Site Discussions

I think polar bears and possum also have hollow fibres in their coats.

I have known Geoff for the past 6-7 years and we met at the beach. Since that time I have seen him personally clean up the beach by himself more times than I count. He does it all out of his love of the beach and the birds. He does not ask for any compensation and if he was offered I know he wouldn’t accept it. He is one of the best guys I know and glad I am able to call him a friend. Way to go Geoff!

Enjoyed the mammoth narrative; will make me think of the giant mammals at my next sight of New England granite on a mid-winter day.

Had to post. We share a strange spelling of the name Geoff…don’t know where yours came from but my dad, a 100% Irishman, named me after Chaucer.  We share a total love of birds and the outdoors and I applaud your activism! Thank you for helping the plovers….

We live in a suburb with woods nearby and a pair of pillared woodpeckers come to the suet-logs hanging from a tree.  The log holes are filled with a mixture of beef suet,  corn meal, bird seed, oatmeal, raisins and nuts.  Their fun to watch!

Thank you for a wonderful article.  We read it in the magazine when it first appeared, and my wife and I have talked about it ever since.  The little donkey is a frequent metaphor in our conversations about how to live.  We’re much lazier than you guys though - - I use a log splitter.

I love this little spotlight. So much respect, Geoff.

2 weeks ago we saw some vertical ice that was peppered with frozen-in springtails.  We wondered if they were dead or in a state of “suspended animation”.

I loved your blog and I’m a jewelry person,so what a treat. My Mom and Nana nurtured my love of all things alive,whether in the NYC suburbs, where I brought home injured sparrows and cats, to a very disoriented bat. I always loved the outdoors and I remember persuading mom to make me a necklace of the horse chestnuts the boys would pummel us girls with. I remember it getting quite buggy about a week later.c
I also as I got older rented a little cabin in Sullivan County with my husband and read every Euell Gibbons book and Peterson or Audubon Society guide I could lay my hands on.I am back in the city awaiting knee replacement surgery from all my years of climbing my hills and tending my wild flower garden. Your blog was inspiring, I’ll keep my eyes open for your jewelry!

I’ve always heard you tap the southern side of trees early (late January) and the northern side later (mid-to-late February).

I’ve definitely had my south-facing taps shut down and my north-facing taps start gushing later in the season

Also known in this neck of the woods as “Pahtridge”

I am interested to know if there is a list of all of the “types” of camps in Vermont and the folks that were enrolled for genealogy purposes.  Two of my Uncles were masons.  They learned their craft in these camps.

I know of two spots now in our city where “clay babies” can be readily found! I have picked many gorgeous design since childhood!
I love searching, finding & enjoying Mother Nature’s artwork!!

I have two questions? 1. Doesn’t the frost have to be out of the grown before the tree can draw water to make maple sap?  This year the winter seems to be mild.  Here in Mid Michigan the extended forecast temperature is mid 30 during the day and mid 20s and night for the next 7-10 days.  I am thinking there is no reason to tap as long as frost is in the ground.
2. I have been reading a lot of articles on maple sap.  I understand the process of how the tree system produces maple sap.  There seems to be some question as what create the flow movement.  I cannot find a straight answer that I believe that the change in pressure in the tree and gravity pushes it out, as the tree heats up and then at negative temps a vacuum is caused by cooling of empty wood fibers and draws liquid back into the tree.
Thanks for your time,
Peter Maczik

Remember not to take nests from the wild; it is always best to leave them where they are, even if you think they re not being used.

Last evening I saw a very small rodent as I was passing a theatre downtown.  It seemed too small to be a mouse, being a little bigger than a ‘loonie’ and roundish, definitely not elongated.  The tail was no more than 2 inches long and the fur was grey.  It was scuttling around some very low shrubs looking for for ?insects.  What might it be?

Loved this article. Well-written and a great source of info to share with others in these cold months! Thank you!

We have a bumper crop of winterberries on Vinalhaven this year and sumac too.  The birds have ignored my feeder thus far and I wonder if its the abundance of winter fruit.

Very beautifully written article have read for a while. As if I was reading NY times with beautiful metaphors like popcorn. Very insightful that sparrows pair and nest well before other birds arrive.

At our bird feeder in the beginning I hated sparrows because they ate everything and 90 percent were sparrows. After a while I realized that if there are no sparrows at the feeders there are no other birds as well. Figured out that the cardinals, finches, doves, blue jays, nut hatchers were using sparrows as bait. They would calmly wait for sparrows to start eating and if after a while sparrows are safe and still feeding, cardinals and other would flock to the feeder. So sparrows were used as testers by other birds for danger from Cats and Hawks.

Sparrows are what rabbits are in the animal kingdom, the bottom of food chain. They sustain many birds of prey. The hawks and owls would have perished in winter had there not been a good flock of sparrows. We have a resident hawks and owls in our backyard who visit every single day for sparrows.

There is one common capability that nature provides to the bottom food chainers like sparrow, rabbits and mice - they procreate a lot. They help the entire birds of prey .

When I got concerned about the flow slowing down in March after tapping in February, I pulled the tap, reamed the hole with a spade drill and put the tap back.  Conventional, or not, it seemed to help.