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Reflections in Nature: The pumpkin is considered a fruit, not vegetable

There is a new world record for the heaviest pumpkin, weighing in at 3,156 pounds on Oct. 10. The pumpkin was grown by Ron Wallace and verified at the Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off at Frerichs Farm in Warren, Rhode Island. This is the first pumpkin or any fruit to weigh in over 3,000 pounds, truly making this a major milestone in the history of the pumpkin cultivation. We think of pumpkins as a vegetable, but they are biologically considered a fruit. Along with other forms of squash, pumpkins are easy to grow. They were a favorite with the English colonists that became ...

Nature Book Fair set for Dec. 12 at the Montour Preserve

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association and its Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership will host a special holiday-themed Nature Book Fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Montour Preserve. The event will feature a large assortment of nature and science-themed books and STEM kids from the PaperPie publishing group, as well as featuring numerous local bookstores with tables of books available and a growing list of authors and speakers. Among them will be award-winning nature and science writer Rebecca Hirsch, who has written more than 100 books ...

Outdoor community calendar for week of Oct. 27

AUDUBON EVENT: CHAPTER MEETING AND PROGRAM WHERE: Taber Museum (858 W. Fourth Street, Williamsport) WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m. NOTES: Join us for a program featuring Dr. Mercy Melo, the Wildlife Management Supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Northcentral Region. Focusing on the interactions of different bird species, this presentation will focus on the decline of American Kestrel populations over the past five decades, as researchers continue to be puzzled as to the potential causes. In this program, we will discuss the potential non-consumptive impacts ...

Winter kayaking: Safely extending your paddling season

When winter settles across the Keystone State, boat ramps empty, activities diminish and the waterways take on a stillness unseen the rest of the year. For the prepared kayaker, this seasonal shift offers some of the year’s most solitary, productive fishing of the year. No recreational ...

Statewide pheasant hunting season opens on Saturday, Oct. 24

HARRISBURG-- Break out the brush pants, your favorite shotgun and, of course, a fluorescent orange hat and vest. Pennsylvania’s pheasant season is winging its way closer. Saturday, Oct. 10 marked the start of the junior pheasant season, and the statewide season follows by opening on Saturday, Oct. 24. Pennsylvania’s pheasant hunters this year will enjoy expanded hunting dates, with all 21 Sundays falling within the season now open (up from 6 open Sundays during the 2025-26 season). In addition, pheasant hunting will remain open during the overlap with the statewide firearms deer ...

Reflections in Nature: Duck stamps were key for habitat for water fowl

Duck season opened this past Saturday and will close on Jan. 9. Along with their hunting licenses the hunters will need the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps that are better known as duck stamps. The best known of all ducks is the mallard that ranges over much of the northern hemisphere. Therefore, it is by no coincidence that a pair of mallards appeared on the first Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. The Federal Duck Stamp is one of the greatest conservation stories in American history and in 2026, the stamp celebrated its 92nd anniversary. On July 1, 1934, ...