Site Discussions

Great article!  When I was young, “clearcut” was anathema.  Now we’re planning our own 5-7 acre clearcut in Halifax, specifically to generate early successsional habitat for the wildlife we aren’t seeing on our land anymore, because our old pastures are now all young forest.

I had a mole/mouse brought into the house this a.m. by a small dog.  It was wet, dead but not mutilated.  It is very small.  I photographed it pretty well up close.  The head is more pointed than I have seen on mice here in Oregon, USA.  The teeth are black.  Would you like to see the photos…I can email them.  It is very small.  I photographed in next to a penny.

How do wind-pollinated species ensure a good enough mix of genetic material? Do they not all end up as clones of their parent tree?

Dave, great article, you will be amazed at the amount of life that will spring up into these openings, the wildlife will thank you.  As a biologist and land manager, I have been implementing carefully planned clearcuts or wildlife openings (as we call them) over the years and now more than ever I’ve come to realize that these openings or disturbances, even if man-made, play an integral part of a healthy forest ecosystem.  An entire suite of wildlife species are geared to seek out and utilize these forest openings, even species considered to be “mature” forest species use them.  We talk a lot about the birds in these openings but let’s not forget the bees; come late summer the asters and goldenrods that grow in these openings will be buzzing with the deafening sound of native bees, and an entire host of native pollinators including butterflies and moths will be present.  Leave some standing live trees, snags, a lot of down logs some brush piles and let nature do the rest.  I will be visiting my wildlife openings soon for my annual bird surveys that I use to show the success of the habitat project and I can’t wait -  I always discover something new.  I look forward to hearing more about your clearcut project.

I’ve been wanting to make my own axe handle for a while and your instructions look good and simple to follow. Thank you for posting this.

Dave—
  I’m intensely interested in your project, as some of my woodlot is very similar and we plan harvest and improvement work next year.

That native invasives won’t take over because they would have already is not true.  There are variables that have led to their invasiveness that were not in place before, such as deer browse and acid rain.  And that this is a human-centric concern is also not true as invasive plants could really disrupt the overall balance of an ecosystem.  Whether or not humans have the brains to actually help the problem is the real question in my mind.
I agree with your comment that if there was medicinal use we might find them more desirable.  I wonder if there is medicinal use.  In the past Native Americans used Hay-scented Fern for lung hemorrhages and the Quakers used Striped Maple for eye inflammations.  There are probably many more uses that we forgot and have yet to discover.

Your office flower looks like wild ginger

How can I tell if my elm is American or slippery?

I have two small birds that came last year and are back this year. I have a hanging bird house on my porch and they took up in it last year. They are small and really make a loud sound, like they are calling or talking to each other. They make their out of sticks. Any idea what kind of bird this is

I would like to get milkweed plants and plant around my farm to help the Monarch butterfly. Does anyone know where I can get plants?

It is May 9th and all the trees here look like January. What is going on? Chemsprays (geoengineering) killing trees? Never ever has it been this late. They look dead.

Hell yeah !!!! I’m gonna start makin’ me some honey money !!!

Dave,

I enjoyed the article, and would point readers to a sister product called “biochar”; essentially the same thing as charcoal but used in a different capacity.  Harnessing the power of pyrolysis you can take woody agricultural waste to be used as an energy source (heat or pyro gases can be captured and distilled into biodiesel) with a biochar (charcoal) byproduct that can be used as a soil amendment or charcoal for clean cooking.  If used as a soil amendment, then you have taken steps to sequester carbon for thousands of years; good thing for global climate change.

Further info for you and other readers can be found from the international biochar initiative.

Tom

I once visited the Kingford charcoal factory in Missouri. They still use one of the retorts from the early 1900s back when it was in Iron City, MI -  when Henry Ford owned the place. The Ford Model T was made with a lot of wood and the sawmill (also owned by Ford) had a lot of scrap they used to turn into charcoal. At one time, you could get a free bag of charcoal with your Model T to encourage you to take a drive into the country and have a roadside cookout.

Charlie Becker at Virginia Tech extension published a great adaptation on the original 1958 New Hampshire Charcoal Kiln built with a small metal chicken feeder turned upside down. I recommend anyone to check it out here.

Was nice to read your remembrances of the “good “ol days”.  I just picked up my license and hope to hit some of my past secret brooks for some native brookies.  I did just see a guy fly fishing in a beaver pond over in the Wolfeboro area this past weekend.  So the blood and desire are there, question is—is the time?  The best, Dave Coulter.

Love Fenwick!

Charcoal…interesting.  But my first project will be char-cloth so I can learn to make fire with flint and steel.

Re: senescence, it can’t hold a candle to “post-mature”, which I first heard applied to big old dying maple trees.  And which stage of life I fear is at my doorstep; perhaps it will be better than it sounds.

KJ

Dave, Why were kilns seemingly always located with a river above them if not to put out the coke fires quickly? Did the water cause the charcoal to break down so it could be shoveled out of the kiln?  Hiya

Hi Dave:

Nice segment on charcoal.  I was talking about this subject today with my mechanic.  I had previously seen some video on the subject, parts 1 and 2, at the links below.  With the price of charcoal briquettes on the rise, this may be a hot (ha) subject.

Peter

Part 1
Part 2