Site Discussions

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.

John Adler (and his business partner, David Bridsall) are top-notch instructors. They take the time to make sure participants understand WHY to apply the various techniques, not just “do this”. That understanding helps you retain the techniques learned and also gives you a starting point if you need to modify your approach to fit unique situations.

I took my first GOL class in 2003, thinking I’d just take Level 1. I was so impressed that I ended up taking levels 2, 3, and 4 (including both the landowner and the pro logger versions of level 4). Over the years, I’ve repeated level 3 & 4 as refreshers.

I’ve become something of a GOL evangelist. In my opinion, anyone working in the woods with a chainsaw should consider these classes.

Wonderful, in depth yet clear information Jackson. Two requests: 1. I wish the various photos included at the top had been scattered more closely to the intriguing information provided.  2. Please say hello to your mom and dad for me.

A Really nice article. I took this course a few years ago with Bill Girard, sponsored by the MA Forest Association. Everything you report is exactly as I recall doing with one glaring exception. The feller should not be anywhere near the falling tree. One has to have an escape route. The picture shows the opposite!

I so enjoyed the article, published in the NH Union Leader, especially since Gathering Moss is one of my all-time favorite books. The spores caught in the chipmunk feet leave a pattern on the logs they hop along! Thank you for showcasing that amazing book and for sharing your insights about these tiny, yet vital ecological interactions.

The black locust is also a great conservation tree to prevent soil erosion in riparian zones, since it is fast-growing and puts up sprouts from a main stem is a wide circle around the tree. The flowers are beautiful and fragrant.

Loved this article. We have an old cellar hole a stones throw from our house and 130 years or more ago the parents planted a Black locust for each child born (5) in a circle near the house, and cow and sheep barn. The barn, also just a cellar hole left. Indeed, the soil is black gold around the trees and the bark is scraggly, craggy like a scary tree on Halloween, but when pulled off, extremely light in weight. They do not roam here like most invasives, but I have sawed down a few saplings once in a while. The scent from the white blooms that hang like Wisteria is heavenly. And bees crack out over the nectar, lol. Thank you for writing about one of my favorite trees. Native or not, they’re welcome on our land.