A Feathered Garden Helper
A Feathered Garden Helper
|Brent Burkett
A Feathered Garden Helper Some gardeners rely on hand tools. Some rely on compost, careful schedules, neatly labeled seed packets, and notebooks full of detailed observations. Otto relies on all... Read more...
The Concert of the Canopy
The Concert of the Canopy
|Brent Burkett
The Concert of the Canopy Some mornings the forest wakes all at once. First light slips between the branches, the air is cool enough to make every breath feel new,... Read more...
Forty-One Fronds Ago
Forty-One Fronds Ago
|Brent Burkett
Forty-One Fronds Ago Otto woke with the urgency normally reserved for forest fires, unidentified tracks, and finding an unfamiliar leaf at the bottom of his backpack. He sat straight up... Read more...
The Old Giant
The Old Giant
|Brent Burkett
The Old Giant Some trees make sure you notice them. They lean over the trail, drop cones on your head, and hold their branches out into the light like they've... Read more...
The Very Loud Breakfast
The Very Loud Breakfast
|Brent Burkett
The Very Loud Breakfast There are mornings when the forest gets it exactly right. Soft light through the firs. Moss holding onto the cool. The cabin quiet, the coffee not... Read more...
The Lady Beetle Legion
The Lady Beetle Legion
|Brent Burkett
The Lady Beetle Legion There are moments in every gardener's life when the fate of an entire growing season rests on something small enough to stand comfortably on the tip... Read more...
The Bramble That Ate the Trail
The Bramble That Ate the Trail
|Brent Burkett
The Bramble That Ate the Trail Himalayan Blackberry, Invasive Tentacles, and the Hike That Immediately Went Wrong It began as a perfectly ordinary hike. The trail was quiet. The weather... Read more...
A Perfectly Good Lake
A Perfectly Good Lake
|Brent Burkett
A Perfectly Good Lake There are two kinds of creatures in the forest. Those who see a clear mountain lake sparkling beneath the summer sun and think, I need to... Read more...
The Canopy Cooling Department
The Canopy Cooling Department
|Brent Burkett
The Canopy Cooling Department  How Trees Turn Water, Shade, and a Little Leaf Science into Natural Air Conditioning Summer in the forest can be hot, bright, and humid—but step beneath... Read more...
The Summer Snow Emergency
The Summer Snow Emergency
|Brent Burkett
When a warm summer day suddenly looks like a snowstorm, Otto investigates the fluffy white clouds drifting through the forest. In The Summer Snow Emergency, he explains how female black... Read more...
The Great Leaf Heist
The Great Leaf Heist
|Brent Burkett
Discover why leafcutter bees remove perfect circles from garden leaves, how they use them to build nests, and why these tiny “thieves” are beneficial summer pollinators. Read more...
That's Not a Crow
That's Not a Crow
|Brent Burkett
Meet Otto, an enthusiastic tree scientist, and Echo, a raven who would strongly prefer not to be called a crow, in the first Leaf Me to the Trees comic. Read more...