Site Discussions

I have a pile of white pine firewood sitting in the yard and recently noticed the shavings that these bugs produced. When I go out at night now I can hear up to a dozen of them sawing away. If you listen close enough you can identify where they are under the bark. Peel it back and there they are. Very interesting.

I put pieces of yarn out last spring, and was not sure if it had been used in any bird nests, but this spring when pruning my gardenia shrub, I found a nest made of coir strands (probably pulled out from my hanging baskets), with pieces of the yarn interwoven, and some of it actually “glued” on. What species of bird builds a nest like this?

Good article. I was trying to explain self-pruning to our grandson. We have American Basswood that are 120’ tall – and nary a branch for 60’!! Obviously they DID once. They drop “firewood” pretty regularly. We have Burr Oak that are old enough to have seen Lewis and Clark go up the Missouri 200 years ago – and they have “dead” under branches that have been there for all the 30 years that we’ve owned the property (E. Nebraska. And yes, there are forests in Nebraska). They may last the life of the tree??

What ratio of linseed oil/turpentine do you use?

Nancy, from the description given above, it sounds like a shrew! My dog caught one this afternoon. My shrew had black teeth and a pointed head as well. If you managed to hear the capture, it gives out high pitched squeals.

I am new to growing shiitake mushroom and was wondering, how many lbs of mushroom can you expect off of a log? I know it depends on temperature and moisture, but from all I read, the ideal temp is between 50-80 f and not to over water your logs. If anyone could help me please let me know. Thanks.

Hi,
Do you eat the root, stock, or both?

I am 52 years old I have lived in a house heated by only wood all but 5 years of my life. When I can’t split wood by hand anymore my time will be up. I believe whether I am swinging an axe or a maul the most important factor is reading the wood. The second most important factor on a tough piece is to be able to hit the same spot on the second swing! Master these two factors. And the average mechanical wood spliter does not stand a chance. My favorite days are spent splitting wood in the crisp Wisconsin fall air.

Excellent article.  We see so little of the birds’ life, don’t we?  At my office, during the daytime, we looked after a clutch of downy woodpeckers who lost their nest tree.  One day while working during lunchhour, I couldn’t hear myself think until I went and gave the downies their feeding!  One can’t help being impressed with the work involved in raising these guys until they are ready to fly.

I once saw a yellow and black caterpillar which pupates underground. I wonder which moth/butterfly it came from.

The graph suggests an interesting evolution of the white pine lumber industry.  There are now, in many places, markets for white pine of less than saw log size.  Also, there are now log grades for white pine.  The same graph these days would start at a younger stand age, and have some steps matching the improvement in grade from one class to the next.

When thinking about white pine then and now, one should keep in mind two things.  First, often agricultural land abandonment was done in two steps.  Active land was used a pasture before being abandoned completely.  Since cows prefer hardwoods to pine, the result is the creation of pine stands on many abandoned pastures.  Second, the l939 Great Hurricane happened during a really good white pine seed year, and the huge amount of exposed soil from blow down created an ideal seed bed.

I live on a property in the Catskill Mountains.  White pine seedlings are the only kind I have, in spite of the fact that most of the mature trees on my property are hardwoods.  The deer eat every seedling - even hemlock that come up - usually within a few days.  The white pine is the only thing they don’t eat, so I am seeing the forest composition in the beginning stages of a radical change.

I found a small clump growing in South Orange Reservation, NJ. This is a very cool little plant; I would love to find a way to cultivate them. I am doing a lot of research. I don’t want to take the one clump I found, if I could find a way to grow them from seeds. When the plant dies off I think maybe they may grow from the flowers?

This morning, a large silkworm moth was struggling to survive in a pet water dish.  I scooped it out and showed it to my husband.  He had been in a hurry to get to the office but this moth made him whip out his camera and take photos from all angles.  It is one of the most beautiful bugs I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot of beautiful bugs in amazing places.  Your post helped me identify it and I’d like to think that one of your moths made it to my home in Fairfield County.

Is there a bird other than a Robin that makes a rounded nest with blue eggs? A bird nearby resembled a lark.

Can someone advise me? Every year I have mourning doves that nest on my patio and raise babies. This year in May that built a nest, laid 2 eggs, after a couple of weeks they abandoned it. The eggs were left motherless for almost a week. It was in the 50’s at night. They dove came back and sat on the eggs like nothing happened. It’s July. She’s still
sitting there on those 2 eggs, which I think are dead eggs. What do I do? Will she eventually give up?

I remember the oaks that lined our street dying when I was a child. It didn’t change just the side of the street, it changed the feel of our neighborhood.

I’m living in a different part of Maine now, deep in the woods of Washington County, and delighting in the return of the elm tree. When we bought our land 17 years ago it had none, and now there are a dozen visible from the house. I hope they make it. I would hate to lose them twice.

Hope someone reads this: it’s July and no one is probably decorating their Xmas tree! Milkweed fluff makes great “snow” to toss on your tree! Just pick the dried pods before they have been completely relieved of their precious cargo and toss it into the branches of your tree. I found it to be easy to work with and not a problem like the needles of a Xmas tree, remaining behind to haunt you, sometimes into the middle of next year! The fluff is pretty and when you put your tree outside in January to hang food for the birds, the fluff will blow away to germinate in the spring and await the hungry Monarch larvae!

This story reminds me of a giant southwestern centipede discovered in my Arkansas home as a kid. Talk about scary! The local folklore of that time was that your skin would rot anywhere one of these walked. They were so terrifying to look at, the story was totally believable.