Site Discussions

Nice article on carabids.  I’m not a carabidologist by training but have studied them for several decades under the tutelage of my friend Ross Bell and others.  They are indeed a most interesting group and have a long rich history by themselves. Charles Darwin collected them and his intellectual companion, Huxley, made a very famous remark about beetles to the Bishop of Canterbury, perhaps not specifically aimed at carabids but certainly they were included in the mind of Huxley when he made the remark about God’s possible interest. I swore at one time I’d never get involved with carabids but that has all changed. I blame Ross in part for fostering my interest in carabids but it has been a very nice intellectual ride.

(Sent to our office)
I would like to establish contact with Joseph Adams as I am heading up a research project on the gray fox behavior and I think that such communication would be of value. I was taken by Joseph’s comment “In the rear-view mirror, two different puppies materialized, latched onto the carcass, and pulled it, together, back the way they had come.” This is an important observation as it reinforces other cooperative behavior I’ve witnessed here on the west coast. Joseph, I would like to know more about your observations of gray fox.
Bill Leikam
Urban Wildlife Research Project,
Independent Urban Gray Fox Research,
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge,
Palo Alto California

I seek advice on how to get a common snake out of my car and out from under my house (crawl space). I have a great deal of love and respect for all wild animals but I have firmer boundaries when it comes to snakes.

Actually, a question; how do deciduous trees open their leaves in the spring?

As far as I know, the sap leaves the trunk and branches in the fall to prevent the tree from being split open by hard freezes.  So, in spring, how does the sap get back up to the top of the tree, to the buds?

Dave, you and your writing and your magazine are simply wonderful. You caught me reading Northern Woodlands on my porch with coffee in the morning light, and decorating the necessary rooms of my house with previous issues and their glorious covers. And I agree on the need for the printed word.

Great thoughts on why the print needs to or should live on.  I for one can’t see myself being comfortable trying to read a computer screen of any form while relaxing on the couch or while heading into dreamland.  Plus it’s just plain fun to be able to flip back and forth while reading an article to see the adjoining pictures for reference and besides, what are all the elementary school students going to cut up to make collages while working on learning about history and our fellow beings.  Great job!  Looking forward to the next issue.

As the debate about print vs. electronic rages around me, I keep wondering: Why does it have to be an either/or choice? There’s room for both. Some material is best served up by one medium or the other; some transfer between. One’s lifestyle and storage capacity influence the selection, as well. It’s wonderful to have so many options!

I totally agree with your opinions about print magazines. And I relate to your comments about the excitement and anticipation felt when our favorite magazines arrive in the mail. All day I look forward to curling up in bed with my Northern Woodlands or my Organic Gardening or Green Prints or whatever. I have an iPad and MacBook Pro and they are great but they can’t replace a print magazine or real book. Those are some of the real pleasures in life.

Maybe I’m a Luddite, but I, too, feel the need to have the printed copy in my hands.  I read my magazines while eating lunch and dinner and I pass them along after I’ve finished with them.  I’ve been giving my old copies of magazines to the local library for twenty five years or so.

I’m also an avid book reader, spending a couple of hours each evening with a book that I’ve probably grabbed from the new book shelf at the local library.  I keep a list of books that look interesting also and when they’re available at the library I’ll get them.

I do admit to reading the newspaper online.  I have a print subscription as well, but usually tend to give the print copy to my daughter and read the digital version.

Peter, great photos, thanks for sharing!  I love the head-on close-up of the caterpillar.  Looks like your moth was a male.  If you ever need a new career, you might find work as a caterpillar surgeon!

Dave, you really know how to put things in perspective, and I’m so happy to see there are other people with magazine addictions besides me. My husband laughs at me, because, as we sit in bed reading, him from his iPad, and me from an honest to goodness magazine (Northern Woodlands of course!), I tell him that never in a million years can he convince me that reading from a lit up screen is better than, as you so eloquently put it, the excitement I get from opening the mailbox and taking out my much anticipated magazine, and finding a cozy spot to read it.

He says that I will eventually succumb to the technology. He’s a technology guru and it’s what he does for a living so he is constantly for it, but I tell him that there is no comparison to stacking your favorite magazines and books beside your bed and flipping through ink scented pages; even the ads are better on a printed paper page. And as you said, there is no tearing out of a favorite article or photo with an iPad.

Eventually he did convince me to switch from my 35mm camera to a digital camera and I even love the photos from my iPhone. (I still think my old 35 mm camera takes better photos!) But he will have to pry a paper magazine from my cold dead hands if he wants to put a 1 lb. piece of lit up heavy metal in its place. Yes,it may save some trees by eliminating printed material, but the love and nurturing of a favorite book or magazine, cannot be replaced with that insane piece of technology.  Call me old fashioned, and I will bask in the compliment.

A couple years ago we found a cecropia caterpillar in an apple tree over our driveway.  It had little white dots on it that I figured must be tachinid eggs.  I took them off with a needle, but the next day they reappeared.  We finally wrapped the branch in netting to keep the flies off.  The caterpillar pupated, over-wintered over the driveway, and emerged the next spring.  There are some photos at http://www.pbase.com/plbh/cecropia_moth

I never even heard of this stuff until my 5 yr old son and I riding in the car.He brings sticks and rocks he finds with him sometimes when we go out in the mountains. Well, he was playing with his stick and broke it over his knee as I was driving. He told me that when he broke his stick, a bug bit him and within minutes he was crying worse than I have ever seen anyone before, and breaking out with bumps all over his legs that went into muscle spasms. I have never seen or heard of anything like it. Once we were at the hospital, they couldn’t find the bite and he only has a scratch. I go and grab this stick and its a petrified peace of this hemlock.  I have never even heard of it before. He is fine now and that is all that matters, but I figured I would write about this so maybe someone out there might beware. Thanks for your time.

Scott

Those interested in old growth should check out The Native Tree Society, http://www.nativetreesociety.org/ and it’s bulletin board at http://www.ents-bbs.org/index.php

As a teacher, I am looking for free posters to create tick awareness in my school.
If you know of free material, could you share the info?

I’ve been told that birch season fires up right after maple season ends. So once the nights stop getting below freezing and the buds have started to break. Put in your birch taps as you’re pulling your maple taps.

Be very careful boiling the birch sap because it burns a lot quicker than maple sap does. It contains different sugars, which caramelize at lower temperatures.

Abby van den Berg is the researcher at Proctor who’s leading the study referenced in this story; Mike Farrell at the Uihlein Forest in Lake Placid, NY is conducting a similar study. Either one would be a good source for your tree physiology question.

My kids and I have often talked about trying to make a batch of birch syrup, but were always too busy with the maple sugaring.  I didn’t realize that the season runs later.  Why does the birch sap run differ from the maple sap run, and when exactly should birch trees be tapped?

Thanks for the post.

It is sad that our beloved pet dogs do not often enjoy a life as long as the captive Raccoon or Red Fox. That’s just wrong!

I have maple tree in my yard that is infested with these things. Will they attack my kids?

I hear you with your frustration about jargon, Bruce. I hate it when people use the word “community” to mean anything other than the town they live in. Every time I hear the phrase “ecosystem services” my eyes glaze over and I want to hit my head against the wall.

But why not make your point without sarcasm? And why take words as a personal insult? We’re on the same team here.