Forest Society Blog - News & Features

“We had a ‘Goldilocks’ summer. Not too wet, not too dry, not too many insect outbreaks, and there's a lot of green leaves remaining on the trees at Labor Day weekend,” Dave Anderson says. “And all those leaves are going to change slowly over the next couple of weeks.”

It's a place for meditation on the chill amphibian lifestyle of breeding, laying eggs and laying low next to the water, at times soaking up the summer sun or hiding in the lily pads.

“We want people to get excited about turtles” says Matt Patterson. “Turtles are so important and amazing…we talk about turtles that can climb trees, and turtles that can sprint 15 miles an hour.”

Her admiration for hummingbirds is evident: "They're the lightest birds in the sky. They're just full of air — they're just a bunch of lungs. They're like most birds; their feathers are hollow, their bones are hollow."

This episode is part of our three-part series, “Something Wild: A glimpse into the heart, soul, and science of animals with Sy Montgomery."

"What I think is so cool about this one spot here is it illustrates how important diversity is in our stream systems, just in terms of the flow of the water, the size of the rocks or the sand, and how it creates the habitat for fish and insects in the stream." - John Magee

You may have heard the song of winter wrens in the spring woods lately.

Ice acts as an insulator, reflecting sunlight so water at the bottom stays dark and cold.