Site Discussions

We have several beaver lodges in our wetlands here.  One beaver lodge seems to have disappeared.
It was there one day in the middle of the pond and a few days later, not trace of it at all.
Do they ever sink?

Thank you.  I did a Google search for black timber rattlesnakes to see if the snake that crossed the path of my brother’s wedding party was indeed a rattler.  (I had never heard of a jet black rattler with no markings but this snake had the head and a very audible rattle.  Probably 4+ feet and well fed.  Since I assume this comment is visible, I won’t say where this was beyond a hillside in central Massachusetts not too far from the Connecticut River.

That snake was sunning itself on a rock table beside the path.  We were a little too noisy, many and close and after about the first 5 of us passed, it announced its presence and crossed the path between me and my brother; the groom, rattling away.  The good thing is that we were raised in New England woods and while we hadn’t seen one before, we knew what it was and to just make no sudden moves.  (The excitable members of our party were further behind.)

Yes you can tap them. There’s no difference in boiling technique. I’d recommend two taps maximum for tree health. The amount of sap you’d get out of an extra tap hole is not generally worth the stress on the tree.

I was recently hiking and came across a bunch of apples in an open area where it’s fairly coniferous and where there were absolutely no apple trees.  Do bears hoard apples?  Would they have transported the apples to this place - there were several apple trees about 1/4 mile away but no where around where I saw the distribution.  There was plenty of orange bear poop around so clearly they were eating apples.

We live on a 100 acre farm and I put scraps/food out in the evenings for our skunks (most I’ve counted was 10 during summer) 2 gray foxes and an opossum.  I have a “critter cam” set up where I put the food and then upload pics to my computer.  It becomes very addicting to see what goes down outside in the middle of the night. 

All species get along great, even though I’ve read fox urine will chase off skunks because they prey on them…. NOT lol.  The foxes are petrified of the skunks (and their own shadows).  Also, I’ve read a lot that skunks don’t drink much but that’s not the case here.  I have a birdbath on the ground out by their food.  If it gets dry they will revisit it 10+ times a night to see if more water magically appeared. 

There’s a small opening under an old corn crib here and I’ve caught the skunks, opossum, groundhogs and rabbits all going in and out of there.  There’s plenty of groundhog holes under there so I’m sure that’s where they are.

I haven’t seen the foxes in about 2 weeks and the skunk numbers are dropping every day.  Last night was the 1st time I’ve had nobody show up to eat…. so crows took advantage this morning.  Last nights’ temp was the coldest and with 12mph winds.  So I guess they are hunkering down for the winter.

Hmmm, I wonder if that is why one of my apples suddenly (like overnight) lost all of its fruit. I thought there might be a bear in the area. And I didn’t think deer would clean out an overladen tree so fast.

I have a bunch of Norway maples in my yard…not so many Sugar or Red’s about my area…can I still tap the Norways?  I have been getting a wide variety of mixed responses to this question from the all-knowing google.

The Norways that I have are very large, so could I triple tap them in order to get the amount of raw sap i would need to make up the difference to sugar maples?  Also, I have read that the sugar content is lower (depending on the source) but if I tap a Norway, is there a different or special technique to boil it down? 

I would love to tap my own trees for a fun family hobby, but also don’t really feel like wasting my time with A LOT of work if the end result will be less than worth the effort! 

Any insights would be appreciated!

Thanks.

s.

I wouldn’t say the tea is undrinkable. It does have an odd flavour, and it is my least favorite of the polypores I’ve tried. But I find it fairly easy to drink. Definitely worth doing. Fomes Fomentarius is probably the most pleasant.

I have just had one of your original bookcases re-furbished and am absolutely delighted with the result. Many thanks to your predecessors.

Loved reading this! In the late 1980s I interned at the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore, Maine. My main project, and what became my undergraduate history thesis was to transcribe a diary from the 1870s. Looks like life didn’t change much over the next 30-40 years, at least for northern New England farmers. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Michael for an excellent article. I had a discussion with a fellow sewer/drain cleaner last night on this very subject. I was amazed that we understood root growth activity so differently.

I have been cleaning sewers for 30 years. I’ve cleared an awful lot of roots in that time.

