Nature

I sit on the front swivel seat of a drift boat gliding across the smooth water of Newton Reservoir. The sun begins to send morning rays of brilliance over the Cache Mountains.

USU Extension IMP Specialist Marion Murray explains what pests we should be on the look out for in our gardens this summer.

Forests are beyond amazing! As a field ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service, and chairing the Smithfield City Tree Committee, their branches and roots have penetrated deep into my heartwood!

If you spend enough time in the wilds you acquire some remarkable stories. I’ve had some noteworthy wildlife encounters over the years, but one stands out from long ago.

Against all odds, fireflies find love here in Utah. Out at places like Firefly Park in Nibley, you can watch these dazzling lanterns dance and bounce, starting around early June.

A bird of the prairie and countryside, the western meadowlark releases songs synonymous with spring grasslands flush with balsam root, lupine, death camas, larkspur, prairie smoke, and wind tossed grasses that shimmer in morning sun.

When you take kids to learn outdoors, what is the right balance between academic focus and student-exploration and how can the instructor support such a balance?

Spring, though, again, is the moments. When our eyes flutter awake with birdsong; when light comes before alarms; when we begin to manifest all we longed for during the dreamt night.

When I began Nordic skiing some 40 years ago, my Bonna laminated wood skies were coveted. I miss their natural beauty and high performance. Now, they sit in a corner, replaced by a light weight, wax free pair. Somethings lost, something’s gained.

Shoutout to the public servants who have dedicated their lives and careers to preserving and protecting our national treasures and making America a better place, one trail at a time.