Site Discussions

In general, Sue, it’s just a bad idea to feed wild animals. It makes them dependent, vulnerable, can make them sick. A better way to help the turkeys out is to manage the forest and fields in a way that supports them. There are a lot of resources out there where you can learn more about turkey habitat requirements. You might start with the State of Vermont’s “Wildlife Habitat Management for Lands in Vermont.”

I have morning doves on my patio it’s October should I stop feeding them so that they can fly south?

Debra Kearney, it may be a Luna moth caterpillar. I see light green ones. (?)

Can you feed turkeys in the winter by spreading scratches on the ground where they may be around?  Feel really sorry for them in the winter.

True that sap wood can be distinguished from heart wood by its lighter color, but at what age of the tree does sap wood start converting into heart wood?

Understanding carbon creation and storage is still a science in infancy, as this study helps to show.  The consequences of radical fuel plans are easy to understand (wind turbines and bird mortality for example), but real understanding of the current apparent warming of the earth is yet elusive.  We should be cautious putting limitations on energy use, as at its hear, carbon generation directly correlates with a higher standard of living.  Something people will need a very good and clear reason to forego.

Dave- Your writings speak to the soul of life on the land truly lived. I wish we were neighbors.

Chas Salmon
Raven Ridge Farm
Enosburg, Vt.

You have answered a question I’ve had for some time, “What is that bird I hear in the fall but never can seem to see?”  The second I read this article I had my answer!  Thank you.

I´ve long known the American way of burying and funerals is all about an industry to make money for them and for the church.

I´d like to `shed the body´ out there somewhere with an acorn in my navel. Thus, hoping to start and grow a mighty oak!

I have been seeing an opossum/possum out on lawn under apple tree after dark. I was unaware they came this far north.

Thanks for mentioning the menthol smell of the black spruce, I was perplexed as to what tree I had been looking at.

As a hiking trail maintainer in the New Hampshire mountains, hobblebush is the bane of our work.  On neglected trails in the deep forest woods, it grows unrestriced in and around trails previously cleared.  We spent an entire day clearing 1.5 miles of hobblebush.  The trunks we large, as much as one inch, and the plants were tall, about 8 feet.  We learned a lot about how to quickly rremove hundreds of them, though the reader of this article will want to do the opposite.  They are strong.  Once mature, they resist puliing, cutting, and quickly can right themselves even after being stepped on.  We have so many hobblebush on the trail that hikers complain it is difficult to find the trail.  Rightly so.

Fantastic article. Thank you for publishing.

I did not know any of the combinations and its such a blessing. I am afraid of creepy crawling things. But I saw the small green tiger swallow-tailed caterpillar and took pics of it and was so excited to find it was going to be a butterfly and was no longer afraid. In fact it is quite cute and looks more like a fish with big yellow eye. Thank you so much for sharing your gift. Enjoy your blessings.

Being from Jersey I can put your doubts to rest and confirm the Jersey Devils are in fact named for a real creature that lives in the Pine Barrens.  He may also occasionally be seen at the Great Swamp.  Any real Jerean can attest the Jersey Devil is alive and well and busy haunting our natural areas!

I’d let it be, Jeannene. It could still have decades of life left in it.

Just noticed my 18 year old has Canker,  what should I do?  Let grow, cut down? If I cut down should I harvest nuts, let critters have?

I have a solitary male turkey who thinks that my mirror glass at my foyer is maybe another turkey he keeps picking at it incessantly. The last one was very aggressive. He was looking for his flock or something. This one is younger more docile and clucks softly when I talk to it and he’s not aggressive. Aside from barricading the doors with my wicker furniture I don’t know what to do about this problem.

I stumbled on a few giant grape vines a stones throw from my house. I came home with a bag full of grapes and mom and I have already enjoyed a few.  But I washed them really well before we ate them. Gotta watch for ants and spiders and do be cautious of yellow jackets. Yeah, they like those.

Interested in your story because Cyril Hessenauer was my Uncle, My mother’s brother. I only met him once when I was probably 4 years old.