I will address the question that Charla asks: As a professional I would have cleaned that sewer again - AT NO CHARGE. I have never seen roots grow back that fast, however I have seen lots of poor workmanship require a call-back. Many plumbers run a small cutter through the line, which pokes a hole in the stoppage and the water goes away. Yay! Everyone is happy. But a good cleaning requires the largest cutter possible in the pipe in order to remove as much debris as possible. Also, many plumbers clear the stoppage and think they’re done. Not so.

If a sewer is - say - 75 feet from the house to the city main (or the septic tank. The actual distance doesn’t matter, it’s the point of what I’m saying) and I “break” though the stoppage at say 40 feet and cal lit good then I take a huge risk. How do I know that there is not another root intrusion 10 more feet down? I don’t. It is my job to clean your sewer - all of it - that’s what you’re paying me for. If I left some roots behind, then shame on me. I get to come back and finish the job - free.

My comments here are far too late for your mother, but perhaps will assist someone in the future with the same problem and questions.

In the near future I will write my own article on my website on the subject of roots in the sewers.

Peter and Garland, you both ask good questions. I will address those soon along with the tree root article. My site is brand new, so be patient. I’ll get this done.

Michael, thanks again. I will link to your article.

Jonas

Dave, you hit the nail right on the head, from the hundred degree loft, to the reading of Sam Magee, and yes, the cherry red stovepipe. Great story as always.

I fell asleep on a bus and woke up with one of these little fellas on my neck.

Thank you so much for this wonderful article that is full of so much excellent information. I too have a few different locations inside my home where cellar spiders reside. My shower area being one of them…the lil miss’ recently had a couple of babies and I figured I had better look into a little more information regarding this type of spider to decide whether or not to evict. After reading your article I have decided that she may stay!!

Well, I wish we could all get together.  You are all like me in your love of birds.  One doesn’t meet such sensitive types everywhere.  I just rescued a hornet this morning and put him in the bathroom downstairs with the window open a little.  This is mid-November and I think he should have passed away by now.  He seemed so all alone. 

But, anyway, I just wanted to say I feel and agree with everything each of you has said.  Here in Idaho we get only a few Mourning Doves.  Everyone hunts here, many of the women.  It took me at least a year to adjust to the hunting culture here…..I still haven’t entirely but do my best to help the birds, quail and doves.  We used to have turkeys visiting but no more.  And I haven’t seen a pheasant in about 18 years on our property. 

But, I did want to note, pardon the pun, that when I fill our feeders, even after not filling them all summer, it’s always a Chickadee that announces the happy event….and within a day or even less the other birds show up, ones we haven’t seen sometimes in months.  I’m beginning to wonder, after reading above about the Chickadee, if there is something special about them.  Are they somehow announcing to all birds that dinner is finally on?  How do they do that??

I have the book “Start Mushrooming” by Stan Tekiela and Karen Shanberg. It is a very simple guide to identifying and preparing the “safe six” mushrooms. But even so, it took me a long time before I actually had the nerve to eat any of them. My first adventure was with the sulfur shelf or chicken of the woods. The taste was “eh”, but it felt like a small victory.

Can you offer an explanation as to why the flowering pear retains its leaves deep into December?  I love our flowering pear tree and its’ wonderful characteristics, except for the late December leaf dropping.

Does the DNR have any statistics to support the coy-wolf population in this part of Indiana?

Starting to teach my son and nephew to hunt. So many new buildings going up in my soon-to-be-former hunting woods, so I am looking for a lease in the central VT area. I have no problem with helping on projects to improve the land. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

I saw a catamount in the Town of Woodbury in the summer of 2011.  (I remember the year because this was when the mountain lion was spotted and hit in Connecticut.) 

I was driving south on the County Road from Woodbury toward Calais and was climbing the last hill before the Calais town line, when, about 100 feet north of Log Town Road, I saw a large cat leap in two bounds from the west side of the road to the east side and then bound up the steep bank to my left.  I would estimate that the cat’s torso was at least 4 feet long, with an equally long tail.  It was tawny-colored with a slightly darker dorsal stripe.  I was impressed by its highly muscular hind legs which enabled it to leap 12 or more feet at a time. 

The area where I spotted it is quite remote, and full of ledges, with the West Woodbury mountains on the immediate right (heading south), a small stream and string of linear wetlands in the narrow valley, and steep forested hills on the left.  This area is perfect habitat for a variety of game - I see moose, bear, and deer there frequently as well as mink, fishers, porcupines, and other small furbearers.  There’s a good mix of hardwood species as well as spruce, fir, and hemlock.