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By Credit search: For the Gazette

By PRISCILLA TOUHEY

Q: My husband and I are “discussing” when we should rake up the leaves in our yard — after they are all down (him) or as soon as the lawn is covered (me). Help! Any thoughts on a solution? —C.J., NorthamptonA: We New Englanders love our vibrant red,...

By MICKEY RATHBUN

I have a big patch of daylilies behind my house. They are a disorganized jumble of plants that were given to me along with others that I’ve bought at plant sales, nurseries and farmers markets. I have never paid much attention to this part of the...

By DAVID SPECTOR

If you sit on a city park bench you’re likely to see birds, especially house sparrows. This species, native to Europe and Asia, was first introduced into North America in 1851 and is now common where farms or cities provide both grain on the ground...

By ABBEY DWIGHT

AMHERST — At 4-8 inches long, box turtles aren’t easy to spot, yet Julie Miller and her son, August, found two such turtles earlier this month during hikes in the Plum Brook Conservation Area. Then last week, August spotted a tiny turtle hatchling...

By Jonathan Adolph

How can today’s libraries engage a generation of kids that has grown up surrounded by the relentless stimulation of digital media? At Florence’s Lilly Library, one route to success has come not through more technology but with the help of a relic from...

By John Sinton

In 1600, the 125,000 Native people who lived in New England had reached a dynamic equilibrium with their forested landscape through thousands of years of manipulation and accommodation. (I described this relationship in Part 1 of this series,...

By Bryna Greenspan

A few decades ago, high in the Italian Alps, a five-thousand-year-old mummy was found.  Offered up from a melting glacier and discovered by unsuspecting hikers, Otzi the Iceman was remarkably preserved, frozen as he was in the snow for millennia....

By PRISCILLA TOUHEY

Q: I’m starting to get a greyish white powder on my lilac bush’s leaves. Any idea what it might be and what to do about it?  —J.R. Easthampton A: When there is lots of rain, the good news is plants grow like crazy and the bad news is plant diseases...

By Ginny Hamilton

 About a quarter of us sit for more than 8 hours every day, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in November. And 80 percent of adults will experience low back pain in our lifetimes according to the National...

By Valerie Reiss

In recent years, the Autumn Inn on Elm Street, a Northampton visitor staple since it opened in 1967, had started to look its age. Online reviewers of the inn had noticed, saying things like “seen better days,” “sad,” and “tired,” and “smells of…...

By Cassandra McGrath

Ray Asselin, creator of the documentary “The Lost Forests of New England,” is a filmmaker and naturalist who works to raise awareness about preserving the natural world. Through his hourlong film that debuted last year and has been shown at events...

By LILLIAN ILSLEY-GREENE

BOSTON — Massachusetts could become the first state in New England to ban non-consensual pelvic examinations on women under anesthesia as outlined in bills filed by state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and state Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst.Pelvic...

By PRISCILLA TOUHEY

Q: How do I keep rabbits from eating my plants? They really did a job on my Bachelor’s Button last year. —L. T. Granby A: Those rabbits are cute, but they sure can wreak havoc on a garden, especially the tender young leaves of newly sprouted,...

By MATT BERG

NORTHAMPTON — Standing in Captain Candy surrounded by over 175 varieties of candy, 18-year-old Levi Smith has what many little kids dream of: their very own candy shop.Although admittedly fond of candy, Smith didn’t purchase Captain Candy because of...

By PRISCILLA TOUHEY

Q: I am new to dahlias and see their bulbs for sale in the nurseries now. What do I do to successfully plant them? —H. R. Westhampton A: Perfect timing for this question, H.R. Often in April, we hyperfocus on the nagging mess that reveals itself in...

By PRISCILLA TOUHEY

Q: I have a house on a wooded lot and was wondering what enabled the trees to bend and sway in the wind without breaking in last week’s wind storm?  —D.T. Florence A: Watching the towering pines sway mightily outside my office window last week, I,...

By Elizabeth Donoghue

EASTHAMPTON — The owner of a longtime automotive service center on Parsons Street has recruited a protégé to help run the repair and maintenance side of his business. John Yagmin, who has owned M&M Service Center since 1979, on Oct. 1 turned the...

By LAWRENCE B. SIDDALL

Until recently, I knew little about the super sleuth Sherlock Holmes, and even less about his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. As an adolescent, I was captivated by his amazing tales, but soon my interests changed and my reading shifted to other...

By DANIELLE LIPIEC

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of French literary theorist Roland Barthes.When Amherst Books opened its doors in 2003, the last thing on the minds of staff was where it might be in 15 years.But after a decade and a...

By PRISCILLA TOUHEY

Q: Eeek! I waited too long to plant a cover crop in my vegetable garden. What can I use now to protect the soil over winter? —A.T. Northampton A:  Take comfort in knowing you are not alone in this dilemma, A.T.! You are correct in knowing it is...