It has been a long 12 months for the majority of parents across the country. With schools being closed for many towns and cities, many parents have either been forced or made the choice to homeschool their kids in order to keep them as safe as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Publisher's note: we LOVE the amazing articles from our US Fish and Wildlife Service about our natural world. Here's one about tracks in the snow!

Who goes there? Winter is a great time to find out. The snow tells secrets about the natural world.

In woods and plains and less trafficked city streets, the movements of many shy creatures can be revealed in a fresh cover of snow.

Snow can reveal the mysterious lives of critters in the night.

These tracks were made by elk. The tracks indicate that elk were zig-zagging through the snow, digging for vegetation buried beneath.

Max Quinn is one of the world's most experienced polar filmmakers. His career, which spans 50 years, has taken him to the ends of the earth, from his native New Zealand to Alaska, and Antarctica to the Arctic.

His new book, A Life of Extremes is a personal account of his work, featuring vibrant text and stunning images that illustrate 20 years of adventures in polar climates.

By ones and twos, the pipers of Tryst stepped out as they played their pipes, walking up an almost deserted Buchanan Street in Glasgow city centre to enter the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

They  were playing In Praise of the Pioneers, a well-chosen selection.

Renowned photographer Paul Sorrell has a new book out, entitled Getting Closer: Rediscovering nature through bird photography. In this fascinating book, he details ways to best photograph birds and other wildlife. 

She's done it again!

One of our favorite writers, Patricia Leavy, has a new novel out that is, already, the must-read book of the year. Twinkle is a testament to the humanity in our lives—the joys of love, friendship, and laughter, as well as the challenges of trauma and life-changing events. I started reading it as a gift to myself in the new year, and wished that I had had it to hold in my heart during the last difficult year.