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Field and Forest, by Richard Gast

All about grasshoppers

I haven’t seen very many grasshoppers this year. But people have been asking me about them recently. Evidently, they’ve been observing them for several weeks. And they’re seeing a lot of them lately. - Origins - With the exception of the planet’s polar regions, grasshoppers ...

Spectacular, historic and geographically unique

The Adirondack Park is the largest wilderness east of the Mississippi River. At more than 6-million acres, it’s the size of Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks combined. Within the park’s boundary (commonly referred to as the blue line) ...

It’s a flower! It’s an herb! It’s bee balm

Red-flowered bee balm (Monarda didyma L) is a long-blooming perennial which is easily grown in any garden soil. It will achieve heights of 3- to 4-feet or more and, when in full bloom, can be stunningly spectacular in most any landscape or flower garden location. Mine can be seen ...

Wild parsnip: An edible root with poisonous sap

Often referred to as poison parsnip, wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a biennial plant, native to Asia and Europe. It’s widely accepted that wild parsnip plants are actually descended from cultivated parsnips brought to North America by the European colonists. Documents suggest that ...

A warming climate

I recall reading, earlier this year, about unprecedented flooding, in several areas of California. Until that time, those areas had been stricken by years of climate-change-induced mega-drought so dire that in August 2021, the major hydroelectric Edward Hyatt Power Plant was forced to shut down ...

Improving local economies and the health of children

On June 21, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that Cornell Cooperative Extension of Franklin County, CCE of Essex County, and the Saranac Lake Central School District had been awarded grant funding through New York state’s Farm-to-School program. The program is focused on improving students’ ...