SEEING THE FOREST THROUGH ITS TREES, part two: Tsuga canadensis By Larry Ely “Besides shade, the Hemlock loves rocks; it likes to straddle them with its ruddy roots, to crack them with its growing, to rub its knees against a great boulder” writes Donald Culross Peattie in 1948 in his published Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central America.   I feel this single sentence from Peattie’s work captures the essence of our native hemlock tree.  Hemlock trees are shade tolerant, meaning in...

Learn more about the tree species that dominate the Mahoosuc range

By the time monarchs arrive, the milkweed blossoms are wilted and their leaves are already starting to degenerate By Linda Ray On my little piece of paradise there are two large sections of the yard dedicated to common milkweed ( Asplepias syriaca ) which has been proliferating for years. Common milkweed and swamp milkweed ( Asplepias incarnata ) have been shown to be preferred by monarchs as host plants. These two types of milkweeds average the highest number of eggs (among species of...