Tag: Woodstock

Human Nature as Seen Through Landfills

Written on April 8, 2016.

Have you ever heard of middens? They are basically really old landfills. The word comes from an old Scandinavian word, moedding, which means an old dump for human domestic waste. People have always produced waste. That...

Slowly Driving Them Crazy

Written on February 5, 2014.

Yes, I am the one driving my car 25-40 mph on Route 14 between Bunker Hill Road and Hughes Road from Harvard to Woodstock and back again most days of the week. If you have not yet experienced this stretch of road this winter,...

It’s Squirrel Week!

Written on April 9, 2013.

It’s Squirrel Week at the Washington Post! Kind of like “Shark Week,” but featuring furry, bridseed-eating rodents rather than cold-blooded predators. Columnist John Kelly started Squirrel Week to highlight...

What is Darkness?

Written on December 17, 2012.

While driving late one night between Woodstock and Harvard, it struck me how dark it seemed. Most house lights were out, so the landscape visible along Route 14 was dark. It was a new moon, so there was no moonlight from the...

Words of Wisdom from a very old Bur Oak

Written on July 5, 2012.

There is a bur oak at Woodstock’s Hennen Conservation Area that has come to be called “Granny” oak, in recognition of multiple generations of her progeny that are found all around her. At 49 inches in diameter, she is over...

Green Infrastructure: the Living Backbone of our Communities

Written on May 5, 2012.

The word infrastructure brings to mind roads, power lines, sewers and other built systems that support the human population. But there is also a natural, living infrastructure that is often overlooked: “green infrastructure.” One...