Site Discussions

I am concerned that when the LED Flashlights aim at an animal in the dark of night…does it injure their vision…their eyes.  I see warninging on these modern flashlights NOT to look directly into them…and looking at oncoming headlights are blinding…I have to look away and so drive less and less at night fearing damage to my eyes.  Are there flashlights that are safe for the animals whose eyes we shine them into…that we can purchase somewhere?  I like to walk at night myself spotlighting different places…like a stage set…watching spiders weave a web, and seeing what animals are out there…turning off the flashlight…and just looking at the stars and moon and listening to night sounds.  Thank you for your article.

Northwestern Pennsylvania has had one heck of a week for making syrup!  Yesterday was a little too warm for comfort if you are a sugar maker - mid 60’s with the unsettling rumbling of thunder.  But, the mercury is falling again and with luck this sweet (and exhausting) season will continue into the next week and beyond!

Great article! Answered my question as to what the turkeys were eating in the winter. I saw 50 turkeys in February gather for days around a fallen uprooted tree out in the woods, pecking and eating something for days around the tree….. What were they eating around the uprooted fallen tree? Fern roots that came out of the ground when the tree fell…..Very interesting!.

As a traditional Native American basketmaker I am so distressed by the EAB.  There is really nothing like the Ash for basket making and Kimmerer is correct that the relationship between a basket maker and the ash is spiritual and material.  Nothing will fill the hole that losing the Ash will leave in our souls.

Perfect! Great description of many millennium of continent formation. Always look forward to Dave’s articles.

Very interesting. I’ve been waiting to tap till just as the flow starts. I’m going to tap now after reading the above article. -25C and 40 inches of snow here yet.

Unfortunately too many people think that deer won’t make it through the winter without people feeding them—were that true there wouldn’t have been any deer here when European settlers arrived.

To think that logging destroys deer habitat (except in the case of winter deer yards) is the height of naivete—deer are an early successional species that depend on forest disturbances.

Sandie - I know you’re asking for serious advice…but what a fun post. Have you considered a Havahart trap? You can find information on their website, and it seems to me that simply releasing the animal outside might work? Of course, you’d want to make sure that you only set the trap up at a time when you could frequently check on it, especially as weasels starve quickly. If there’s a nearby stone wall with natural crevices, that would be a good place to release it.

I hear complaints all the time about large wolf packs, well large deer herds mean wolves keep producing offspring, natural thinning of deer herds keeps the entire system in natural order.

Neat story.  How old this land under our feet is!

This spring plant a lot of plants which have berries, buds, and fruit that would be healthier for deer to consume in the winter. Plant conifers. That way we don’t have to give up feeding them, but it doesn’t cause them digestive issues.

This reminds me of conversations I’ve had with relatives who are geologists. Glad to have them, for the information never came in school. Thanks for refreshing my memory!

Hi , I’ve had a long tailed weasel living in my house for the last two months. Three weeks ago he was almost completely white, last night he had a brown stripe down his back so he must be getting his summer coat. We live in the country so we get a lot of field mice and we had even more last summer. Wesley (the weasel) seems to be taking care of that problem so I’m letting him hang out for the winter. I managed to shoot a 2 minute video of him last night when I realized he was in my bedroom with me and the door was closed. I let him out after he hid under my dresser. I called the local nature center, but they won’t take him. Not really sure what to do with him. Any ideas??

As a boy growing up in the 1960’s, I earned the nickname of Rondeau, due in part to my love of the woods and the critters over to the exclusion of almost everything else.  I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to find this article.  These names were on the hearts, minds and lips of the old timers I knew when I was young.

Thank you!

From, the Friends of American Legion and Peoples State Forests, Inc. (FALPS)

Thank you for sharing this.

Hi Peter,

A difference between us and many of the environmental organizations you cite involves the fact that we focus on the Northeast. Burning wood from a managed woodlot in Vermont, is of course, very different than razing a rainforest, burning the slash, and converting it into a feedlot. On a very simple level, part of what we do is to help people understand the difference.

As to your comment about liking your firewood but not liking the wood McNeil’s burns, I see the two things as connected. The wood industry in the state and region is like an ecosystem, and it functions best when it’s diverse and balanced. You might analogize the big wood consumers like McNeils to wolves. When you take the alpha predators out of a food chain, there are ripples. The logger who sells you two cords of wood needs to move more volume than that to stay in business. The forestland owners in your region need established, consistent markets, as well, so they can afford to own the woods that we all benefit from. Likely, McNeils helps them both.

The goal is to find a healthy balance between utility and forest health. (Best of all is when utility can promote forest health.) We strive for balance in our editorial matters as well, and so I thank you for this contribution. I suspect many readers share your concerns.

I miss my skunks!  I used to have pet ones that had the run of our farmhouse and slept with me at night. 

Hello Deborah in Texas, I am a professional animal damage control agent and I regularly trap skunks for people. I use cooked chicken bones (left over scraps) in my live traps and usually catch them right away. Just be sure to have your trap in a black bag or a blanket because if trap is covered they will not spray when transporting them. I will be posting a video this week on the process start to finish on our HardCore Scripture Outdoors (youth mentoring program) website and Facebook page.

I enjoy all kinds of birds.I had several different kinds. I love watching them while eating breakfast. But when the Wrens came they chased away all my other birds. They are not nice birds at all. I want my others back. Any ideas? Thank you