Site Discussions

Great story.

I am very curious about these. I have them everywhere around my house. Can eat them just the way they are?

Yes, in a way it’s gross though a fact of life those of us that spend much time in the out of doors learn to accept and live with. Nice article!

Very interesting article. Memories of squirrel pies. Loved the ending about the peace offering for the yellow jacket!

Botfly larva in cattle are common. I’m not a squirrel hunter so this is new to me.

Yep—count me among the folks who find this wicked gross.  :)

So sad. I miss them too. I would sit on the open porch at night and turn on the light to draw the insects in under the roof. The bats would swoop all around me enjoying the smorgasbord. I would feel a tiny breeze as they flew by me.

Great article, Jon. A most enjoyable read!

I miss the bats. I’ve left the porch light on until I go to bed to draw the insects just in case there’s a bat in the area. I haven’t seen one in two years. I hope they make a strong comeback.

Yup, you nailed that one. I have timber property and speak with loggers/foresters several times a year.  But here is a wrinkle on the skills issue. Its not so much the technology, but the problem is that children are not brought up on farm equipment like they used to be. My son was on a tractor at 3, controlling the bucket for me. He’s been driving them since he could reach the pedals. He knows how to stay out of trouble with a tractor on uneven ground. Many of today’s kids don’t, and so they are dangerous in a large piece of equipment. They get the controls, the electronics, the fancy displays and helpful sensors, but they don’t have a sense of “balance” in large farm equipment. You can’t teach that in a classroom or a government funded jobs program. It’s learned slowly, progressively, moving from small to larger machines. All it takes is one tip-over to destroy a year’s profit and a very expensive machine.

Yes, the complaint is that good machine operators cannot be found, but the problem is not the technology.

Cattails are almost like Blow Fish. One bite can be fine or it can be poisonous. Thanks for such an informative article!

Thanks for giving some history for the Treehouse Guys, and thanks especially for explaining the origin of the names B’fer and Ka-V.

Great article!

I bought 5 acres of land and want to clear cut one acre and select cut the other 4 acres. I’m trying to find a mill or someone to do the cutting and haul trees away free for the lumber only. I live in southern Maine. Any suggestions?

We have a bird house that something has made a mud nest inside with only a small passage to get in or out unless it can sweeze in under the bird house eves.  Any ideas what this is?

Thank you for your efforts. I went in search of “Where have all the cecropia moths gone?” because there were so many when I was a kid. And when my mom was a little girl in the Ozark mountains, she caught one and brought it inside their screened porch. It was a female. In the morning she woke up to a dream-like morning of thousands of male cecropias, with their wings spread out against the screens, blocking the light. 

We planted a butterfly garden with great success, also we have 5 caterpillars eating our parsley. :)

Wood frogs should be added to the list of beneficial garden insectivores.  The wood frog that has inhabited my cucumber and melon patch this past summer has been at least as effective as the toad I have had in previous summers in controlling garden pests.

This summer I encountered two garter snakes in my garden as I moved some black plastic and boards used to prevent weeds from growing.  As the snakes slithered away, the larger one stopped briefly to swallow two earthworms that were under the plastic.  It was the first time in my life that I witnessed a snake swallowing prey.

I find myself in a very similar leaden boat as young Mr. Mance.  At 73, I have had an opportunity to absorb a bit more lead from the years and years of biting lead split shot and the eating of many pounds of lead shot venison and other game.  Also at 73, I am at the age where systems are showing wear and tear and breaking down.  One has to wonder how many of these may have been compromised by the intake of lead particulate over the years, if any.  It does cause one to pause and ponder.

Ran across this article and enjoyed your perspective.  Was delighted to see a comment by Andy Crosier - who was in one of my all-time favorite Field & Stream articles you penned about Ed’s hunting cap in Vermont and the last gathering you all had.  Kudos!