Ask a naturalist: When and why do deer lose their antlers?
Unlike horns, antlers grow anew each year. But why?
Nature
Catskill Animal Sanctuary hosts Gobble & Groove Barn Bash
Saturday, Nov. 2: Are you a vegan or vegetarian who feels a little left out of the fun this time of year? Is your favorite part of Thanksgiving the presidential pardon for a couple of turkeys? The Catskill Animal Sanctuary is planning some festivities this weekend that will help get you into the holiday mood.
To bee or not to be: Rosendale Theatre screens The Pollinators
Wednesday, Nov. 6: Recent studies show that almost 90 percent of the bee population has disappeared in the last few years. And 70 percent of the world’s agriculture depends exclusively on bees.
Ask a naturalist: Which kinds of trees make which color leaves?
Different tree species are associated with different colors. Hickory and sycamore leaves are golden-orange. Ash leaves tend to be yellow and purple. Oaks hold onto their leaves the longest and produce russet-brown foliage. Sugar maples take on an orange or red tone. There is evidence that red leaves are more prevalent when days are warm, dry and sunny, and the nights are cool (but not freezing). Red foliage has also been linked to fungus and drought.
Ask a Naturalist: When were apples first cultivated in the Hudson Valley?
The lower Hudson Valley region and the Lake Champlain region are two of the largest and most important apple production areas in New York state, which ranks second in the nation for apple production and first in the country for canned apple products, although much of that crop is produced in western New York.
Hallowoodstock comes to the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary
Saturday, Oct. 26: Meet rescued animals and enjoy pumpkin-painting, hayrides, vegan food vendors and more.
Why water is life
Since cold air can hold just one-thirtieth as much water vapor as very warm air, the substance we breathe is becoming desiccated.
New column: Ask a naturalist
Which kinds of trees make which color leaves? Why do we see so many spiderwebs in the fall? When were apples first cultivated in the Hudson Valley? Can woolly bear caterpillars predict the weather?
Dutchess Fairgrounds host NYS Sheep & Wool Festival
Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 17-20: There will be opportunities to shop for wool, learn different crafts, admire llamas and alpacas on parade and root for your favorite sheepdog.
Bard hosts second annual John Cage Mycology Weekend
Saturday/Sunday, Oct. 19/20: Besides being among the most revolutionary of 20th-century classical composers, John Cage was also an avid amateur mycologist. His interest in mushrooms was literally born out of hunger during the Depression, when he would take the specimens he’d foraged near his home in Carmel, California to the local library to see if they were edible. He spent much of the rest of his life collecting and studying fungi, even supplying upscale New York restaurants such as the Four Seasons with mushrooms he gathered in the local (reachable by subway) wild.