Site Discussions

Interesting article. I’m currently reading “Nature Wars” by Jim Streba and he talks about how the non-migrating goose population was formed by released decoy birds.

Destroying the tips of the oldest mountains in our land is unwise. Much sensitive and rare ecosystems are lost when turbines are erected. Renewable energy is an important issue, but at what cost?

I am one the those lucky enough to have hiked the Long Trail just a few years ago.  I remember the few wind turbines in the south and wishing they weren’t there though understanding the supposed need for them.  I am also one the kucky ones that sees the forest for the trees and not for the dollar signs.  For any state to give up mother earths splendor for limited years of thoughtless gain is unfathomable.  I would encourage all Vermonters to not give away the jewels of their state with the simple stroke of the pencil.

My husband’s grandfather wanted me to graft a black apple in 1970, but he passed away before he could show me the tree. I would like to get a tree to plant. I also bought a tree years ago from Miller orchard that is green outside and a Rosie pink flesh. I have lost the name of the apple and would like to find out what it is.

A couple years ago a gentleman stopped at my family’s home in North Yarmouth, Maine when he noticed our OLD apple trees. He told me a story of his journey looking for long forgotten apple varieties and asked if he could take a few of the apples. He said he had a friend who specialized in identifying heirloom varieties and would let me know what he found out. I never heard from him.  I’m wondering if he might have been part of this group?!

When I was 12 years old and growing up in Duluth, Minnesota, my teacher asked the students in the class to choose a state to research. After studying the map, I confidently chose a state I knew very little about. I remember writing a letter to someone in Vermont requesting information about the little state. What I received when I opened the giant envelope was brochure after brochure filled with pictures of quaint villages, high peaked mountains, and fall foliage that even Minnesota could not compete. From that day on, Vermont found a place in my psyche. At 42 and a resident of New England for the past 18 years, I still hold that sincere fondness for a state I knew only in pictures as a child. Nine years ago, I traversed Vermont by foot as an LT NOBO. The pictures I saw as a child came alive for me. The wilderness was wild, calm, beautiful, and peaceful. I shutter at the thought of seeing giant windmills, dirt roads, fencing, communication towers, and electric cable lines crisscrossing the the very scene I fell in love with all those years ago. I am a huge proponent of renewable energy and vote for candidates that promote the cause, but the idea of losing something I love for an energy source that can be captured on the roofs of so many homes is not worth it. I encourage Vermonters to save the beauty that stills captures the minds of those who live elsewhere.

Or the animal under your shed is a pack rat.

To take Michael Caduto’s article on heritage apples a step further back in time, as John Bunker of Fedco Trees in Maine tells it each heritage apple variety comes with its own story of people and place.  The story of the so-called nine ounce apple aka the Deane apple is a great example. Not only did the apple originate on the farm of Cyrus Deane in Temple, Maine in the 18th century, the farm was also a way station of the underground railroad.  A descendant of Deane is quoted recalling “vague traditions of Negroes arriving under cover of darkness from the southern part of the state the following night being on their way to the Canadian border.” I savor the story as Temple has been my home since 1978, long enough for me to return the variety to Temple (it was all but lost but not forgotten as Bunker would say) by planting a so-called two-part Deane apple tree in my land. The “parent” was discovered in an abandoned orchard in a neighboring town.

The quote in the piece “Rather than sequestering carbon in the soil, we saw an increase in soil respiration, which could contribute to global warming even more.” leads me to ask, “even more” than what?

An interesting and beautiful article. Thank you.

Those winter ticks are nasty. I can’t believe a researcher found 40,000 of them!!

Just came across this article. We have been “backyard” birders for the past 44 years and had observed gray jays around our camp in n.central Maine for many years.However, during the past several years we have observed these intriguing birds while snowshoeing in the NEK, specifically in the Wenlock /Ferdinand area of Vt….having now retired we seem to be spending more time exploring this area and in the past 2 years have noticed an increase in numbers of gray jays each time we are in Ferdinand..in earlier years it appeared that we would observe 2 or 3 gray jays ..they were quite timid,however,the past 3 to7 months we have noticed that they were becoming more inquisitive,and during the past month, from Sept -now mid October,we have had the experience of feeding the gray jays out of our hands..as they cache and return…weekend of 10/07 -10/10 there were 3 following us on the Moose Bog Trail..feeding as we stopped along the way…and the weekend of 10/14 -10/16 we had the experience of 8 gray jays “finding” us at the observation deck off the moose bog trail..once again voraciously competing for granola bars, raisins, cranberries!..what an amazing event for us…stayed over 1 hour as we were enthralled by these birds of the boreal forest.

I also have tadpoles in the water trough in Mid Oct….MANY of them. I was wondering if they are a different type of frog. Not sure what to do with them.

I am trying to find out if the Conn. CCC ever built a traffic tower at the intersection of Mammonasset Beach and route one in Madison,Connecticut. I would appreciate any help.Thank You.

Will the milkweed plant leaves grow back after caterpillars eat them?

Hi Natalya, I’m so sorry to hear about your birds. Yes, weasels will kill poultry though I don’t know if that was your perpetrator. I know this will come as cold comfort, but there are at least a couple possible reasons for these types of massacres, that have to do with predatory impulses in a setting weasels don’t naturally encounter (chicken yard). I encourage you to check out the comments section of “Weasel Evil Knievels” if you want more information on that.

I heard last week that Joe passed away in late September. I met him for this story—which is to say I was just a writer who showed up at his door. His studio was this wild place, full of whimsy and art. I asked if I could bring my partner’s then 10-year-old son to see the place that weekend, and Joe not only said yes, but insisted that we share a meal together, which we did. Joe was a talented man, but more importantly he was a good man.

Phoebe weight is six tenths of an ounce. Very interesting article though. Thank you.

Wonderful article! For many years I have noticed a tobacco smoke smell in areas near Beaver activity. I always thought that another hiker or hunter was smoking in the vicinity. Finally I understand!

Are weasels known to eat poultry? My heart is broken - all of my 21 quails were massacred overnight. I kept my quail in the cage and this morning I discovered one side of the chicken wire was ripped off and half of the quail are missing and the rest are dead. We live in the city and I never saw one within the city limits.