wildlife

Rethinking Leaves

mow leaves and leave them on the lawn

Have you turned a new leaf when it comes to land care? Many people have. For instance, we plant for pollinators, choose native plants, reduce lawn sizes, and use electric equipment instead of gas-powered. Most of those changes take place within the confines of our properties without attracting negative attention.

The same is not always true for autumn leaves.

The stray leaf, blowing in the wind on a dry fall day, has pushed more than a few neighbors into standoffs behind their rakes and leaf-blowers. That's true even now, when it’s no secret that we live in a time where lawns, gardens, parks, and street-scapes are meaningful to the survival of regional species.

Review: "Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers"

Eager, a book by Ben Goldfarb

I live in a coastal town with abundant freshwater wetlands that drain to Long Island Sound. Beavers live here, too, and given their penchant for taking down ornamental trees and flooding driveways, their presence is not without controversy.

They have never caused me trouble, but two beaver lodges on the cranberry bog inside a local state forest raised my curiosity. It was time to improve my beaver I.Q.

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