Site Discussions
Thanks for posting this information. We were educated about leg traps as well on this ocassion and I think people need to know how to release them. When I heard about Henry’s dilemma I had envisioned one of those old fashion traps with “teeth” that would cut into the leg and often the animal would bleed to death but fortunately those are illegal now. There has been a significant problem with coyotes here on the hill and the traps were set out to control the population. SO GLAD HENRY IS OKAY.
From "How to Release a Dog from a Trap" »
Altho its operation seems parasitical, the gall fly may actually aid the Goldenrod species it preys on. The top of the seed stalk above the gall may wither and break off. If it does, side shoots develop below the gall, so that the plant develops more seeds than one which has not been parasitized.
From "Goldenrod Golf Balls" »
I read that the larvae also can make good bait for ice fishing, perch,crappy, etc. though I have not used them myself.
From "Goldenrod Golf Balls" »
Want to take action & help understand where the pinch points are on roadways for wildlife across Vermont? Check out Cold Hollow to Canada’s citizen science project WildPaths on iNaturalist. Photo documentation of roadkill & successful crossings can be uploaded with your smartphone to this project. Data points can then be used by towns, individuals, conservation commissions and wildlife groups to better understand wildlife crossings and plan for infrastructure improvements, signage, and stewardship. More at http://bit.ly/iNat_WildPathsVT
From "Reflections on Roadkill" »
We’ve always had skunks in our neighborhood but for some reason this year they’ve been really heavy in population. They always came near our townhomes because they like to eat birdseed that spills from the feeders. My wife and I have seen about 15 “regulars” this year and enjoyed watching the kits grow to juveniles to young adults. To identify most of them we’ve given them nicknames usually based on physical attributes but we’ve really enjoyed naming some based on their personalities we’ve learned.
I know it likely aggravated some neighbors but we’ve spent a lot of money feeding them from buying bulk items at the grocery store like brittle, nuts, berries, and banana chips. We’ve got hours of entertainment watching them do naturally cute and goofy things this year and never once have they sprayed out front of the house where we feed them. The occasional skunk has sprayed lose by but never in an area where we likely attracted them to. One advantage is our’s and all our neighbors’ garbage has been torn up less this year because they get their food from us.
I hate to sound all “Harry Potter Game Keeper” and stuff but skunks are seriously misunderstood creatures. They do only spray as a last resort and watching the baby kits stomp when they want something to leave is about one of the most adorable things in nature to see. They really don’t bother anyone and another cliche ‘are more afraid of you than you are of them’.
If you want a skunk to leave your area, deny their food source. Please don’t trap them as this stresses them out and if left for more than a day can actually kill them from this stress. Most of us likely have skunk visitors late at night and never even know it as they don’t stink 24/7. Like all wildlife you leave them alone and they will do the same in kind.
From "The Winter Life of the Skunk" »
Thank you for a thoughtful piece on a daily occurrence. More and more we crowd the natural world with our excesses. Nice to see some, somewhere is attempting to mitigate our footprint on the land.
From "Reflections on Roadkill" »
Interesting article! I am very aware and saddened by the roadkill that I encounter on the highways of VT and elsewhere. I was so stuck by the sheer number of deer that were killed on route 84 through PA on a recent road trip. One solution might be the wildlife bridges found in the Netherlands. Please see more here: http://unusualplaces.org/wildlife-crossing-in-netherlands/
From "Reflections on Roadkill" »
A few years ago a friend and I found a den in some rocks. It was packed full of leaves and looked to be really comfortable. The kicker was, it was overlooking a brook lined with hardwoods. Talk about waterfront property!
From "Bears Make Their Beds, and Soon They'll Lie in Them" »
Burning firewood is almost an irony of sorts. How many of us have vowed to never depend on it as a source of heat only to find ourselves indebted to it in a “famous-last-words” bad joke? That said, pretty much any of us that do burn firewood see it as a right of fall and winter seasons. We actually do seem to like processing it (at least a little at a time) despite our mur-murs. There truly is no other source of heat that leaves one feeling good through the body like heat from a woodstove. Even in a power outtage we can still have heat without depending on electricity. Hmm, guess I’d better get shleping ‘ey?
From "Firewood Method" »
So glad to read this. My kiddo & I raised a couple dozen black swallowtails this summer (the birds were eating them off my bronze fennel so we brought them inside) and 14 monarchs (-1 which had a parasitic fly larva). We had 1 swallowtail straggler who made his chrysalis very late & we were debating throwing it out of his bug carrier since it hadn’t hatched. I guess we’ll leave it on the porch & hope for a spring surprise.
From "The Butterflies of Winter" »
Thanks for the interesting read about syrup. I actually didn’t know that the amino acids in maple sap increases as the sugaring season goes on. I’m interested to learn more if this is the case for different areas, or how the climate could affect how many amino acids there are.
