Site Discussions

Decades ago I found 12-14 Hens of the Woods under one massive oak tree. Either two were fused together or they were separate but indetectably so (twice). Thank you for the soup recipe.

Very nice essay!  It made me think of the Sycamore leaves that I used to see when I spent winters in southeast Arizona. I lived up on the mountainside above a canyon that had sloping roadway with concrete walls and paving to channel flash flood waters down to a canal below. The large leaves of Sycamore would dry and curl so that it was almost like they had feet.  When they fell and blew along the smooth concrete, they looked like small animals scamping down the sloping roadway. They were quite fun to watch.

They have done so much damage on my farm. The rodent guy confirms it’s voles and says there’s nothing he can do. My farm is organic and I won’t use poisons anyway for fear it could affect my dogs and cats and bird and other wildlife. I’ve tried everything. I’m keeping things mowed down low so they will be more vulnerable to predators but, hasn’t slowed them down at all. I’ve had to give up my normal food producing area for fear of rodent borne diseases that could make people sick like lepto.  I’d sure appreciate it if anyone has any suggestions for me. Thank you.

My children have discovered the grifola frondosa in New Hampshire, what a great mushroom!

Great article, thank you Ari!  I am curious to know if they can be found in Europe? Mid-size old mountains between France and Switzerland. Yes, we have oaks, etc.

Hawks are the number one cause of Grouse decline without question. Rapror numbers were extremely low fourty years ago. Today hawks are everywhere and grouse don’t stand a chance!

Knowledge of trees and their wood has been passed on for centuries. And in this description, I can envision the tree as it grows from year to year and how the weather, the temperature, and the environment are reflected in its growth in the rings, and the grain and texture inside the stem/trunk evolve with time, if you will. That wood, has been the fundamental building block for humanity since we can remember.  Very interesting; thank you for this description.

Thank you so much for your interesting article I have a Orb spider living by my back door she is so beautiful and has an egg sack that’s up where it can’t get wet. I hope she can live through the winter I’m not sure how long they live but I like watching her and she’s not afraid of me. I have to reach down and turn my water off and on by her web but she just waits for me to finish. I sure enjoy her!

This helped me with my school work.

Nicely said Ari! You have such a way with fungi!

Our cottage is surrounded by shagbark hickories, and the local wildlife really enjoys the nuts! The ground is covered with shells. I can verify that even a recent seedling is very difficult to pull out of the ground.

What a beautiful article. I think that if you, Todd Davis, wrote this kind of prose into a book you would be a strong candidate for The John Burroughs Medal. I know you prefer to hunt alone, but thank you for taking me along on that wonderful November day in the Pennsylvania woods,

Mike Rosen

Great walkthrough — the shoulder-notch tip in step 3 is the part most beginners get wrong. I split straight into the bowl on my first attempt and lost both blanks. Agree on basswood and birch for a first spoon; alder carves nicely too if you can find a straight, knot-free branch. The slow-drying advice is worth repeating: wrapping the spoon in damp newspaper for a week before the final cuts and oiling has saved a couple of mine from checking. Sunflower oil over chemical preservatives is the right call for anything that touches food.

This is a nice addition to the magazine itself.

Hello! Interested to see what I can learn here! Have foraged for grapes on our land for years, making delicious jams that are welcome Gifts at Christmas! This year the vines are not doing very well and I hope to gain some info as to what to do for them! Thank You!

Very, very nice overview from an expert of what silviculture is all about.  I actually took silviculture from Dr. Nyland at ESF in the fall of 1981 (Forest Biology major).  He created the most interesting exams!  Even though I did not go into the environmental field after my undergraduate time at Syracuse I still think about how a forest plot can be managed when my wife and I take walks in the woods.  We also taught our children to hug trees when out in the forest, a fact that they never let us forget!

It is always uplifting to hear more about those working to improve the forest rather than just exploiting it. Too often we hear about the latter, less of the former.  Your research is the best way to stem that tide as it provides that support we all need for ecologically based forestry.

A wonderful article, thank you!  I’m an old lady now, but Laura’s story is close to what I wish mine had been.

I once found a squirrel that had seven bot-flies on him. He couldn’t walk at all. I was going to put him down but chose to take him to a wildlife lady who that night pulled out seven bot-flies. He lived and was eventually turned loose back into the trees

Love your This Week in the Woods, but that just doesn’t look like a painted Suillus, unless I’m missing a new common name for Suillus spragueii (pictus)! It needs to have a wooly cracked cap and an annulus. Won’t guess at a name for the fungus without seeing the color of the pores.

Thank you for this excellent article.  Even though I thought I already understood some of the points, the outstanding writing made it truly fascinating nonetheless.  Many thanks to author Ms. Kosiba and Northern Woodlands.