Sunday, June 22, 2025

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

Kateri Kosek

Kateri Kosek grew up in the Hudson Valley but has lived in or near the Berkshires for over a decade. She is the author of American Eclipse, winner of the Three Mile Harbor Press Poetry Book Award, and a chapbook, Vernal. Her poetry and essays have appeared in Orion, Creative Nonfiction, Northern Woodlands Magazine, Berkshire Magazine, and many literary journals. She teaches college English, and as a lifelong birder, has worked locally surveying bird populations for Green Berkshires and Aton Forest. More at katerikosek.com.

written articles

IN THE FIELD: American Woodcock

The woodcock begin their displays at dusk, usually right around the time it turns dark enough to not see things very well. The show is mostly auditory.

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Little Terrarium,’ poems by Hannah Fries, clear-eyed and gleaming

Hannah Fries, former poetry editor of Orion magazine in Great Barrington, is the first Berkshire author to be published by Hedgerow Books, an imprint of Levellers Press in Amherst. She will be reading at The Bookstore in Lenox at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9.

Scoby? What’s a scoby? Fermentation comes to the Berkshires

Fermentation is an ancient strategy for food preservation, and brings health benefits and unique flavors. Many fermented foods are so common, they aren’t described as such. Think bread, yogurt, beer, even cheese.

IN THE FIELD: Revenge of the lawn

If our goal is to surround our homes with sterile patches of uniform green, in pursuit of some vision of suburban perfection, even while raising cancer risks for our children, we should probably reevaluate our priorities.

IN THE FIELD: Why birds?

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t interested in birds. When I was eight, I started keeping a little journal of the birds I saw. I love how birds have an “otherness” emblematic of the natural world as a whole

IN THE FIELD: Birds close to home

The combination of predictability and surprise makes a well-known route rewarding, whether one is birding or enjoying it in some other way.

IN THE FIELD: Hermit Warblers and Rusty Blackbirds

Right now, Hermit Warblers should be in tropical wintering grounds in Mexico or Central America, but one little vagrant was spotted in Connecticut in February.

Renaissance combines arts with wellness — for all ages

“Our goal has been to make a difference in the cognitive and emotional wellbeing of children and adults of all ages.” -- Pat Navarino, director of Renaissance Arts and Wellness Center

IN THE FIELD: The Great Horned Owl

One early field guide accused the Great Horned Owl of suggesting “every form of dark emotion by its voice.”

IN THE FIELD: The scourge of light pollution

One of the joys of living in a largely rural area is supposed to be the darkness of the sky, the sharpness of the stars on a clear winter’s night.

IN THE FIELD: Common nighthawk

Common nighthawks have one of the longest migration routes among North American birds, wintering all the way in South America.

BOOK REVIEW: David Giannini’s ‘Span of Thread’: Poetry that is enigmatic, luminous

Giannini creates a pleasing blurring of lines, a moving between worlds ... it is not your world, but it is.

IN THE FIELD: Migrating songbirds, calls in the dark

While we may be able to predict which species, how many, when, observing birds in the wild is still at heart about the sheer pleasure of their unpredictability.

Great Barrington celebrates designation as Appalachian Trail Community

“More people are getting what it means to be out in nature. We get so keyed into electronic stuff, but the literature is out that there’s such a mental health benefit to time spent in nature. -- Deborah Phillips

IN THE FIELD: Indigo bunting, the dazzling songster

Indigo buntings are easier to see than many birds, because, in addition to living in open habitats, they like to find the highest perch and stay there, singing.
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The Edge Is Free To Read.

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