Site Discussions

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.

Great article!  Lots of information I never knew.  Gives me a broader view of a critter I had seen as an unmitigated pest.  Hope I can see their nesting behavior next spring now that I know to look for it.

Wondering what effect the decrease in the blackfly population over the past few years is having on the flycatcher nesting success and population.  (Maybe the blackflies seem numerous in your area, but I bet you don’t find as many in your eyes, nose, mouth and ears as you used to!)

I have two dwarf Japanese Maples, one for only a year.  While the older tree leafed out a month ago (May), the other has yet to do so even though it has buds and is green beneath the bark.  Is there anything that I can do to stimulate its leaving out?

Sue B

Firewood: What a shameful use of larch!

I have been watching with interest the activity around a red maple which we felled last year. The tree probably would have survived, but I didn’t realize this process of what was ‘killing off’ the tree, fungus & borers, but this is a splendid creature & fascinating. Thank you for this information which was sourced by a member of our Gardening Group.

I use a handy reference book published by Reader’s Digest called Book of North American Birds. I have been able to recognize over 25 species using it. No more, “they all look alike” for me!

I struggle with this duality every day so am glad to see someone capture it, as I’ve been unable to express it coherently.

Today I left a badly high-graded Woodlot feeling sick from what I’d seen, but on the way home I helped a spotted turtle across the road into a pond and I found some peace of mind…“Domineering” when it comes to ticks and mosquitos and “a cooperator” in the case of turtles…thanks for your thoughts Dave.

Thanks for the informative article.  I’m surprised the writer didn’t mention ironwood or hop hornbeam, because it retains its leaves as well in the forest understory, much more so than oak, at least in Ontario. I tell hikers that if they see leaves persisting in the forest in winter, then the tree is either beech or ironwood.

What an excellent article!  I remember Euell Gibbins and some people joking about eating the weeds.  But the interest in wild foods, wild-crafting is definitely on the rise.  Just stay away from the poison ivy!

Right on, Dave Mance. The woodlot/farm philosopher within us. I don’t read a lot of blog musings, but I always make time for yours. Write on.

Hey! Anyone could explain me if there is any difference between “structural diversity” and “structural complexity”? And if there are, what they are? Thanks!

My sense, Jason, is that a burn would provide some short term relief. Ticks thrive in deciduous leaf litter, so burning off the duff layer would probably help. The catch is, as soon as the next crop of leaves fell, and the shrub layer grew back, the ticks would reappear. In fact, the burn might eventually help them, by stimulating a thick layer of growth on the forest floor.

I would like to know if controlled burns would aid in the reduction of the tick population.

This article helped me sort out my problems. I was looking for tips on how to install a wood boiler into my existing oil boiler heating system with 4 heating zones and using the oil boiler as an back up which will automatically jump on if the wood boiler fire goes out.