Site Discussions

Beautiful birds, saw two of them first time while fishing super early this morning. They were doing their own fishing. So fascinating. I love wildlife.

Thanks for this helpful article. It should help me understand what’s happening next spring as they start to appear again.
One question though. You say, “Moreover, bumble bees are on the short list of insects capable of “buzz pollination,” which is the only way eggplants, blueberries, cranberries, and some other plants can be pollinated.” and then, “Honey bees are incapable of buzz pollination”.
Does this mean the stacks of commercial honey bee hives I see in managed lowbush blueberry fields here in Maine are there only to collect nectar and make honey for the beekeepers?
I have also seen the shorter bumblebee boxes in some fields as well.

Thank you for taking the time to write a most informative and interesting article.  I enjoyed it immensely.  Exploring the natural world and its many wonders in detail is utterly fascinating for me too.  While not an expert my any means,  I too enjoy learning more about the world of fungi , especially since becoming acquainted with shaggy mane mushrooms a few yers ago in Vermont.

What a beautiful evolution. Thank you for this. If you are ever up in NH for a reading, please let me know.
Thank you. Meg

How were you able to mitigate your issues with the deer? They eat almost everything in our pollinator garden at Jefferson Memorial Forest in Louisville, KY.

Congratulations on a wonderful growing season! I can’t wait to see how the garden will continue to fill in next year.

Great to see Laura looking vibrant and to hear her telling stories I’ve never heard! I used to visit her and even got to take a trip to Barra over a decade ago. What a treat it’s been to know her and to be inspired by her!  How heartening to know she’s still living close to the land.
Blessings on the path

Your article is great!  The garden is amazing .  Fall has swept right in…too fast… but then I don’t want to move south LOL

I’ve enjoyed visiting the pollinator garden throughout the summer - thank you!

I believe that most folks would change their monoculture yards to places of nature for wildlife, beginning with insects that our birds need if they understand how utterly important and critical this is for our futures. We need to stop being told what is beautiful by landscape businesses that make money without much thought to the welfare of the life dependent on our native environments. Open your eyes to the beauty that nature provides. Read “Bringing Nature Home” Breathe deeply.

Thank you for this informative article. When I visited Gremany a couple decades ago, the State and Community Forest were restricting skid trails to around 8-10% of the managed forest. It was hand felling and then winched to the skid trails. Considering the impacts of current logging machines this seems like a sensible approach but no one seems to be doing this type of work. This would seem to reduce the impact on fungi. Do you know of any logging systems that are designed to reduce the impact on fungi? Sincerely, Bruce

Congratulations on your well deserved award!

Great coverage! David is one of the voices and faces of natural history in RI!

Another wonderful piece with beautiful evocative language by K. Vezina.

What an excellent article by Amy Godine!  I just loved reading about this history and the exceptional people who lived it.  I am so glad to learn of them and very happy that the history is being shared.  Absolutely wonderful and really well-written, too.

Very interesting article, I enjoyed learning the inside scoop of what it takes to be a horse logger. I have VT property that is in current use, and will need to do some harvesting within three years. Just started researching trying to find a horse logger. Would like to have less impact on the woodlands but not sure I’m going to be successful in my search. Worth a try. Let me know please if you know any others!

Yay, David!  You and Kira are the best. Thank you so much for all that you do!

Doug - If your comment on the one glaring error when felling is referring to the third picture of John Doyle, I suspect that is not a picture of felling. The tree is already on the ground, yet the saw is on the stump with chips flying. The saw is also oriented to cut vertically - cutting downward (not horizontally, as you would expect if finishing the felling cut.) My bet is that he has returned to the stump after the fall and is cutting the tree off the stump in that photo.

Congratulations! Well deserved.

Since the bird lineage goes back as far as the dinosaurs, perhaps Homo sapiens learned tools by use from birds.