On May 22, I saw it—a black swallowtail afloat on the breeze. Now was the time.
Trails and Tales Contest
Our Most Astounding Night Sky Encounters
To step out into the dark, still night and look up into the myriad of sparking, burning lights…
Favorite Focus and Focus Illustrated, June 2025
View our readers’ favorite photos from the past month!
Of Spies…and Guards
Desperate to protect, the brave, feathered guard rushed at me, its tail fanned wide. I backed off. But I had waited for weeks for this moment! I was determined to get a picture. I edged forward again…
A Storm-lover’s Dream…or Nightmare
I stepped outside to look at the clouds again. They had changed shockingly fast to a sickening yellowish muddy-orange color, and were now almost directly overhead, with the wind from the east and twice as strong as before.
The Mushroom Hunt
“Let’s go on a mushroom hunt!” This crisp day is perfect for hunting mushrooms in our forest. I fill a cardboard box with knives, bowls, pens, paper, and, most importantly, our mushroom guide.
Covers, April 2025
April 2025 covers, featuring contest photo winners: a juvenile Northern Saw-whet Owl and beautiful frost patterns!
Ransacked!
Someone or something seemed to be sabotaging our efforts to create an arrangement of colorful flora. Yesterday, my brother’s petunias had vanished, and today, my sister’s violets were the victims. So far, my flowerpot had remained untouched—but for how long?
Pictures & Poems, April 2025
Trails and Tails Contest First Place Art Winner + honorable mention art and writing
In the Heart of My Tree
Nature enchants me.
But I am not a birder.
Nor a stargazer.
Nor a leaf-ologist.
I looked for poetry
in all of these.
I was eluded.
And then I found it—
a charming cadence—
In the Heart of My Tree
End of the Trail, April 2025
Trails and Tales Contest Photo Second Place Winner