Site Discussions
I’ve a problem complicated by another problem.
1. I’ve 2 Spruce with trunk diameters of about 14+ inches. One was blown into, and prevented from falling by, the second such that one tree which is not cut is fully leaning into the second engaging at the tops at about 35% of the tops. The leaning tree is somewhat unrooted but not too badly.
2. The direction it/they really have to fall involves a banking of about 10’ in height about 15’ from their bases.
My concern is that if I cut the leaner ... it will not fall but more heavily lean into the other and be even more of a problem. If I cut the non-leaner I am concerned that the tension created by the leaner will cause a very erratic response in terms of when and how it falls. If either are cut, when they hit that banking they may easily kick back and there’s not a whole lot of places that would be safe.
Any ideas?
From "Felling Trees Against the Lean" »
I just found my oak truck covered with head-down, dead gypsy moth caterpillars. 6/26/15. Thank you for the informative article. I will let the spores continue!
From "Entomophaga maimaiga" »
Hey there - in response to your question, we contacted a tree expert who helped to fact check this article. He wasn’t able to confirm that Norway maple seeds are edible. So, out of an abundance of caution, best to stick with native species.
From "Maple’s Other Delicacy" »
Is Norway Maple, being non-native, inedible?
From "Maple’s Other Delicacy" »
I don’t know a lot about birds, but I found a lovely straw cup shaped nest in a thorny bush 4 or 5 feet up. It had 5 blue speckled/mottled eggs in it. I was pruning the bush back, and I got to one or two feet from the nest before I saw it. A bird nearby had been squawking away, and stopped as soon as I left. Am I a home wrecker? Will the mama bird go back?
From "Which Bird Made That Nest?" »
I have a wild grape growing on my property. The main stem is as big as my upper arm, and it grows huge quantities of vines every season. It also produces, by mid-May, hundreds and hundreds of clusters of tiny green grapes. Unfortunately, by Mid-June, they have shriveled up and died, tiny brown clusters still hanging attached to the vines. Is there anything I can do to tend/cultivate the vines to get some of these grapes to mature?
From "Harvesting the Wild Grape" »
I planted a locus tree this past November. It is now mid June and still has not leafed out. When I cut off a bud, you can see green inside. Is there still hope for my tree? Can I do anything to help the situation? Thank you so much.
From "How Do Trees Know When to Leaf Out in the Spring?" »
My wife and I just acquired a farmhouse and 6 acres in Delaware county, just NE of Franklin county in Ohio. On this property is what I believe to be one of the oldest and largest butternut trees in the world. At the base, the trees circumference is more than 20 feet! This tree looks like it has been standing since the Revolutionary War. Trying to preserve this tree. It is producing some nuts currently.
From "Their Goal: Saving the Butternut Tree" »
I found the first one this week. I have never seen this beetle before. I have a cherry orchard all around my house but also 60 year old fir trees. I am wondering what to do to kill the beetle but not harm my orchard. Also, if the trees are close to your house do you need to treat it, especially the crawl-space? Please advise! Thanks.
From "Whitespotted Sawyer" »
This illustrator is just awesome!! Absolutely beautiful drawings, an amazing talent!! Look forward to more by this young artist!!
From "200 Million Years and Counting" »
I’ve been a woodworker for more than 40 years and have always worked with air-dried lumber (mine has been air-dried in an unheated garage for at least a year). My opinion is that it’s a waste to dry lumber to a moisture content lower than the level where it will stabilize in use. Drier lumber will absorb moisture from the air and will reach a higher moisture content than it had when it came out of the kiln.
You can demonstrate that for yourself—take a piece just out of a kiln weigh it and then let it set around for a couple of months (especially in the humid summer) and weigh it again. Use the same scale and test it both times by using something that can’t change weight—a large hunk of steel or a rock that won’t absorb moisture.
From "On Sawmilling" »
Hi Naomi, yes indeed, well written, very informative text on an eerie subject, natural resource extraction on behalf of a consumer addict western human society which will find reasons to justify just about anything.
Although these needs to consume are not based on any real thing, they have real bearing on the ecology of this more and more stripped bare planet of ours, yet we still have no other planet to go to when we are done with this one. There is a tomorrow at any rate, but instead of sleeping in a comfortable cozy bed, we might have to do with sleeping on some hard and rough floor. Wake up everyone, just do things as if you wanted a good tomorrow…
From "The Cree and the Crown" »
Sorry to hear this, Don. Value will depend on a number of factors, including what species and how big they were. A forester could look at the stumps and give you an idea of what you lost.
From "Cutting Down on Crime: The Battle Against Timber Theft" »
I am scouting my trees now just moved on 30 wooded acres…city girl going country….I have so many different maples. Can I just tap random maples, mix all the sap together and boil down? Some maples are also in swamp area, are those ok to tap as well?
From "When Tapping, Don't Disregard Red Maple" »
Great article, Ben! I stumbled upon this after an evening spent researching the stone chambers so prolific here in Putnam County, NY. I love what a small world it is that my curiosity led me to such a well-written post by an old college friend.
From "Lost Histories: The Story of New England's Stone Chambers" »
I gave my abbutter permission to cut 7 trees on my property. He instructed his logger to cut 43 trees. All of these trees are proximate to my wife’s garden driveway etc.What is the true market value of these trees?
From "Cutting Down on Crime: The Battle Against Timber Theft" »
Do yourself a favor and pay the money to have the lumber kiln dried. If it is dried properly to approx. 6%, you shouldn’t have many problems with movement after you use it—for whatever. It is still wood, and there will be a little movement with the seasons, but kiln drying will alleviate a lot of that. I think you’ll be a lot happier with it-especially with all of the effort you are putting in initially. I love your ideas! P.S. I’ve been a buyer and salesman of hardwood lumber for 30 years, and a hardwood lumber inspector for 10 years before that.
From "Maple’s Other Delicacy" »