Site Discussions

Just the insight I needed to help decide how to transition our landscaping to our forested brook ravine, which borders the White Mountain National Forest. Thank you!

Somewhere I read chipmunk love apples so I set some pieces out “pouch” size. Notakers.. I then set same apples combined with sunflower seeds. They cleaned out the seeds and left the apples untouched..Now we have verified field data!

Last year I had a robin build a nest on top of a ladder on my covered patio. She had a nest there the year before, and the babies fell out onto the patio and died. She had more, and the same thing happened. So when she came to build her nest again last year, I took it down. She immediately started another one. I moved the ladder. She never went back to the nest. I felt bad, so attached a plastic basket up high under the covered patio for her. She never nested there. This year I have a mourning dove nesting in the basket. Looking forward to babies!

This morning saw a very slow moving dark grey furry critter in the kitchen. My macho cat was just looking at him without concern. I scooped it up easily in a dust pan and threw it outside. It was 5-6 inch shape like a cylinder and as I said moved slow even with a cat following it. Vole, shrew or mouse? Going with first two. I live 60 feet from the woods and this is the second one like this in my house in 10 years.

Karen,
At night, female house wrens almost always settle in their nests to incubate eggs or brood young.  During daylight hours, they will leave the nest frequently between incubation and brooding bouts. If your door is closed at dawn, it’s likely to disrupt her morning activity and could lead to nest abandonment. Still, it’s difficult to assess the risk - your wren might adjust. Have you considered installing an automatic door? Barn swallows have been known to operate these in order to move freely to and from indoor nests - by fluttering in front of the sensor!

I am a meteorologist and also love the mountains!  I agree with Mark.  While there are many factors influencing the tree line altitude, the 50 degree (F) isotherm of the average temperature of the warmest month is the most reliable measure.

Wrens are building a nest in my sun room.  We leave the door open during the day to let our Golden Retriever out in our back yard.  Will be able to close the door at night after the wren lays her eggs, or are we committed to leaving our sun room door open 24/7 if we let them complete their nest?

I have a mourning dove nest on the wreath of my front door. For almost a week now a dove has been in the nest. I have to use that door because it’s the only access to my house. When I open the door the dove just looks at me and remains calm. Tonight the dove got startled and flew into my house but flew back out. I’m concerned because she has not returned to the nest. Will she come back, her eggs have not hatched yet?

Mark, you’re slightly ahead of where my mother and father are. They planted seven acres of walnut trees 20 years ago. They have been pruned and need to be thinned out. My question is: how should the thinning be done? I’m inclined to find someone with this expertise and hire them to mark the trees to be removed. Any advice is appreciated!

I have always loved mourning doves.  Their haunting song transports me back to my early childhood when I first heard it.  It’s my favorite very sound in the whole world.

Betsy, you are too kind!  Now is a good time of year to be excited about duckweed.  I just saw some in ponds in the Winooski floodplain.
I look forward to seeing you in the VMN Zoom!
Cheers
Declan

I discovered of very large intact alive freshwater mussel on my Beaver Pond. I had seen evidence of them in so much as I have found half shells but it was exciting to find a live one literally on the Beaver Dam.

Interesting interview!  Very nice drawing by Molly.

Duckweed. You took duckweed, Declan, this little weed, and turned it into a magical story. I cannot believe it. I am now excited about duckweed just from having read your article! Thank you..

This is right up my alley! I was brought up exploring the outdoors. My father, John T. Hemenway, used to take us to Taylor Valley to check out wood lots and forests. Our summer residence in Strafford has now become my permanent home. My house is located on the west branch of the Ompompanusic(not sure of spelling) where I spent hours exploring ...

What a wonderful article and I truly thank Molly and Pearl for sharing their thoughts, interests and favorite places.  My hope is that all children can have an equally stimulating and loving childhood environment.  I strongly suspect these two will have truly interesting and fulfilling lives.  Thank you!

On the 100 acre lake where I live, we have one pair of nesting loons every year. For the past three years an interloper loon has attempted to take territorial control of the lake resulting in wild water chases across the lake that go on for weeks. If any baby loons are present, it appears that the interloper kills them as the young baby chicks disappear after the interloper arrives and the water battles begin. Again this morning I saw another loon appear on our small lake and the chasing started once again. Fortunately, no babies have been born yet.
My question is, how many years will it take before these invasions stops. This is the third year in a row this has occurred. Prior to this, we never saw another loon try to invade our lake, which was already occupied by a regular nesting pair.
I appreciate any information you can offer. Is there any way to prevent this?

This was awesome! A few days ago, my dad saw a spiky caterpillar. The 2 days ago, I found a bunch of them hanging and starting to cocoon on our GARAGE! I got scared, because I thought that they were poisonous. But turns out we either have the American Lady or the Mourning Cloak. I’m guessing mourning cloak.

Meghan - love this one. What a great idea to interview a couple of kids - and these two have such unique perspectives. Thanks for such uplifting and hopeful writing during these tough days ...Eileen

Thanks Melanie! So to further your clarification: opossums can be supported temporarily by their tails, and indeed if you look online you’ll see photographs showing this. A great safety feature for a tree climber! But as for hanging about that way, no. People sometimes think they sleep this way, like bats, which is incorrect.