Site Discussions

Michael Caduto was such an inspiration to me as a fourth grade teacher AND human being! I read his books to my students and we implemented as much of his philosophy as possible in a public school system which was overburdened with state and national requirements.

Loved this article and hope you will have more by him.

Thanks Andy for the question.Yes, certain wasps (most or all in family family Cynipidae) can induce swellings or galls in plant tissues. The most commonly seen example is probably the so-called “oak apple”. Yes, the wasp locally stimulates tree metabolism which provides habitat for the wasp larvae. Now this won’t sound very scientific, and it might just be my personal usage, but I use the term “gall” for smaller, fleshier or softer growths and “burl” to mean something large enough and firm enough for a woodworker’s saw. I know, we still say that large burls are caused by the “crown gall” bacterium, honoring several centuries of usage. Nature doesn’t always fit into our neat categories, but here is a good example of convergence by very different organisms to affect tree physiology to meet their own needs.

I have often heard that certain non-stinging wasps can induce burls when they lay their eggs in or under the bark. Is this true, and does it correlate with the viruses, fungi or bacteria mentioned in the article?

There is also a fascinating link between deer ticks carrying lyme and invasive species. Good article here: http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/more-findings-on-the-link-between-japanese-barberry-and-lyme-disease/

Yet another reason to battle invasive species!

For me an obvious question would be if anything like this exists in Quebec. If Native Americans built these chambers in New England, they logically would have built them north of the present VT/NH border as well - as it didn’t exist at the time.

But if these Chambers are only found on one side of that line, then its evidence colonial people built them as there were distinct colonial era cultures on either side.

Hi everyone,
This is Ross, I wrote the article, and found out there were responses, sorry to be so late.  Thank you for the comments, some answers follow:

Ryan. I store many handles by suspending them from a rafter with a string and a nail or hook in the end out of sun, cool if possible.  If they warp, burn ‘em.

Mr. Ball, Yes, it is the first, you want to have a larger piece of wood as the piece of wood you take will have “flatter grain” less arc this way. 8 inch diameter is minimum.

John Santi, checking or cracking centers on the pith or center of limb. Split out center and use sides of limb. Sluicebox uses vaseline, and I often use white glue, thinned with hot water on ends.

Adam, if that is all you have, use it, but might be better looking for larger wood, a firewood cutter or logging contractor might help.  On a 3 inch diameter you have to split the center out to keep it from checking, and then cut the bark off, and the rings will have a short arc, all problematic on a 3 inch sapling for an axe handle.  Time spent looking for good materials is not wasted; time spent trying to make something of quality out of small trees and branches may be a waste of time.

Good luck with axe handles and thanks for you comments.
Ross Morgan

Ma & Pa robin raised a huge changeling while the three blue eggs just lay there. The day after the cowbird fledged, the robins abandoned the nest.

I have read that robins are one of the discerning breeds, but mine were not.

I had wondered if the enormous percentage of time the parents spent bringing food in for the cowbird would affect the viability of the three robin eggs.

I haven’t read anything about robins abandoning their own eggs after the fledgling cowbird is gone, and would like to know if this is uncommon or just another variation.

Did I miss something?  My Mom asked me why she heard a mourning dove crying at 2 am in the morning.  I had never heard one cooing at night. We both thought that maybe it was because it is May and breeding season. Can you confirm?  Thank you.

Anyone know what bird uses cedar bark to build a nest other then the Golden-cheeked warbler?  I found an old bird nest in my yard made of cedar bark.

I absolutely agree with Mr. Mance. There are abundant wood resources in the Northeast to support any wood project and companies that would be thrilled to add to their advertising that they supplied the native wood for the Boardwalk. I live in the north woods of Maine with over 9 million acres of forest that has supplied our wood resources since the early 1800s. Wake up New York.

I laughed so hard it took me a bit to absorb the article’s content and take it seriously. Once I got past the eyebrows (OMG! I must be a crotchity old hag now!) I saw a good idea. NYS wood guys, get on this one!

There is nothing more aesthetically beautiful to me than looking down on or driving through forested lands; and I must admit an occasional residence or business or even town, is not disconcerting to me.

What is troubling, however, is the senseless clearing of forested land for vacation condos and subdivisions, which is a blight on an otherwise pristine landscape and an invitation for people, who often have little knowledge or regard for nature—and particularly for wild animals and their territorial rights.

When we do not take seriously our responsibility to preserve forested habitat and its animals, we lose right along with the animals. Coyotes, Canada Geese, and Bald Eagles are finally back in Northern Indiana, but people are already complaining. Sad.

I liked the pictures.

Hi Barbara, sweetfern is often listed as a winter food for deer, so I’m thinking it’s probably not a great option if you have heavy deer browsing.

A suggestion - contact New England Wildflower Society and ask them for suggestions. They sell a variety of native plants that can be used in landscaping.

Could I use (affordably) Sweet Fern to replace a large area where the deer have eaten all the Ivy leaving an ugly tangle.
Any ideas?

Beautiful.

In theory, Dylan, someone is going to eventually come up with a way to harness all the steam energy that boiling sap creates. Word out of Canada has it that there are electric evaporator protoypes that recycle the steam and be operated for around.15 cents per gallon of syrup produced. If this proves true, it seems like many large producers would opt for this approach.

As for your question on demand, Carolyn, you’ve touched on the million dollar question. While the packers talk about single digit growth, anecdotally anyway, it seems like the industry is growing a lot faster than that. Will demand keep up with supply? I have no idea, but do know that the maple marketers had better get busy.

This stuff may be a better solution for the environment, but it’s a lousy solution for vehicles. The liquid penetrates more easily and thoroughly into parts and worsens the rusting problem inherent in this region. It also makes things more slippery in certain conditions. Our town used a lot of fine gravel this winter, and traction on local roads improved significantly, whereas all the saline-salted areas just got messier.

What accounts for such a rising demand for maple sugar/syrup in this era when so many people are cutting back on eating sugar and carbohydrates?

I once spent a few hours watching a few bald eagles teaching a youngster to find fish in an estuary off Nova Scotia - awesome day in my life.