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By BILL DANIELSON

On Sept. 22 we observed the official change in the seasons from summer to autumn. This was the Autumnal Equinox, the day when we technically saw 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. With each passing day we will now see less and less of the sun...

By BILL DANIELSON

Long-time readers of mine will be familiar with my tales of the Photo Gods. These are those supernatural beings that look over me during my photographic endeavors and either smile down on me benevolently, or take issue with something that I have done...

By BILL DANIELSON

One of the most remarkable things about birding in September is the number of strangers that you see. Having spent so much time observing the birds during the summer months, I have a very clear roster in my head of who the “regulars” are. Not only...

By BILL DANIELSON

About a mile to the east of my house, sitting at the side of the quiet country road upon which I live, there is a small man-made pond that is typical of the kind that one might find near a farm. There are actually several of these ponds along this...

By BILL DANIELSON

For the final week of my summer vacation I decided to make a bold move and pay a visit to one of the wonderful coastal areas that we have in the state of Massachusetts. Earlier in the summer I went to First Encounter Beach, in Eastham, and to round...

By BILL DANIELSON

There was an absolutely wonderful change in the weather last week. Gone were the days with oppressive humidity and scorching temperatures. In their place came days with highs near 80 degrees Fahrenheit, lower humidity levels and a reliable breeze that...

By BILL DANIELSON

It was the middle of July and I was spending yet another morning in my beloved Thinking Chair. I had just returned from my trip to Cape Cod, where I had secured enough photos to give me columns until the end of the month and I had already committed to...

By EMILEE KLEIN

SOUTH HADLEY — On a woody hillside in a 100-plus-acre private parcel, Phoebe Weinberg, her face blocked by a shield attached to her hard helmet, begins dismantling an autumn olive growing over a red oak sapling. The roar of the chainsaw covers the...

By BILL DANIELSON

Those of you who are familiar with my writing will know of my great admiration for a 19th-century naturalist named John Burroughs. Born in 1837, Burroughs lived in a time when the steam locomotive was still a new and wondrous thing in America. The...

By BILL DANIELSON

My second visit to First Encounter Beach came on a Monday. The hustle and bustle of moving day was a thing of the past, but I am generally immune to routine traffic issues because of the early hours that I keep. There was no one on the road at 5:45...

By BILL DANIELSON

It was a Saturday morning on Cape Cod, which is usually a problematic day because it is moving day. All of the weekly renters start heading off the Cape to make room for the next wave of renters and traffic can be a bear. However, I had the advantage...

By BILL DANIELSON

I think it is safe to say that most everyone is familiar with the notion of something called “No Mow May.” Basically, the concept promotes the idea that all mowing be put on hold during the month of May in order to allow our pollinators to get the...