From "The Science of Syrup" »
My home in southwest NH had an attached woodshed with a tunnel from the basement to the woodshed and a lidded wood box in the mud room above the tunnel. Didn’t even have to go outside to restock the woodbox although the woodshed was unheated so cold in the winter.
From "Firewood Method" »
Ah, the science of cordwood management! Over 30 some years of wood stove heating my home, a couple of contrarian practices evolved that work for me. First, I don’t cover stored wood, but rather stack it on a ¾-inch crushed stone base. It drains well, gets plenty of air and sun, saves work, and burns well after a year’s aging.
Secondly, to get the cured wood “stove-ready” I stack enough inside the house to allow several days drying and warming, so what goes into the stove ignites quickly and burns efficiently. Drying wood inside also adds welcome humidity to interior spaces, alleviating a common winter issue. That actually worked well enough that I give away my room humidifier.
From "Firewood Method" »
I own just over 3.5 acres of land outside of Providence. Luckily, I have plenty of room to space out my wood processing operation. First of all, I am like Dave, I squirrel for wood across the region. I have been fortunate enough to find enough wood to cover our needs for the past three seasons. I process my wood at the front of the property where I can back my trailer loads far enough back to keep the entire process away from the house. Over the past three years, I have built three shelters to house my wood. Two sheds are located near the house along the driveway, close enough to dump wood from the processing area. That wood is stacked in the sheds around mid April and left alone until October. On my covered front porch, I have a rack that holds about three weeks of wood when we are really burning. In the meantime, at the front of the property, I process the wood I find around the region. This wood is 95% hardwood with some pieces of pine mixed in for burning during the end seasons. There, I built a large platform with a tin roof where I can store the firewood until the following year. The shelter holds about 31/2 cord of wood while the others hold about two 1/2. Typically we burn only 2 1/2 cords of wood a season since it is not our primary heat source. I spilt everything by hand on a contraption I built using a old tire from the side of the road near my home. I have been burning for three years now and all my firewood has dried well below the 20% mark. As most of the people who read this magazine who burn wood, the entire experience is daunting by truly rewarding.
From "Firewood Method" »
We don’t have a woodlot, unfortunately. So we buy from a good supplier already cut and split, with mixed satisfaction over the years. But, finally, he seems to understand “small”, as required for my Dutchwest stove.
If I can’t purchase it in the fall of the previous heating season, we’ll get winter-cut wood delivered in spring. It’s immediately “stacked in full sun with good air circulation”.
The best devices we’ve found are “Stack-it Brackets”. You can build the racks to your own specs. They’re steel sockets that hold 2x4s at right angles. We make racks 12 feet long and 4 feet tall, with pressure-treated lumber. They’ve been lasting many years now. Sure beats the old free-standing stacks, cross-cribbing the pieces at each end, and hoping the winds and settling don’t cause it to topple!
Then the top of each stack is covered with a recycled rubber roofing material. Also, re-used for many years as it is highly durable. It drapes down the 4 sides and we staple it in place. Come October: beautifully seasoned firewood!
From "Firewood Method" »
All logic dictates that he lets his arrow go. Illogic and conflicting emotions have no place in this scenario, otherwise why is he there in the first place? If he cannot understand this, he should just go home and take up some other endeavor.
From "Hearts and Minds" »
Because woodcutters seem to not be passing on the lore in my area had to keep two seasons worth of wood stacked in the yard to make sure it’s really seasoned. The oldtimers felled trees after leaf drop and pulled the limbed logs out only when the ground was frozen and there was snow cover. the logs were bucked into four footers and split or not, stacked in a row in the sun, usually edge of pasture or meadow in January and February. Eight feet of this could be called a cord even though when cut to stove length it shrinks 10%. In September it could be called seasoned and cut to specific stove length, split if needed and delivered. a cord could be measured by the truck cubeage as well, though if thrown in loose it will shrink another 10% when stacked. If that wood had been bought anytime before September it would have been considered green. and it used to be sold for a lower price.The key being to cut wood when the sap is down n give it a minimum of six months in the sun at least partially processed. AND to minimize damage to the woods. Now I see cutters going year round destroying the understory and cover, and no idea what green wood is and how one could save a bit of money that way. And buyers not knowing the ways to measure a cord. It is hard to find a knowledgeable and ethical woodcutter. They sure do get sorely underpaid for their back breaking work and youngsters just don’t seem to want to apprentice.
The only tip I would add to your excellent account would be to run stacked rows north south orientation, particularly single width, if possible. Spring thaw on the south side of a pile will heave the row right over. I also found heavy rubber swimming pool liner material the ace for covering piles. :)
From "Firewood Method" »
Useful and amusing article - BUT - I’ve got to blow the whistle on the gender bias. My spouse had little interest in firewood work and I enjoyed working with it. A stack of drying wood near the house is a lovely thing - sort of like well filled canning jars. Splitting wood is great for the abs, and testosterone is not required to run a chain saw.
From "How to Release a Dog from a Trap" »