Site Discussions

My daughter just got stung by a carpenter bee while mowing the lawn. Apparently she was in its path. I found its nest on the eave of our house. I had never realized carpenter bees had made it to the Mondadnock region. Thank you for your informative article.

Sharon

Roundup is doing to us today what DDT did to us in the 70’s. And GMO foods are allowing that. When they advertise GMO corn is more resistant to weeds its because they have made it resistant to dosing of Roundup. So unfortunately we along with bee’s are ingesting Roundup coated on Corn and other GMO foods.

Can I cut or burn poison parsnip without harm to myself or others?
What about spraying a weed killer on it? Thank you.

If you have livestock on a grassy hilly acre of land you will have more grassy area for them to feed on then you would on a flat acre of land, simply because they can feed up and down the hills that are on the property event though by sight line it is only an acre.

Jeanne, I did, if only briefly, mention pesticides, in the last sentence of the next-to-last paragraph. It certainly seems likely that they play an important role in declines of insect populations, but at this point it’s only speculative as to whether that, in-turn, is responsible for declines in some insectivores.

Scott, you make a good point about many birds that rely on human structures or human-created boxes. Certainly Nighthawks and Phoebes would be in the same boat, although I don’t think Phoebes have been showing similar declines. My gut suggests it’s the perfect storm of effects, ranging from insect declines due to pesticides, light pollution, climate change, habitat (and/or nest structure) loss, changes in agricultural practices, and who knows what else.

There are mosquitoes, but it’s drier there, so they’re not as prevalent. I didn’t come across any ticks, but I guess they exist.

Thanks, Steve, for this article.

I have fond childhood memories of large colonies of Purple Martins waking me with their morning chatter—and Whip-poor-wills singing in the evenings in the Finger Lakes where I grew up.

I miss those sounds, and have been concerned with all the recent discussion on the Vermont Bird listserve (if anyone is interested in joining the list serve, the adminstrative address is: http://www.uvm.edu/~ebuford/vtbird.html) about the seeming scarcity of Swallows in Vermont this year.

I am wondering—Martins only nest in human provided houses.  Swifts are often anthro-architecturally dependent (nice term, huh?).  Barns Swallow sure like barns.  Tree Swallows love nest boxes, etc.  So, do you think the Hawkers are possibly being affected by lack of access to old structures like barns and chimneys, and a lack of understanding of the colonization habits of Martins? 

We “offer” one section of our barn to the Swallows each year.  And by each fall it looks like a guano island.  This year is the same as others—up to 20 individuals loving life on the farm.  But I certainly understand that many people don’t want the mess and choose to close the birds out.  And old farm buildings (old buildings in general) are rapidly disappearing from the landscape.

Did we spend that past couple hundred years teaching our avian air-show buddies to live with us, and now close them out?  Just a thought.

Thanks for all you and the VCE team do for Vermont and beyond.

Scott Sainsbury
Moretown

I am surprised that no mention was made of pesticides. Certain pesticides seem to be at least partially involved in the bee colony destruction (I cannot remember the official wording). “Everyday people” with pretty flowers in their yards and lovely lawns use pesticides without realizing they kill the “good bugs” too. Just a thought.

Are there biting bugs in the alpine meadow?

Dave,
Welcome back. As I’ve said before, you’re an excellent writer. This blog was enjoyable for both content and phrasing - “...The land wears the weather…” Nice. I’d like to see further discussion from your readers on the issue of logging for fire suppression. In view of the fate that befell the valiant 19 out in Arizona recently, I think we should be especially vigilant in finding ways to mitigate fire losses. Thanks.
Ed

I know this is a woodland plant discussion, however I have gotten a nasty reaction to something stinging that stuck in my skin at the beach.  It was not an insect but the minute it stuck in my skin it burned and hurt.  I have been on an antihistamine, trying to not itch for days.

It looks like a bug bite with a large red diameter (size of a dollar coin) and it is swollen a bit.  It was originally on my shirt and I brushed my arm back and a minute thing with cone like bottom stuck in my arm.  I have searched and cannot determine what it is and would appreciate any help. The under side of my arm is so itchy and it hurts to touch.

Thanks in advance,  Janet

Your seemingly simple question, Michael, is a lot more complicated than it sounds. Here’s a story that gives some backstory on the when-should-I-cut question. http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/it_pays_to_keep_good_trees_growing

I’d contact a veneer buyer in your area and ask him.

We have two old wells that are located on our hill behind the farmhouse. During the 1940s my Dad dug up the lead pipe and sold it for scrap. It originally ran down the hill, across a wetland and up a slope to a storage tank in our cow barn.

Remembering Spruce Gum….

To Dave Fuller

I also remember when my father cut a chunk
of Spruce Gum from a tree and gave it to me -
I had the same action in my mouth, it all became
crumbs and my Father told me to keep chewing and
it will get good…and It did…I got to love
it and looked forward to it when we went into
the woods again…
Thanks for this article…brings back great memories.

Regards
Larry

What diameter does a black cherry tree need to be to be harvested for veneer?  Thank you

Thanks for the comments. I think a gravity feed to the farmhouse is unlikely, given the distance and intervening terrain. So, probably for livestock. It is a dug well but, as Diane suggests, also appears to be taking advantage of an existing seep. Alas, as far as I can tell, no treasure buried at the bottom…

Is it a dug well, or a spring that has been “improved”?
Either way, it looks lovely, and those mysteries are such fun to ponder…
Thanks for sharing.
Alex

The well you found was probably originally a perched water table. The ground water perculated down through the soil, hit an impermeable layer such as clay and seeped out of the side of the hill. The landowners, as suggested by Ms Feighner, could have enlarged this seep to create a watering hole for their animals.

We have these wasps also that like to cling to a maple tree stump.  But last year they were completely all black with a 3 inch tail.  This year we killed one and it was mostly black with yellow head and has 3 tails.  Will they sting?  I’ve never seen them before and they have shown up within the last 4 years.  Do they like to hang on only dead wood?

The other possibility is that it was a gravity feed well to the farmhouse.  Our family farm in Woodstock CT had a well on the hill in back of the house and a lead pipe that gravity fed cold water to the kitchen sink.  It was very erratic and went dry the first winter we moved in after my grandfather died.  Came back to life after snowmelt in the spring.