Why the Northeast is green

This May was the second wettest on record in Boston; June is shaping up much the same. No wonder ferns are everywhere, including in the Green Mountains of Vermont where this photo was taken.

As a de-facto Westerner, I'm still adjusting to the lushness here, which oddly enough has the effect of hiding a lot of the houses back in the woods. Out West, you can see every building for miles, which underscores how empty much of it remains.