New video
The Giant Puffball
The giant puffball grows to the size of a soccer ball in about a week, one big one holds about 7 trillion spores, and three bills to make it the Massachusetts state mushroom never passed.
What’s happening outside in Massachusetts today
Near you
- MetroWestToday's daylight lasts 10 hours 12 minutes, exactly as long as February 6
- Greater BostonDark-eyed juncos, the grey birds hopping under feeders, are back for the winter
- Cape Cod and the IslandsFirst list arrives soon
- North ShoreFirst list arrives soon
- South ShoreFirst list arrives soon
More of Massachusetts opens soon. Tap the place name at the top to set your zip.
Across Massachusetts
Look up
The fireball-rich Southern Taurid meteors peak tonight
Tonight Earth passes through the fireball-rich part of a crumbly dust trail from Comet Encke. From a lit yard expect about one slow meteor an hour, but a Taurid fireball is bright enough to show through streetlight glow.
Look closer
Nibbled twigs show whether a deer or a rabbit ate there
Deer have no upper front teeth, so they tear a twig and leave a ragged end, while a rabbit snips it clean on a slant like a knife cut. With the soft green plants gone, find a nibbled shrub and work out who came to dinner.