flowers, it spreads very rapidly. It can take over large areas, suppressing native plant communities and actually altering a wetland’s structure and function. Purple loosestrife (lythrum salicaria) is a perennial that can […]
A Striped Menace Threatens Our Ponds and Lakes
By Star Childs As summer approaches and thoughts turn to boating on freshwater lakes and rivers, everyone must be vigilant of a new ecological threat to our bodies of water. Zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, have made their way from the distant Black and Caspian Seas of Eurasia and Russia to our Great Lakes and other […]
Invasive Beetles Threaten Woodlands
New England Maples at Risk By Shelley Harms The Asian Long-Horned Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer have not been reported in Connecticut, but they may be here nonetheless. As spring approaches, residents should be vigilant for signs of these insects, which kill trees when their larvae bore through and feed under the bark. […]
Restoration of the American chestnut is ongoing
Once King of the Forest By Veronica Burns The demise of the American elm from village greens and town streets registered more with the public than the demise of the American chestnut. The chestnut was located in the woods of rural America and its disappearance was noted mostly by rural communities, where livelihoods depended on […]
Preventing & Removing Invasive Species
Norfolk Attacks Invaders By Shelley Harms Norfolkians know we have a special, mostly unspoiled hometown and, having lost our chestnuts and elms to foreign pathogens, we know the threat posed by invasive species. Lately, many of us have been waging an all-out assault to remove the invasives that are trying to take over our landscape, […]
It’s Only Natural
The Bridge By John G. Funchion To the distant observer, the yellow streaks atop the ancient gray, stone bridge traversing the rain fed stream meandering through Norfolk’s Battell-Stoeckel estate strike a chord of wonderment and curiosity. Closer observation reveals an image created by the plantings of over 200 golden yellow (viola pedunculata) and purple […]
It’s Only Natural
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree By Starling Childs With the arrival of the holiday season, it is time to consider the Christmas tree again. I have always loved the idea of bringing a tree into the house and, much to my wife’s dismay, I always put off the day that it has to […]
