The battle of the bird field guides is picking up again. The sixth edition of the National Geographic Society (hereafter, NGS) Field Guide to the Birds of North America was published recently. This new edition is much improved. It will offer some serious competition to other field guides.

I was at a postseason get-together for one of my kids’ soccer teams recently when a parent approached me and asked, “When is hunting season over?” They were most concerned with when it would be safe to go outside without wearing orange.

This month, the topic of Christmas-tree preferences has bounced around in my mind, mostly because Jolie, my intrepid companion, talked me into settling for an artificial tree instead of our usual aromatic balsam fir.