Site Discussions

I have white circles the size of a 50 cent piece all over the bark of my camels tree. Any ideas…anyone?

I saw what was either a very large brownish bobcat, or else it was a catamount.  It was around dusk and I was driving on the west side of Hogback Mountain, just past Monkton Boro.  The cat came part way out of the woods, saw me, and darted back into the woods.  It looked like it was about 100 pounds.

I caught what I believed to be a short-tailed shrew in the wall of my basement. It was incredibly easy to catch and actually let me touch it when getting it into a container to move. It had the five toes, dark grey velvety fur, pinpoint eyes and long nose, but the behaviors was really off from what I have been told.It seemed more frantic being in the wall then it did being trapped and relocated. Am I wrong in thinking shrew?

Good article and thanks for writing. I’d like to add the FlyfishinginMaine.org(FFIM) an organization formed to protect, preserve and promote fly fishing in Maine contributes thousands of dollars in the research efforts put forth by the Maine DIFW.  FFIM also organized the only official catch a bass “tournament” on PIR in coordination with DIFW as part of their research.

My friend found a neatly made nest of fine roots in a blue bird box. It is not a bluebird nest, nor a chickadee or titmouse. Any ideas who would make a nest of roots in a bird box?

I’m a bark-up stacker. Common wisdom in this part of the country used to be to fell trees in the winter when the sap was down, pull out lengths while ground frozen and covered with snow, cut and stack four footers in the sun. By autumn most would be dry enough to split, cut to length and sell as “seasoned”, except for oak which needed another year. Now however, the old time wood cutters are dying or retiring and unless you cut your own wood it’s hard to know how really “seasoned” a cord bought is. And oh the destruction logging in spring mud.  I also oriented my piles north-south because in sunny winter day or so, a mis-oriented stack could thaw and expand on one side and totally spill the stack the other way. Otherwise you got a lot of it right according to our local custom.

While hiking in western Maine, we came across a tree near a stone gated entry site, dating back 200 yrs. The tree had a dia’ of over 15’ apperared to be a hardwood, any estimate of age?

Some beauties on my property in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. . . ,

Right on, Dave!

Nice tribute. You are a likely inheritor of the Keillor tradition, as are other writers for the magazine.

I loved this…in fact I love your site.  As a “yooper” (person born and raised “above the bridge” in the UP…Michigan’s Upper Peninsula…) l can relate to both a Prarie Home Companion and to your articles.  BTW, we Yoopers refer to folks in lower Michigan as “Trolls” since they live “under the bridge.”

Thanks for this column, Dave. I started listening to PHC in the early 1980s, and loved it, but I have to admit I grew tired of it over the decades and stopped making a point to listen. If it happened to be on the truck radio when I was heading someplace, I would usually give it a listen—and the News from Lake Wobegon was always what I was most interested in. You’ve done a great job of pointing out the importance of grounding our often complicated human dramas in the natural patterns of the places we call home. Thanks for that!

Silver maples are very fast growing, and it sounds like this is a yard tree, which would mean it would be really, really fast growing. I would guess under 100 years old, for sure. You might use your house as a gauge. If it’s right outside your door someone probably planted it, maybe around the time the house was built.

“Jack-in-the-pulpit surfaces in wet, shaded woodland areas”—that’s what I thought, too, until a dry boulder pile in the yard in full sun all day started sprouting Jacks and Jills!

We see three doves at our acreage almost every day. They come to eat the seeds we put out!

Just outside my back door we have a silver maple with a truck circumference of 165” at 4 ft above grade. That transposes to diameter of 52-1/2 inches; radius of 26-1/4inches; area of 2166 in^2.

Given the ratio of 150 in^2 to 60 yrs noted in this article, that suggests a age of more than 850 yrs. I doubt it. What would you suggest as a reasonable range?

What a fine article!!  Good work.
Nate

Very interesting article, often wondered about it myself. I have two massive landmark white oaks on the southeastern side of my property, not a problem with them since the wind comes from the north west. My neighbor however has four large white oaks on my northwestern side of my property and I always get bombarded with their leaves in late winter and spring. Always raking leaves in the spring from around my house and yard, just seems peculiar raking leaves twice a year, now I understand more about the trees, thanks for the information.

One thing I’ve learned about using my chain saw is know my limitations. When I’m in the woods and not really worried about hitting the house, I practice techniques. If I need someone to tell me how to cut it I probably need to let them cut it. Watch their techniques then go out and try them where it is safe.

Thank you for this page. I just identified a black swallowtail caterpillar happily munching on my dill plant this morning.  Hopefully I get to see it pupate.