Site Discussions

Currently dealing with my first full blown Lyme’s infection that medication didn’t help and now doing naturopath, herbs and nutrition, but also wondering…didn’t the early Native American’s burn to rid the land of pestilence and weeds? Isn’t there more we could do to manage our land for ticks? Vaccine would be a blessing for all, but too late for me. Not feeling so great about this right of passage, so to speak. It’s tough. But I will never stop being a woodswoman (unless a tick takes me down).

I have wrens in my yard and the male had started nests in 4-5 boxes before the couple decided on one near my back patio.  They have chased out a chickadee family that started there first, which is sad too, but they are so fun to watch. On the rainy evening all 6 babies fledged was just so cute, they were hiding from the rain under our BBQ grill cover; it was adorable.  Wrens can be very aggressive, but they are so active and I enjoy watching how hard they work.

Very well-written and informative article. While working at the Army Cold Regions Lab in Hanover, Doug Hardy and I installed two pea stone nesting pads on the last remaining stone-covered roof at the facility.  I am not sure if the nighthawks ever visited the pads since we put them in in 2008 as nobody is monitoring them.

Enjoyed your article Carolyn.  I’ve persuaded house wrens to choose one of the other dummy nests too.  One year they nested in a front yard box on a suburban neighborhood road.  Not only are they clever, territorial and darn industrious but they are also operatic musical and loud.  I had neighbors commenting on how loud…needless to say, those dummy nests get removed each year too.

Nice story!

I learned that the “white cottony material” is likely spider egg cases.

Coming home from dinner we encountered a strange looking animal in our neighborhood standing still in the road.  It was completely hairless and long and thin.  I took a cellphone photo of it and waited until it ran off into a neighbors yard.  I google the information and found out this strange creature was actually a red fox suffering from Mange.  It’s probably living under someone’s close to ground deck and comes out late at night looking for food.

Very informative.  Thank you!

I have found some downed trees that are thought to be Eastern Red Cedar in North Georgia Mountains at elevation of 3000 ft.. How can I determine how long they have been laying there on the forest floor?

I can only speculate, Charles—too many unknowns, the biggest being just how efficient the house really is. But if the house really is tight, you might get away with 3 cords of wood a year? (This guess is based on the idea that most people I know who heat with a woodstove burn about 6 cords in a year, and maybe your house is 50 percent more efficient.) Based on the author’s math that three, 15-year-old coppiced trees make a face cord, you can probably assume 9 make a cord. That would be 27 trees a year.  Other readers might have a more sophisticated guess.

I discovered this some years ago in our own yard when I caught a little wren dropping a “bomb” that hit a limb in a pine tree. I investigated and soon discovered the magic of how birds deal with kids bedroom messes. And you’re right about seeing them everywhere once discovered.

Thanks, Ann and Bill!

Hello, I am thinking of buying a house in northern Vermont that is 2500 sq ft, well insulated, and designed as a passive solar house. As such, how many cords of wood do you think it would take to heat this each winter? How many acres of mixed hardwoods would it take do meet this need if coppicing is used?  Please note I don’t want to clear it the land, I would rather have the copice system blend into the woodlands and look natural. Thank you.

If you stumble across this older article, or any other articles that mentions picking up snapping turtles, please note that you should never pick one up by the tail as this can severely damage their vertebrae. There are many other sites that describe safe ways to help snapping turtles. Taking them off their routes and away from their intended destinations is also not usually good practice. You can help them along in the same direction they are traveling, preferably by picking them up with a shovel or, if you are very, very careful, picking them up in a specific way—again, never by the tail.

Those tips are valuable but why would we want to cut a tree when it has a lot of benefits like shade and it lessens the pollution in the air? Instead of cutting it, I would suggest to keep, put a swing on it and enjoy an afternoon in your backyard with your kids.

You have outlined a true Public Health emergency made less worrisome by the weather.
We can vaccinate our dogs but not ourselves! Something is wrong with this picture!
There was a vaccine, Lymerix, on the market 15 years ago. Clearly this issue needs pursuing. We all need to feel safe in the woods!

Excellent article. Well written and informative. I ran into multiple swarms along the Potomac River while bicycle riding last week. Unfortunately, the riding height on a bicycle is the perfect level for intersecting swarms. It was an unexpected appetizer while cruising near the shore.

Elise, Tig;

Absolutely phenomenal. Loved the white sac!

How far north is the range of this awesome little turtle? Are they present in northern New Hampshire?

I love your post! A great reminder to be open to new discoveries. And that the more you know the more you see.

Thank you,
Ann

So sad to see all our ash trees gone here in southern Ontario. I’m glad ecologicical research is being done. Unfortunately no easy solutions to endlessly growing list of invaders thanks to globalization and eronautics. Interesting read thanks!