The Outside Story
These essays, written by Harris Center staffers Susie Spikol and Brett Amy Thelen and illustrated by Adelaide Tryol, first appeared in Northern Woodlands’ Outside Story series.
![A black-and-white painting of a fox by Adelaide Tyrol](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/TOS_fox_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A black-and-white line drawing of a slug crawling up an iris, by Adelaide Tyrol](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TOS_slug_drawing_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.jpg)
![A black-and-white drawing of a sleeping mouse with its tail curved around its body, by Adelaide Tyrol](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/TOS_jumping_mouse_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A black-and-white illustration of a window-struck songbird by Adelaide Tyrol](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TOS_window_strike_bird_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A black-and-white illustration of Daphnia (also known as](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/TOS_Daphnia_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A line drawing of a bobcat by Adelaide Tyrol](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/TOS_Bobcat_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A drawing of voles huddling together underground during the winter by Adelaide Tyrol.](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/TOS_Winter_Voles_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A drawing of a five-lined skink by Adelaide Tyrol.](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TOS_Skink_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A drawing of a spotted salamander with glowing spots. (illustration © Adelaide Tyrol)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/TOS_Salamander_Glow_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A drawing of a Broad-winged Hawk nest with nestlings by Adelaide Tyrol](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TOS_BroadWingedHawk_nest_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A drawing of a star-nosed mole by Adelaide Tyrol](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TOS_Star-nosedMole_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A drawing of a fox](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/TOS_fox_talking_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A drawing of a hibernating frog by Adelaide Tyrol.](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/TOS_FrozenFrogs_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped-250x190.png)
![A drawing of a spider by Adelaide Tyrol.](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/TOS_spider_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A drawing of a gray squirrel by Adelaide Tyrol.](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/TOS_GraySquirrel_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A drawing of a Mammoth by Adelaide Tyrol.](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/TOS_Mammoth_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A drawing of a Northern Shrike by Adelaide Tyrol.](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/TOS_NorthernShrike_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A line drawing of a Northern pitcher plant. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_PitcherPlant_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A line drawing of a salamander with a detached tail. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Salamander_Missing_Tail_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A line drawing of a brook floater mussel. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_BrookFloaterMussel_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A line drawing of a moose. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Moose_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A line drawing of eyes shining in the woods at night. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Eyeshine_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A line drawing of an American marten. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Marten_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A line drawing of a Cedar Waxwing eating berries. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_CedarWaxwing_eating_berries_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A line drawing of a Saw-Whet Owl in flight. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Saw-whetOwl_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A line drawing of a water snake, swimming. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_WaterSnake_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A line drawing of a musk turtle. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_MuskTurtle_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A line drawing of a snapping turtle hatching out of its egg. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_SnappingTurtleHatchling_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
![A line drawing of spotted salamanders crossing the road beneath a](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_SalamanderCrossing_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A line drawing of an otter. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Otter_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A line drawing of a coyote. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Coyote_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A line drawing of a moose grazing at the side of the road. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Moose_on_Road_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A line drawing of Common Nighthawks in flight. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Nighthawks_AdelaideTyrol_250x190_acf_cropped.png)
![A line drawing of a Red-backed Salamander. (drawing © Adelaide Tyrol / Northern Woodlands)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TOS_Red_Backed_Salamander_AdelaideTyrol-250x190.png)
Backyard Naturalist
These essays, written by Harris Center staffers Phil Brown, Susie Spikol, and Brett Amy Thelen, as well as a few guest contributors, first appeared in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript’s “Backyard Naturalist” series.
