What’s one to do when one loves to garden but hasn’t a yard? Why, accumulate lots of pots and truck loads of soil up to one’s fifth floor apartment, of course! This is what I’ve been doing over the past four years to create… Read more »
Danbury, Connecticut resident Camila Bortolleto spotted a bear near her home on Monday evening and shared this video of the sighting with The Mercurial. The bear was spotted on Park Avenue, which is just east of the Danbury Mall. Learn more about the… Read more »
An extraordinary natural phenomenon is about to take place. This year the 17-year cicada will emerge from colonies in undisturbed forested regions in south-central Connecticut. Expect to see and hear these fascinating creatures starting at the end of May and throughout the month of… Read more »
The Department of Energy and Environmental and Protection (DEEP) has advised motorists in the Farmington to use extra caution and be observant while driving due to the sighting of a moose on Town Farm Road, approximately 2.5 miles from Interstate 84. Moose near roadways… Read more »
Four U.S. Senators are pushing for increased funding for the preservation of the Long Island Sound. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are asking Senate leaders of the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies… Read more »
Succulent plants, such as sedum and hens and chicks, seem to be maintaining continuing popularity, with good cause. Succulents are easy to grow, drought tolerant, and come in enough varieties and sizes to suit nearly every gardening taste. But did you know how… Read more »
The City of Danbury has once again been named as a “Tree City USA,” making 2013 the 23rd year the city has received the accolade. Danbury was chosen due to its comprehensive community forestry program, dedicated Forestry Division, tree care ordinances, and Arbor Day… Read more »
Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is reminding residents that snakes are starting to come out of their winter dens at the same time people are venturing outdoors to enjoy the nicer weather, start yardwork, or participate in various outdoor activities like… Read more »
We at Cougars of the Valley, a Connecticut-based mountain lion research group, are consistently receiving high quality reports of sightings as well as track and scat photos from the Newtown, Connecticut area. Enough reporting has come in that we would like to focus one… Read more »
Need a quick growing fix? Look no further than a seed packet of micro greens. With minimal effort you can go from seed to salad in 10 days, making micro greens a perfect You Can Grow That! success story. On the fourth of… Read more »
Two Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) horticulture students will receive $500 scholarships when the Connecticut Cactus and Succulent Society holds its 30th Annual Show and Sale at the school this weekend. The show and sale will be held on April 6 and 7 in… Read more »
It’s a girl! The LEO Zoological Conservation Center in Greenwich, Connecticut welcomed a healthy baby Rothschild giraffe into the world last Friday morning. Petal, a six-year-old endangered Rothschild giraffe, gave birth to the unnamed baby girl giraffe on March 22. Born at just under six… Read more »
Hike Style: Loop Region: Litchfield County, CT Hike Length: 5 miles Trail Map: map_steep_rock Trail Head and Parking Lot: Map Park Rules: Rules and Regulations Date of Report: 2/24/2013 Approximate Time: 3-5 hours Difficulty: Easy to moderate. Ascent to the summit is moderately… Read more »
Connecticut’s Invasive Plants Council (CIPC) announced last month that it has released its 10th annual report, which is now available online. This report highlights actions undertaken in Connecticut to address problems caused by terrestrial and aquatic invasive plants. To view the full annual report,… Read more »
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced yesterday that the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) has been detected in three new Connecticut towns – Cheshire, Oxford, and Middlebury – all located in New Haven County… Read more »
For a unique winter adventure, grab some binoculars and sail out to see the seals and seabirds hanging out around Long Island Sound. Seals and their feathered friends are the headliners at Winter Creature Cruises, sponsored by the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium. The cruises… Read more »
An important sub-theme of ‘Seasons of Change’ is the cultivation of amateur science with a civic purpose, or what is aptly called “citizen science.” So much is not known about how climate change is affecting, and will affect, New England’s habitats and bioregions. The… Read more »
Moose sightings were rare in Connecticut once upon a time, but beginning in the mid-1990s, sightings increased dramatically. As old farmlands reverted back to forests and moose populations increased in neighboring Massachusetts, the moose bagan expanding their territory into Connecticut. The largest… Read more »
Danbury’s Western Connecticut State University will host planetarium shows and public sky viewings beginning in February and continuing into May at the planetarium and observatory on the university’s Westside campus, located at 47 Lake Ave. Extension. The events are free and the public is… Read more »
Connecticut has the fifth most cases of Lyme disease in America and the second most in New England. Dr. Neeta Connally Connally, professor of biology at Western Connecticut State Universtity, is an expert on tick-borne, or vector-borne, diseases. She is a member of the American… Read more »
I always heard the river before I could see it. Leaving my truck by the stone wall and crossing down through the meadow, I would swing my wader-clad legs through thick hay or scuff my boots over the stubble after a cutting, listening and… Read more »
Before the turn of the new year, Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced awards of more than $9 million in Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition grants to support 35 communities in purchasing 2,732 acres to be preserved as open space. “Land conservation is… Read more »
As more seed catalogs arrive in the mail, gardeners will begin dreaming of next year’s gardens. Following the mantra “plant diversely and they will come” may be one way for gardeners to help troubled bee populations. Multiple bee species are showing declining populations… Read more »
Get ready bird watchers: the eagles are back. In what has become an annual migration, graceful bald eagles fly down from more frozen northern climes each winter to Southbury, Connecticut. The birds have learned that the running waters of the Shepaug Dam on the… Read more »