Site Discussions

Good article on growing mushrooms, didn’t know that Perlite for mushrooms is used to cultivate it.

That’s a great history, social, and forest management, lesson!  Thanks for the article.

My question is…how do you get rid of them? Cornell Cooperative Extension identified them in our siding…don’t want them there!

I just wanted to mention that the flower in the picture appears to be Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) This is an invasive plant species that has been really getting started in this area (Brownington, Vermont) over the last 5 years or so. It can really cut down on diversity in meadows if left unchecked and should be removed if possible.

I have 4 Viburnum lantanoides. How often should I water them in summer? Do I have to do anything for them before winter? They are in their second year since I planted them. They are almost 5 feet tall. Thanks.

I did this type of work for 7 years 1963-1970.

Anyone have any idea how this creature makes so much noise? I could hear the gnawing sound inside a dead spruce tree a hundred feet away from the tree. If it is actually thousands of the grubs, how do they keep in sync?

Last week, the first week of August, I brush-hogged a three acre field.  Six to ten swifts flew all around me as the tractor slowly made its way around the field.  It felt like they were dive-bombing me, though I knew they were really feeding on the various insects that the machinery was kicking up.  It only lasted for ten or fifteen minutes, but it made my day!

You’ve hit the nail on the head, describing the feelings at this time of the year. I would include watching my firewood pieces develop checking, knowing that I’ve got to get them under cover before Labor Day, after which there seems to be more rainy days than drying days.

I feel liked I’ve been doubly blessed while reading this week’s blog.  First,the poignant description of this late summer season as it slides toward autumn brings back so many memories.  Second, the tire swing photo summarizes all those recollections of decades of summers past into one all-encompassing and universal picture.

We live in Monroe, CT, and are seeing more and more bats returning here.  We also have a cabin in Newfane, VT, and we have not seen bats there for a few years, and now they are coming back there too.  Love to see they’re returning to both locations!

Aug 4, 2013 I spotted what is likely to be the very same type of snake at Independence Dam near Napoleon Ohio along the Maumee River.  I too have had difficulty identifying it by searching through pictures on the internet. I discovered that I had failed to pay attention to many of the traits used to identify a snake (eye shape for example).  What I did note was that the snake had no color pattern except that the body was the color of dried rubber tubing and the head became glossy black. The scales had the shape of elongated hexagons.  Although I was beginning to think I had spotted a blue or black racer, their body has been described as slender, but my snake was thick and roughly 2.5-3 ft long (it was curled up sunning on a rock).  What appears (at least from the pictures I am seeing) to be the distinguishing feature is the glossy head on the Northern Water Snakes.

I consider myself fortunate because some sites describe the water snake as aggressive and I was w/in about 2 feet of it before realizing that it wasn’t more trash, but an actual snake! It may have been sluggish and warming up from a swim!

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.