NATURE

It seems pretty obvious, but taking a selfie with a rattlesnake turns out to be a VERY bad idea. Corporate conservation: Apple and IKEA are buying up forests. Strange animal stories: Bizarre defense mechanisms, a snake fossil with legs (four of them), bees that vaccinate their babies, and a black bear in a food coma. New York shortens fall turkey season, Iowa aides the monarch, and Australia declares war on cats. Speaking of cats, the public backs cougars in the Adirondacks...if they come back on their own. Banana tree furniture? We wrap up with entertainment nature news: a pig and a frog part ways.

INDUSTRY

A big donation prompts Paul Smith's to change its name. Housing starts expected to stay strong, and inside those houses you may find a trendy new type of kitchen cabinet. Touting  New Hampshire's forest industries and honoring some Maine wood products companies. The Northern Forest Center has a new website. Timber suppliers support a hardwood "checkoff" program. A musical pioneer leaves a legacy of wooden drumsticks. Pellet stove efficiency figures are tough to come by. And kudos to this guy for building an honest to goodness wood-powered truck.

STORIES YOU'VE SHARED

Want to learn to live more sustainably and self-sufficiently? August 22 is "permaculture day" in New Hampshire.

The Vermont Woodlands Association will be conducting a Woodland Retreat on September 26-27 at Seyon Lodge State Park in Vermont. The event will focus on the practice of forestry and land stewardship and is designed for landowners and stewards of all experience levels. The deadline to register is September 10, 2015. Learn more here.

August 15-16 will be race weekend in Maine as Downeast Lakes Land Trust will be hosting two outdoor races: on August 15, the Downeast Lakes 5-Miler; on Sunday, August 16, the Eleventh Annual West Grand Lake Race. To pre-register, please call DLLT at (207) 796 - 2100, or email. More information is available here.