Site Discussions

Here is a link to an “explosion” triggered in our lab!

Cindy

I have operated my OWB since 2004.  While the amount of heat actually wasted can be debated (and it all depends on your install). The savings over non-renewal fuels such as oil and propane is tremendous.  My old farm house is as well insulated as it can be, but in the hills the wind is constantly blowing.. In 2004 my heating bill with oil ran roughly 3400-3600 per year.  Since then I pay roughly 1200 -1600 for log length firewood , I cut and split myself (good exercise by the way).. Paid 7500 for the boiler, with plumbing ( I did myself) etc. I estimate a 10K investment.  You can do that math.. considerable savings and that was with 2004 home heating oil prices.. I estimate today it would cost me 6000-6500 if I heated with oil alone…. So YES they are a good thing.  You save money and you are using a renewal resource.  Burn hardwood, aged minimum of 6 months, but I can burn some green if I need to.. Only time it smokes up is the initial load in the AM.. after that hardly any smoke…  Used responsibly and installed correctly they are great.  New gasification boilers are out, though considerable more expensive , they do have very different operational cycles..So you must be sure you understand how much heat they are capable of producing and how they fire.. With planning , proper placement, and operation OWB’s are a good source of heat.

That recovery information is really interesting and encouraging.

Drying butternut nuts is quite easy…put them in a container that has good air flow.  I use old plastic milk crates, the kind used to deliver milk bottles.  No need to take the outer sticky husk off especially if it has already started to turn black.  You can inadvertently stain your hands a lovely nicotine brown by handling them at this stage without neoprene gloves and it is impossible to remove. Shake the container of nuts every day or so for the first few weeks to ensure they aren’t sticking together and developing mold.  If you see small white worms falling out of the container don’t be alarmed.  It’s the walnut maggot and has no effect on the soundness of the nut.  It is strictly in the soft husk and encourages the husk to soften and break down.  If you have chickens they love these delicacies otherwise leave them for the chickadees and sparrows.  The nuts take about 3 months to dry in the shell and can be stored in a relatively cool area (basement or garage) in the crates almost indefinitely.  Cracking them requires good aim and a number of blows with a hammer to get the shell to crack but the nutmeats are buttery and delicious and well worth the effort.  A vice can also be used if you’re no good with a hammer.  The nutmeats store well in jars in the fridge…eat them straight out of the jar or in recipes you can scarf off the internet.

As it seemed there are more beech trees with leaves this year than I have seen, I wanted to learn why.

Wonderful article. I learned a great deal.

I appreciated that you explained that we are still learning about these trees and do not have all the answers. Too often these days, we are given junk science lectures (especially from government officials) claiming they know everything and ordering us to take actions which may do more harm than good to nature and the environment.

Hi Ben,
I came across this blog while researching an article on rice for Edible. Not only is this informative and pertinent, it is beautifully written! Looking forward to reading more!
Best,
Michele

That is one of the best explanations on how the Quebec Federation works that I have ever run across.  Nicely written with a balanced view point.  Well done Dave.

I find it astounding that no one has noticed how sick most of trees are in Vermont, Trees of all ages are not losing their leaves in the fall! The trunks are becoming porous and rotted, Peeling bark is exposing the core and killing the tree, There is splitting, and excessive growth of lichens, fungus and mosses (not just on the north side of trees)  I started to notice all of this in 2013 and the damage is massive. In the spring of 2014 I saw that many trees had stunted red leaves at the tops and many had become sparse also at the tops. Leaves started to die and shrivel up on the south side in the early summer. I know this is not coming from parasites or insects but something else happening in our environment. So far this winter trees are falling over everywhere on lines into road and near rivers and streams. It is almost as if their root systems have been compromised. There needs to be some explanation for this mass destruction which I am documenting meticulously! Most of the conifers are yellowing or dying!..

Hi, I would like to know if it is possible to graft limbs on to the trunk of my old Norway Spruce?

Would appreciate any guidance.

Am passionately determined to try.

Thanks.

Great article on wild edibles!  I couldn’t help but wonder though why the butternut (Juglans cinerea) was not mentioned with the oaks, hickories and beech.  The nut from the butternut tree was revered by indigenous peoples throughout eastern North America as a valuable and nutritious food for thousand of years and they showed the early pioneers the value of butternut nuts.  There wasn’t a homestead in the natural range of butternut that didn’t have a couple of magnificent trees staked out for seed collection every fall and not a kitchen that didn’t know how to bake with butternut nut meats.  Doesn’t it at least deserves a mention in your article?

We started selling firewood in North Jersey and from what I’ve seen and counted in the past years is there should be 480 pieces of wood in a cord.

Thank you for your experience! I am looking forward to having my own tree farm. I can have my own Christmas tree!!!

I witnessed something today that I have never even heard of.  On December 31st, I witnessed a whitetail doe give birth to a fawn.  How is this possible?

Just wanted to add a little two cents worth, having been successful on three occasions of capturing a wild hive.

  Bees have a distinctive method for setting direction and distance. They use the angle of the Sun at a particular time of day, primarily, but setting this often requires circling, if it is more than a quarter mile away. They will then fly straight.

  If you sit by a trickling creek or stream, you will often see a bee drinking, especially if it is a hot summer. If you carry a small vial of flour and sprinkle a little on the bee, she will look like a dot when she flies. The flour will require her to need to circle anyway, but will give you a direction of the hive. Keep sitting there and wait for another which should not take long. This time, since you know which direction the bee will wind up going, just focus on that direction. If it circles, it is more than a quarter away, if it goes straight, it is less. In either case, you must, must follow a strict compass bearing in the direction that bee traveled and look carefully as you go.

Dave,

This is a beautifully written piece. You put us right there and you did so in a most artful way. Thanks.

Ed

Thanks again Dave lll, The cold is back again but your beautiful words remind us of the great things we have to look forward to. Our woods, our rivers freezing, our forest wonderland! Thanks

I just stumbled upon this, and found it very interesting!  Tomorrow (Dec 30, 2014) my partner and I are closing on some land in VT, and I think a greenhouse would be an excellent way to start ‘building’ on the land (we’re planning on using it, primarily, for camping).  Thank you!

Thanks, great article and very helpful.

Your comparison of shaping a door with shaping an article is spot on.  I understand the analogy and get the point.  As a teacher, I appreciate the shout out to formal writing.  It is important.  Creative writing is important.  Writing is important.  When kids are exposed to the various styles and when to use them, they are better off.  Thanks for the honesty, the humility, and craftsmanship of your work.

I always enjoy Dave Mance III’s lyrical, thoughtful writing. And the Eye on the Sky guys’ encouraging reassurance that back into the freezer we go, soon.