What's Your Nature?
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Just Our Nature - news, updates and insights
Snow Job
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureIt is nice to know Mother Nature hasn’t forgotten how to make snow, but I suspect the recent dump we got was supposed to have been delivered in January. Probably it got held up at the border, or the packing slip got lost and the whole shipment has been sitting on a loading dock somewhere. Here we are a few days from the official start of spring, so maybe if we can find a tracking number we can…
Leprechaun Trees
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureMy earliest memory of St. Patrick’s Day is how angry it made my mother, who holds dual Irish-American citizenship and strongly identifies with her Celtic roots. It was not the day itself which got her Irish up, so to speak, but rather the way it was depicted in popular American culture: Green-beer drink specials at the bars and St. Patrick’s Day sales in every store, all endorsed by grinning,…
An Ill Wind
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureBad-hair days might be a personal frustration, possibly even a social calamity, but bad-air days can send the population of a whole region into a tailspin. Literally. By “bad air” I don’t mean urban smog, although that certainly merits an article, if not an actual solution. And while the fetid pong in one’s dorm room after an Oktoberfest all-you-can-drink bratwurst bash and sauerkraut-eating…
Got Gas?
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureSome foods give you gas, but this is the time of year when gas gives you a really delicious food. Maple syrup, which is nutritious enough to be listed by the USDA as a food (I say it deserves its own Food Group designation), is gas-powered. Carbon dioxide-powered, to be specific. If it wasn’t for a bunch of little gas bubbles in the xylem tissue, maple sap would not flow. Who knew that wood was…
Birds and Bees
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureBeing a dad taught me that you can only put off addressing delicate but important topics for so long. Eventually you have to step up to the plate, face the music and take the metaphor by the horns. That said, it’s time we had the talk. You know, THAT talk. About the birds and the bees.
Known for their resilience, and in many cases their astonishing physical endurance, birds and bees are also…
DIY Valentine's Day Bird Feeders
By Amanda Brooks on
Blog: Just Our NatureShow some love to your local songbirds this Valentine's Day (or any time of the year) and make your own heart-shaped bird feeder! You can use any type of birdseed to attract different species. Cardinals tend to prefer black oil sunflower seeds, chickadees like sunflower and safflower, sparrows will flock to millet, or use a mix like we did in the video below to attract a whole range of birds.
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Road Salt's Distasteful Effect
By Molly McMasters on
Blog: Just Our NatureAs anyone who lives in the North Country knows, winter can be tough on drivers. Slick black ice and quicksand-esque snow are a danger to everyone on the road, and should be taken seriously. Aside from plowing and driving with care, the use of calcium chloride, better known as road salt, leads the charge in combatting dangerous road conditions. Keeping the roads safe, however, comes at a cost.
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Get Outside!
By Jenna Levandowski on
Blog: In the SchoolsStumbling upon a group of grown-ups in the midst of a snowball fight is a seldom sight to see. As we get older, we so easily fall into this concept of “adulthood” where all of a sudden engaging in play is no longer commonplace. There is this idea that you can only play like a kid if in fact you are a child or are in the presence of one.
Earlier this year I was able to visit the Little River…
Water Wellness
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureIf you don’t plan to send your water to college, why bother having it tested? Academic testing is in fact akin to water testing in the sense that they both can involve many diverse “subjects,” and that a passing grade in one department does not apply to other domains.
Everyone knows that taking an algebra exam won’t determine your grade in anthropology, history or theatre class. But it isn’t as…
2017 Nature Up North Calendars
By Jacob Malcomb on
Blog: Just Our NatureWe are pleased to announce that 2017 Nature Up North calendars are on sale. Our calendars feature some of our favorite photos that local folks have shared as Encounters on natureupnorth.org in the past year. They also feature Nature Notes highlighting interesting wildlife behavior to look out for each month. They make a great holiday gift!
Proceeds from our calendar sales benefit Nature Up North…
