Assassins
Oh, assassin bug, assassin bug, you really are so dreamy It’s hard to say which one is best Harpactor or reduviinae, A “he

The Sufficiency of Small Things
When do you say, “I’ve seen it all!” or, “I’ve had enough!”? Sometimes when my husband starts talking about travel involving airplanes, I say, “I’ve seen enough!” My tolerance for airports, airlines and other air travelers has diminished as I age. Oddly, though I’m on the trails at Hill-Stead so often, I have never felt that I’ve seen enough of them. Somethin

Witch Hazel
Think of it as an early holiday gift, as a season’s last gasp, or even as the foreshadowing of seasons future. Witch Hazel is in bloom.  The last flowering tree of the year, it lights up the early winter forest like nothing else. Wild witch hazel (say that three times fast) has a subtle, delicate yellow bloom. Because the flower is sparsely distributed along the branch, it doesn’t make a riot o

Ewe Yews
It’s not exactly the swallows and Capistrano, but sheep are back at Hill-Stead.                                                                                                                                                              

Sassafras
If you take the Woodland Trail from the farm road you head up a little hill.   At the top there’s a turn off to one of the other trails.  I like to stay on course for a while.  There are other opportunities to switch, and I enjoy heading down the hill to a little dell where an ecotone forms.  An ecotone is an area where different kinds of habitat meet. They can be rich locations for al