Site Discussions

How does fire history, and fire environment fit with ideal stand structure?  Between 200 and 500 years ago, and prior, forests across the Americas were exposed to fire annually.  Forests that survived had limited understories.  Fire compatible forests today, are similar and are managed in such a way as to limit understories and limit lateral fuel continuity as well. Is there a conflict between managing for stand structure and managing for fire compatibility?

I am afraid that is a nice old tale, but skunks can spray whether their feet are on or off the ground. The musk glands of the striped skunk, about the size of a grape, are surrounded by powerful sphincter muscles. When the animal is annoyed or frightened, those muscles force the fluid musk down a duct and out through a kind of nipple protruding from the anus. With considerable muscular control over the spray, the skunk is able to produce a fine cloud of mist or to direct a concentrated stream of spray.

Just helped lead a prescribed Burn in Minnewaska State Park today!  Looking foward to doing more burning in the gunks.

Thanks so much for this article on the Harvard Forest. My great-grandfather, forester Paul M Reed worked there in the mid-20’s and assisted with a few publications, I think.

I have had a wood boiler, outside for 5 years now. I only burn wood in my stove. Untreated wood only. My neighbor has a inside wood burner. My burner only puts out smoke when my thermostst turns on. His chimney smokes all the time. People who will make laws for the rest of us, need to have knowledge of equipment prior to making new rules. The next thing they will be doing is making rules as to how much smoke can come from an outside camp fire. Or if you can burn wood chips in your grill. People have been using wood burners to heat and cook by for years, as a matter of fact for thousands of years. Be careful of giving someone the ability to make laws for us.

Dave - glad you were able to rally and make a full crop.
Our own trees took the year off it seems. Our per-tap production was around 1/2 of average, but we were able to salvage the season by purchasing sap from two other producers who had equipment challenges.  No light amber for us - but lots of Grade B that has an excellent flavor that is more like a medium amber…and the clean up begins…

Thank you for this article!  I have seen these little clams in vernal pools, but knew nothing about them.

Beech leaves are a very potent hazard to waxed XC skis; they lurk in groomed tracks and fasten themselves to grip wax, often resulting in falls or at least bad language…

Hi I’m Mat,
I am extremely interested in finding something else to do with my time, other than playing video games. I found inspiration through your article. I have also been trying to follow my father’s footsteps after he passed in 2005. He made Windsor chairs. We have a full dining room set and I would like to do what he did. Your article has provided me insight to what I want to do with my life and where I will be one day other than stuck in the business world doing Accounting and Finance. Do not misunderstand me, I like accounting, but I can settle with not doing it as well.

One factor of rural life and low income is a lack of cop cars available to respond to requests for help, or investigations into suspicious characters.

Thank you for this great posting. I have always admired the Beech trees and how they hold their dried leaves all winter. To me it represents a natural symbol of warmer days to come. Now I know some the science behind it.

I suspect that it has something to do with the niche opportunity. If you compare successions of energy transfer between different species of birds and they’re prey, you can possibly find that the number of Goshawks is only as big as the total amount of energy can only support a small number. Keep in mind the Accipiters share a similar area and all relatively share the same prey choices. It would be interesting to see if the three populations thrive under different conditions though…

Well done Ross! Very enjoyable. I see RLP is also a kindred spirit for you. I have quite the collection of his “stuff.” I actually prefer the raw journals. Good to see you still enjoying what the north country has to offer.

The krummholz is such a visually fascinating part of the alpine landscape. Magical for children; interesting scientifically for adults. Thanks for the tidbit about horizontal growth due to killing of the apical buds.

Let’s not start throwing negatives at folks whose experience with the land is plenty sufficient for them to judge the actions of would-be troublemakers.  Forget this thoroughly false stuff about quotas for policemen, prosecutors & judges - the same bad actors already give them enough to do.  And the only reason to be afraid of a “cop car” is if you’ve done something to cause that fear.  A brighter perspective on life is what sustains us all.

David,

You hit very closely to an issue that Vermont does not like to talk about, the poverty that is more common then we care to admit or address. I have always said you’ll never see a rusty trailer on the cover of VT Life. The second point is that as we lose the ties to the land, the true working landscape, opportunities to address these cultural shifts become more challenging. We see lots of lost souls in in the Kingdom. The drug problem is very real and very evident in some of our local communities. The police are not being alarmists these are real and sadly deep seated social problems. Despair, poverty and lack of good jobs tied to our cultural history are not the sole issue, but it is certainly a component of these terrible circumstances. The working landscape needs to be better understood and appreciated as to what it can and previously provided for a community’s foundation. We have lost that connection to often in our looking at the aesthetics of the forest and farmland without appreciating the need to maintain a viable economic base to the working landscape

This is by far the best article that I have ever read about the maple syrup industry.

Love your blog, but disappointed that it included the heroin issue.
I understand mentioning the rolling stone posting.
We can open the morning paper or turn on the tv to read about the disturbing news. I read Northern Woodlands for just the opposite.

We had morning doves,  two, that use one of our hanging planter for there nest. In short they had a baby dove which died two days later, should I remove the dead baby? And will the doves try again? And use the planter again? The weather in Chicago has been very, very cold with strong winds and sometime 0 degrees We are very sad of the lost, of the morning doves.

Your analogy is brilliant. Heroin is an invasive species along with the dealers who spread it. The drug patrons are the birds that feed upon the availability of the food more readily available. How do you solve it? Do you deal with the supply or the demand? The fight will always be there.