Site Discussions

We tried Lambsquarters this spring for the first time—excellent!  But I’ve read some warnings that are not sited in your article… are the following concerns unfounded?

“... Do not collect Lamb’s-quarters growing in artificially fertilized or treated soils [or the roadsides mentioned in your article?]. It will absorb pesticides from the soil and is also prone to accumulate high levels of nitrates. (in very much the same way as its’ relative, spinach). It also contains high amounts of oxalic acid (also like spinach) and should therefore be consumed in moderation.”

Source: http://www.kingdomplantae.net/lambsQuarters.php

Stephen - great job on this article.

A good place to start for anyone of any age who is wanting to find a purpose larger than themselves is to first “unfriend” Facebook. Removing oneself from such shallow distractions does wonders for figuring out a path to follow.
Thought provoking article by the way.

I am 40 years old with a family and career but still long for the days I spent hiking the Long Trail 7 years ago.  It comforts me knowing that places like Vermont and organizations such as the Long Trail provide opportunities for people to escape everyday life for a while.  I commend Red for the courage he has to walk.  There is no better place to reflect upon life than on the trail.

Dave,
If Current Use is so good for Vermont, then all Vermonters should pay from the general fund, not just the residents of each town who are forced to pay a tax surcharge because Property Valuation and Review uses a town’s Adjusted Grand List to figure their tax rate. Realtors advertise open land as having low taxes because it is enrolled in CU, but the asking price and eventual selling price is not the CU value but many times that ridiculously low assessment. This is supposed to be a democracy where citizens have the right to vote for fair representation. Vermont’s Current Use as offered and implemented by PVR is more like a medieval tribute paid by vassals to the landed gentry, without the right to vote for fair taxation. Unlike the “Tea Tax” demanded by KIng George in colonial America, where it could be avoided by not buying, Current Use imposes a tax without recourse, unless one sells their property and leaves that town for a town that does not participate to the extent that it is a burden, like Shoreham; where land owners have enrolled 15% of the Grand List assessed value, and that surcharge is levied on the residents of Shoreham, not Corinth.

In response to these thoughts, Peter, I’d ask why someone’s open woodland—land that requires no municipal services—should be taxed at the same rate as a residential building lot which requires plow trucks and road maintenance and probably schools and water and sewer. They’re not the same thing—which is the whole point of Current Use. If land is forest, the town shouldn’t pretend it’s a building lot and tax it at the same rate. If we’re going to start taxing things on their potential and not what they actually are, then we should start taxing farmers on what they could theoretically make if they were wall street executives. Think of all the money we’re losing by simply taxing them on their meager income.

Check your Town’s Annual Report. If, as here in Shoreham, VT, your town is using an “Adjusted Grand List”,( the Grand List minus the assessed value of property enrolled in the Current Use program), to compute the annual tax rate, then non-enrolled property owners in your town are being charged a tax rate that is inflated by that difference between the Grand and Adjusted lists. The State of Vermont collects that extra money then returns the portion that represents the municipal revenues lost- the infamous “Hold-harmless” payment. The State sends that check to your town almost a year later, Shoreham usually gets its check the week before property taxes are due. Some would say this is floating a check. I think “Hold-harmless” means the towns hold the State harmless from prosecution for theft because Vermont has taken this extra money from a town’s citizens without the consent of the governed. Shoreham residents do not vote to participate in the Current Use program, but non-elected persons in Waterbury compute a tax rate that increases the liability for non-enrolled property owners in our town. The state of Vermont has to pay for the management of the Current Use Program, but it is each Town’s property owners who pay extra tax to cover the lost revenues for their town’s enrolled owners of the Current Use Program. Maybe Bernie Madoff has a web-site or blog-post that would explain this better than I can.

I cut a cherry birch on a creek bank over a swimming hole last year and am sawing it today. It is a beautiful wood. Am trying to quarter saw so maybe it won’t check. They are rare in this part of the country. Saved a few seed so maybe I can grow some more.

Having contracted and beat Lyme once and working in the woods daily, I live with heightened awareness of ticks - particularly the deer tick. Precautions that I have found work well are as follows:
Treating my boots with Permethrein - every 2 weeks. Swedish studies have shown this to be very effective.
Wearing Insect Shield Jeans and shirt(s). Anecdotal studies that I have done show that the deer tick will drop off and die after more than 3 minutes on the pants. The larger “wood” ticks are not affected by the permethrein in the pants.
Lastly until the heat makes them impossible to wear I utilize BugSkinz made by Cabela’s. Essentially they are very smooth long underwear. Again my own informal studies have shown that the tick, despite the claims of the manufacturer, can still climb up the fabric.That said, the big advantage of this product is that it prevents the tick from lodging anywhere on your legs. Utilizing this battery of precautions I have yet to find a tick physically attached to my skin in the last two years.

Thank you.  On recent backpack hike, the group wondered what is the temp. range of when they will sing?  It seemed odd to me that on May 30th they were singing (1K ft in ADK).  I wondered if it was due to the cold spring, or was it still within an average breeding season?
Happy to have found your site.

So am I bad to be killing off the huge black ants that have infested my house?

In north eastern PA this tree leafs after the white birch at about the same time as the oaks. I have several that border my property. My grand daughter is the one to discover the wonderful birch beer scent of the broken twigs. As she delighted in calling my attention to this (re-introducing) fragrant tree. Somewhere in my memory I begin to recall the trees information.  I did eventually look it up so I can give her the correct low down about the tree. Thanks for your attention to detail here.

Love it, love it, love it. Only thing I would change is using white pepper for the trout…find it to be more delicate and to enhance the nuances of the fish. P.S. Would love an orange on Christmas morning. Cheers

There is nothing better than eating a meal where most if not all of the food on the table you either grew, foraged or procured (from a local farm)  It is the ultimate form of independence and gives one a total feeling of satisfaction.

Stay diligent! I’ve been trying to control the spread of garlic mustard in my yard for about 5 years. And, I think it’s all pretty much gone! (I did find a few plants that had flowered just the other day though. But, I got them just in time!!)

Each year, once the snow melts, this is the first plant I look for to pull up. In the first few years, I spent entire days pulling up hundreds of small plants. I continue to walk through my yard and check the wood line throughout the summer. Again, stay diligent! Once a plant goes to seed, the seeds can stay dormant for 10 years!

You can use this plant as medicine. You can also eat it - you can add the leaves to salad. A sushi restaurant in CT makes a wasabi-like paste with the roots!

from another luddite-Nice!  Of course you have to use all the ramps- the advice about the green is only for garden leeks!

Wonderful advice.  I love the tips regarding the trout.  I never thought to use bacon grease on stocked trout.

Comment from Diana Todd: Ah, yes, repeat yearly.  I’m dealing with a small patch, and last year I uprooted and disposed of every plant before they set seeds. But this year, there were again thousands of seedlings.  On a seedling sprout, the first two leaves are almost rectangular with smooth edges.  The next set starts to show the distinctive scalloped edge on an almost heart-shaped leaf.  The typical round leaves with scalloped edges develop after that.

Evelyn, that sounds like a house sparrow nest. These non-native invasives are vicious predators that kill native birds like bluebirds. They pecked a phoebe to death in one of my boxes. They will sometimes create dummy nests of sticks to keep other birds from using nest boxes that they themselves are not using.

You are so right.  As a teacher myself, I want the kids to feel the things they learn about.  It is the natural way to learn.