Site Discussions

I think the longest, darkest night calls for a fire to go with the meteor shower. Living in the woods, we have little light pollution so it should be a good show if the clouds cooperate. Thanks for pointing this out to us.

Thanks Laura. We counted it as good luck we were able to watch these toads and see one get eaten by a snake! It was so intense. Glad you enjoyed.

I was Commissioner of Mass.F&W in the 80s and then worked at Malden Mills, producer of Polertec.  In the early 90s there was a move to tax outdoor sporting equipment (not organized sports).  The hiking, camping, etc. industries (I forgot the name of their lobbying organization) easily killed it.  I say, let’s give it another try and be forceful about keeping the fringe liberationists out.
Walter Bickford

I saw a few nests on a mango tree in Bhopal India.The leaves of a branch were almost moulded together with cobwebs & they were big & oblong.Which birds nest could that be?

The illustration doesn’t make clear how the outer walls are connected to the bottom of the pond or bank. It looks like it is floating which I know can’t be. Can anyone help me understand this better?

@ Marc Beaudette, I so agree with you! The Doves, Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, Starlings, Sparrows, Cardinals, etc., that visit my feeders brings joy to my heart. I don’t see them as Game birds at al. Including the squirrels that stop by to pick up sunflower seeds! And when I’m not up early enough to put out feed for all of them? I hear a single chirp, at my second floor bedroom window, coming from a Chickadee, that somehow figured out, that’s where I would be!

Thanks for this great article. I have used Maine Indian ash baskets for many years, primarily for gathering edible wild plants and mushrooms. These “work” baskets are rugged and durable.  Many of the photos in my foraging slide show are of these ash baskets filled with native wild crops like Shagbark Hickory Nuts, Black Walnuts, King Bolete mushrooms, and even invasive species like Autumn Olives and Wineberries.

A couple years ago, my mom (who grew up in Bangor) asked Richard Silliboy if he would make a “work” basket for my birthday,.  The basket he made, and I got, is so beautiful, however, that I can’t bring myself to use it outside for foraging - so I keep it inside and use it for a mail basket.

Thank you for writing such an informative article. I have wondered about so called “mast years” and learned so much by reading this!

I’m doing research for a novel and wonder if you have any information on what a tanned buffalo hide would cost in about 1840-1845.Thank you.

Tiffany,
What a nice article. It is incredible you were able to witness such a moment. I have never thought about where toads go in the winter let alone witness such.myour writing is very expressive and allows me to draw an image in my mind of what you are saying.

Thanks Jim! I was so curious about the percent of toads that survive the winter as well. I think it would have been so neat to come across 600 toads hibernating in the same location together. I am going to be more keenly observing toads this spring. Thanks for the comment.

Last winter, 2013, we purchased a new VC Encore 2 in 1. We can’t get the cat working properly for anything.  We have a 2012 2,700 square ft home and it will heat our entire home, but that comes with waking twice a night to reload.  If the cat is working we cannot completely fill for it will over heat 900 degrees + sometimes, and the back puffing is enormous excretion from all corners of the stove. Should the air intake lever on the side be able to cut the air completely?  There is barely a difference in flame when the lever is open vs closed.

A NICE article about toads that is a bit off the beaten path! I was surprised at the percentage that don’t survive a winter.

I’m a very long time hunter and landowner who is excited to see this white stuff on the ground in advance of the muzzle loading deer season.  That said I recognize the fact that the “People” own the game despite hunters and fishers stepping up to the plate so generously.  Whether the non-consumptive users pay anything the deal has always been that if we hunt or fish we pay for that right to consume. 

I would love to see a Pittman-Robertson type tax on binocs and bird feed etc.  We could preserve lots of land for future generations and get the non-consumptive users to pay their fair share.  They are going to take their place at the table anyway so lets get it done.  Not worried too much about hunting rights.  Deer are going to keep doing what comes natural and there will always be a constituency for reducing collisions, Lyme and crop depredation. Look at how the urban areas are bending over backwards to get deer hunted in the backyards. 

A friend in suburban MD has and fills an “Urban Deer Permit” that allows him to hunt closer than 150 feet from houses with a bow.  Let’s get all of the People at the table and get their ideas on how to fund all the tasks our F&W agencies are charged with.

Regarding impact of CU on town finances, the towns are NOT “held harmless” by the state, for properties with reduced taxes.  For my town, the reduced revenues are about $295,000 (FY2015), and the most recent state payment was about $65,000 - so the net cost to the town’s taxpayers is about $230,000 - and that is about 9% of total taxes raised.  I agree with the ideas behind the CU program, but with the current concern over rapidly escalating property taxes, CU should not be immune from discussions about ways to “fix” taxes.

Interesting that female asses are called jennies, too!

This is one of those subjects where my intellectual mind can go yes, what a sensible idea, but my cultural deep-programming makes my gorge rise at the thought. I would have to be starving on the verge of death to consider eating insects!

Am still working on the city-girl-moves-to-country issue of actually *seeing* where my mammal-based food products come from!

To answer your question, Annie, the young females are called “Jennies”.

Thanks for the compliment, Annie. Poults refers to a young domestic chicken, turkey, pheasant, or other fowl being raised for food. A young male turkey is a jake and a young female turkey is a jenny.

I have a dry well near several trees. In the summer the trees absorb water to keep the well from overflowing, but in the winter when water isn’t absorbed and a snow melt occurs a nearby building may be flooded. The clay soil here is also a factor. Is there a way to prevent this from occurring other then pumping out the well with snow still on the ground?