![A beaver chews a small stick near a beaver dam in Peterborough, New Hampshire. (photo © Francie von Mertens)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1_beaver_and_dam_at_Fremont_Land_FrancieVonMertens-250x190.jpg)
![A man in a yellow dry suit stands on ice and holds a large net, approaching a loon in a spot of open water. (photo © Brian Reilly/Loon Preservation Committee)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JohnCooleyJr_approaching_iced-in_loon_with_net_HighlandLake_2016_BrianReilly_ONLY-USE-FOR-LPC-PUBLICITY-250x190.jpg)
![A mouse on a branch near the ground, at nighttime. (photo © Anna Marie Saenger)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Mouse_at_banding_station_cropped_Fall2023_AnnaMarieSaenger-250x190.png)
![A black bear in a tree. (photo © Polly Pattison)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Black_bear_in_tree_PollyPattison-250x190.jpeg)
![The view from Mount Monadnock's summit, on a day with white, puffy clouds hanging in a blue sky. (photo © Audrey Dunn)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1_View_from_Monadnock_summit_July2023_AudreyDunn-250x190.jpg)
![A wetland, filled with plants, against a forested hillside and blue and cloud-filled sky. (photo © Brett Amy Thelen](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Merrill_Wetland_Hancock_BrettAmyThelen-250x190.png)
![Barn Swallow nestlings sit in their nest under an eave. (photo: Phil Brown)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Barn_swallow_nestlings_June2023_PhilBrown-250x190.png)
![A bumblebee pollinates a purple lupine (photo: Francie von Mertens)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/bumblebee-250x190.jpeg)
![A puffy Hermit Thrush sits on a branch (photo: Meade Cadot)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hermit_thrush_meadeCadot-250x190.jpeg)
![A Northern goshawk sits in a tree, with fur hanging out of its bill (photo: Andrey Gulivanov)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Northern_Goshawk_in_tree_with_fur_in_bill_AndreyGulivanov_FlickrCC-250x190.jpg)
![Two otters play on the ice (photo: Tom Momeyer)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/otters_on_ice_010421_Peterborough_TomMomeyer-250x190.jpg)
![Evening Grosbeaks gather on a snowy feeder (photo: Phil Brown)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/grosbeaks_in_snow-250x190.jpeg)
![Laurel and Alden Brown hold a bucket of cranberries in a wetland (photo: Phil Brown)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/cranberry-picking-250x190.jpeg)
![Researchers affix a transmitter to a Broad-winged Hawk. (photo © Brett Amy Thelen)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Becca_Phil_trimming_transmitter_backpack_strings_2_062822_Thelen-250x190.jpg)
![Two nighthawks fly in the blue sky next to a half-moon (photo: Dave Hoitt).](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/nighthawks_and_moon_082415_DaveHoitt-250x190.jpg)
![Backlit by the sun, a Great Blue Heron pair stands over their young in the nest (photo: Meade Cadot)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Great_Blue_Heron_pair_with_four_young_in_nest_Sargent_Camp_rookery_5-25-22_MC-250x190.jpg)
![A red trillium blossom (photo: Laurel Swope-Brush)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/red_trillium_HC_driveway_May2014_LaurelSwope-Brush_medres-250x190.jpg)
![A mourning cloak butterfly, wings spread, rests on the forest floor. (photo: Alan Schmierer)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/mourning_cloak_butterfly_AlanSchmierer-250x190.png)
![A human hand in the snow next to a bear's paw print. (photo: Phil Brown)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/bear_tracks_with_hand_Winter2022_PhilBrown-250x190.png)
![Two Eastern gray squirrels enjoy some seeds on a porch. (photo: Susie Spikol)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Two_squirrels_eating_Winter2022_SusieSpikol-250x190.png)
![Seven male Evening Grosbeaks sit at a feeder (photo: Meade Cadot)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/EveningGrosbeak_males_11-18-20_MeadeCadot-250x190.jpg)
![A tom turkey with full plumage stands in a field. (photo: Tim Lumley)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/tom_turkey_TimLumleyCC-250x190.jpg)
![A loon carries two chicks on its back (photo: Brian Reilly)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/loons_with_two_chicks_BrianReilly-250x190.jpeg)
![A painted turtle nests in loose, well-drained soil (photo: Brett Amy Thelen)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/painted-turtle_BrettAmyThelen-250x190.jpeg)
![A person wanders through an open field (photo: Brett Amy Thelen)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Wandering_in_search_of_woodcocks_Spring2020_BrettAmyThelen-250x190.jpeg)
![A bobcat print in the snow, next to a mitten for scale (photo: Susie Spikol)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/bobcat_print-250x190.jpeg)
![A red eft is held in a child's hands. (photo: Ben Conant)](https://harriscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/red_eft_in_hand_BenConant-250x190.png)