The practice of tilling the soil has been around since ancient times. Using a hand-held tool like a hoe, or animals to turn the soil, has been done for centuries.
Skagit Outdoors
Recreating in the outdoors means taking precautions as fires rage in the Northwest.
SWIFT CREEK — Without a group of committed, skilled and hearty volunteers, the Swift Creek Trail would be swallowed by the forest.
Hiking trails are the latest casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For several months now, most of us have been cooking at home far more than usual. Fresh herbs are one of the best ways to perk up your cooking, and the freshest herbs are the ones you cut from your own garden seconds before using them.
MARBLEMOUNT — A plan to offer recreation opportunities and improve salmon habitat where a bend in the Skagit River hugs Marblemount is getting a boost in funding.
Saltwater anglers will get the opportunity to fish for halibut beginning Thursday.
SEDRO-WOOLLEY — Riverfront RV Park will close Friday for the rest of the camping season while work is done to improve infrastructure.
Erin McMillan of Sedro-Woolley and her 7-year-old son, Mason, recently found a way to get outside and enjoy nature, have fun and learn something all at once on the Skagit Watershed Letterbox Trail.
A fresh bouquet, whether from your own garden, a local flower grower or a floral designer, brings a smile to your face and warmth to your home.
SEDRO-WOOLLEY — Not having the necessary outdoor gear used to be a major problem.
We are eager in spring to see buds opening and flowers blooming after a dark, mostly rainy winter.
The Summer Solstice is Saturday, June 20, an event that traditionally indicates the beginning of summer.
Although many of us are unfamiliar with the term “trap cropping,” we may have used this technique in our gardens.
The North Cascades National Park Service Complex is putting out the welcome mat at its campgrounds.
I know that everybody’s focus is on vegetable gardening right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the return of our favorite garden flowers like roses, peonies or irises.
No fishing license, no problem.
The state Department of Fish & Wildlife plans to build a parking lot at its 100-acre Samish River Unit to improve access to the recreation site.
In the heat and cool of late spring, our gardens soon become jungles. As you weed, snip, and snack, collections for your home compost are also building.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking public comment on proposed rules for this year’s recreational and commercial salmon fishing seasons.
SEDRO-WOOLLEY — For a decade, Trek for Treasure participants have overcome plenty of obstacles in their quest to win the competition.
A seven-week fishing season will open June 1 on the Cascade River.
The photography skills of Skagit Valley Herald readers are more and more evident each week. Today, we’ll feature three scenes from the outdoors that illustrate the magic of what’s around us.
(This is the second in a two-part series. If you missed Part 1, look for it in last week’s “Ask the Master Gardener” column.)
It may be awhile before the state Department of Fish & Wildlife knows if the delayed opening day of the lowland lakes fishing season Tuesday was a success.
Local bodies of water were busy Tuesday as fishermen took advantage of the opportunity to cast their lines.
The sun is coming out at the most opportune time as certain outdoor restrictions put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic are easing today.
Animals — their activities and antics — get some attention this week in “Skagit View.”
S'mores cooked over the kitchen stove, tent pitched in the backyard or living room.
On the 50th year of our Earth Day celebrations, we are in a unique position to pause and focus on home.
In these uncertain and chaotic times, people are finding friends, family and connecting with the natural world as good ways to ease anxieties and keep calm.
Continued low returns of some key chinook salmon stocks are expected to limit numerous state salmon fisheries for the upcoming season, state fisheries managers announced Monday.
Jack Hartt knows his way around the local trails.
SEDRO-WOOLLEY — Outdoor opportunities continue to fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What started as a simple act of generosity when Conway dahlia farmer Deanna Kitchen came into a surplus of flowers has turned into a nationwide network called The Growing Kindness Project.
Note: In the two days since this story was written, some state and federal recreational lands have closed. The state Department of Fish & Wildlife and the North Cascades National Park Service Complex closed such facilities as campgrounds, boat ramps, access roads and wildlife areas effec…
Note: In the two days since this story was written, some state and federal recreational lands have closed. The state Department of Fish & Wildlife and the North Cascades National Park Service Complex closed such facilities as campgrounds, boat ramps, access roads and wildlife areas effec…
SEDRO-WOOLLEY — Cassa and Clay Wing suddenly have plenty of time on their hands to spend with each other and their three children.
As federal, state and tribal fisheries managers prepare to negotiate fishing seasons for 2020-21, the outlook on the number of fish returning is not good.
Christianson’s Nursery’s “Hill Top Farm” display at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in Seattle has everything you might find in a real garden — vegetables, a compost pile, lady bugs, slugs, chickens and more — in a nostalgic setting.
In February in the Northwest, it can feel as though spring will never come.
One would think that the distinction between a fruit and a vegetable would be straightforward. However, there are three primary classifications that can be used to determine into which category the plant falls.
The catch-and-release steelhead fishery held on the Skagit River the past two years will not be held in 2020 due to a forecast indicating a low number of fish may return to spawn.
As annual regional fisheries negotiations get underway for 2020, changes may be proposed for how sockeye salmon are managed in the Skagit River and Baker Lake.
Fresh crab is available to those willing to face Mother Nature’s wintery wrath.
Waterfowl hunters can target brant geese visiting Skagit County for the winter this weekend.
The gardening offseason is a great time to catch up on tasks we were too busy to do during the gardening year such as sharpening tools, cleaning plant pots for future seeding sessions, culling out old seed packets and ordering new seeds, and reassessing our landscape.
Kick off 2020 at a state park by hiking through forest, walking on the beach or exploring history.
The state Department of Fish & Wildlife is considering a move that would about double the land it owns near the mouth of the Samish River, potentially opening more access for fishermen along the popular river.
It’s again that time of year when the Fidalgo Fly Fishers bring the outdoors indoors as part of their popular Introduction to Fly Fishing course.
