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My husband just called me from work (in Putney, VT) awhile ago and told me that a big huge headed tan cat just walked in front of him (outside) about 6 feet away from him. This was about midnight. I asked him if it was a house cat and he said, “No. It was about 4 to 5 times bigger than any house cat he had ever seen.” I asked him if it was over 50 pounds and he said, “Well over that.” I asked him if it had stripes or a long tail or pointy ears? He said, “I don’t know I was more worried about it attacking me than whether or not it had pointy ears and a long tail, But it did not have stripes.” I said do you think it was a mountain lion? He said, “I don’t know. But what it wasn’t was a tame domestic cat. It looked wild! But it just walked past me and down by the woods.” He then told me that they just had a new early calf born in the barn that night and that they have chickens all around up there. I told him to be careful and to watch his back cause that is how they attack. He said he was staying inside now for the rest of the night and would be very careful if he goes outside.  So then I took a photo of a mountain lion online and sent it to him on his cell phone. He said that is exactly what it looked like. He said that he is sooo glad the moon is out and so bright tonight.  So I guess no matter what the fish and game dept says, there are mountain lions in VT. I also saw one when I was a child in Marlboro, VT but my Dad said I was seeing things. The one I saw was all black. And it was at least 2 ft tall, I could see his back well over the uncut hay in the field. It walked along the edge of the woods and then into the woods across the road from my house. I know what house cats look like and this was huge and muscular. Like a panther. This was 40 years ago and I still have never forgotten even when I have been out in the woods hunting I always look for tracks. And have seen many small bobcat tracks but no big cat tracks yet. Weird. It is like they are a ghost. Tonight there was no tracks because there is no snow and the ground is frozen. So no evidence this time either. I would love to see photo’s of any that anyone has taken of them in VT. Send them to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Thanks…

Dan: Yes, while researching this article I heard those stories too. It’s interesting how long this has been a low-level problem in NH. NH law considers feral swine someone’s escaped property, so yes, you have to ask before killing them. But I’ve heard that the park always says yes, even while saying that they are not their boars.

Michael: I think that just about everyone who knows the damage these creatures have done in the South is right with you on this.

Karen: I saved the tough questions for last. The wild boars in North America are either imported Eurasian wild boars, or domesticated pigs turned feral. Pigs are believed to have been domesticated from wild boars 15,000 years ago in what is now Iraq. They are not native to North America either.

In Eurasia, their native continent, the main predator of the wild boar is the tiger. Wolves are another predator, as are jackals.

Wild boars were never native to North America. However, the U.S. does have native animal that looks similar: the javelina or collared peccary. These animals are native to the desert southwestern U.S., Mexico and points south. I’ve read that peccaries are not pigs, although they look an awful lot like pigs to me.

Growing up in Eastern Canada I was much like Mark.  We had a very old house (somewhere in the range of 300 years old) and it wasn’t insulated except by old newspapers.  We went through about 9 cords of wood a winter, never heating the bedrooms only the kitchen and living room.  Oh how I long for those cold hardwood floors.  Anyway,s back on topic.  We never had a maul, just an axe.  We kept the axe sharp and had a large oak block underneath to protect it from the ground. 

My friends had mauls and I always tried to convince my dad to buy one, thinking it would be easier, but he never bought one…if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.  It wasn’t until last week that I actually tried a maul, and let me tell you, after about two hours of frustration it is going back to the store and my axe is back.

Is there a chance to obtain the plans for your great blue heron platforms? I have a two acre pond on my property and was considering trying to start and then expand a heron rookery on our land. Thank you for any help.

Sincerely,
Guy

Feral pigs are a BIG problem down south.  State governments must eliminate these creatures from our New England forests.  In addition, states should strongly consider passing laws against the use of these animals on game preserves.  If we have laws to protect endangered species then we ought to have laws that protect them against potential lethal threats.

ENJOYED YOUR ARTICLE, TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO USE MY 60 ACRES OF WOODS TO MY ADVANTAGE. LIKE YOU I HAVE NO OAK BUT SUGAR MAPLE, ELM, BEECH, AND ASSORTMENT OF OTHER HARDWOODS. I THINK I’LL GIVE THIS A TRY, I BELIEVE THERE IS A MARKET FOR IT HERE IN THE RUTLAND AREA.

After the fillet is cut off place it skin down on the cutting board and cut across 1/4 inch apart down to but not through the skin.  The fine bones seem to disappear when fried.  Thats the way my folks always did it.

Madeline Bodin says “because they are not native to this continent, they have no natural predators here”; did they never have predators in the wild, where they originated?  And did the predators, or their cousins, never live here?  What is a “natural” predator, and did we naturally remove them?

One would of course add dill?

kj

i’m 70 yrs old, my granfather told me back when i was a little guy about the wild boeres geting out thought the broken fences of colben park back in the big storm of 38, i know of one takein on a farm in bath not to long ago, my son has seen them in the corn while bear huntin along the ct river at bedel bridge state park a couple of yrs ago, i do know they are pretty go eating. but from what i understand is that for anyone to shoot one thats in ya back yard here in NH ya need permission from the folks at colben park to shoot one, as is told by NH’s fish and game..

Pickerel are best pickled.  Clean the fish and cut them up in 1” long cross sections.  Drop into standard pickling solution, refrigerate and check it out in a couple of weeks.  The flesh is firm and most of the little pesky bones have dissolved.  A nice snack!

Nice article.  One speculation:  Could those clinging brown leaves create a little extra shade, thereby discouraging competing evergreens under the canopy of the young oaks and beeches?  That would be particularly important in soils that don’t allow for as rapid growth of the oak/beech.

So if I have a survey plat showing courses and distances that depict a measurement of a sloped hill and I want to locate the courses and distances on the earth’s surface of the the sloped hill, I would run my surveyor’s tape from the top of the hill to the bottom of the hill and reduce the actual distance measured as required by the angle of the hill. Right?

I did spend about $2000 for a Woodstock Soapstone stove w/combuster.  I also had to build a new chimney (another 2-grand) and I buy wood as well as cut my own.  I planned the cost to amortize from the cost of heating fuel in five years.  However, the cost of fuel went up and the whole thing amortized in the third winter of use.  The final amount to be amortized included the chimney, the chimney sweep visits, $65/face cord of seasoned firewood split and delivered.  It was a steep initial investment but I love the soapstone over metal and its use has been well worth the beginning and continued expenses.

I think people forget that hunting is kind of similar to cutting a tree down.  Cutting a tree down is one aspect.  Once the tree is down is really when all the work begins.  The same is true with hunting.  Despite the long hours in the field whether waiting patiently or stalking through the woods on uneven terrain, “harvesting” an animal requires a lot too of the hunter.  “Harvesting” is a more accurate term since in hunting, an animal is rarely “killed.”  To me, killing does not tell the entire story.  This would be like picking tomatoes and leaving them in the garden.  We take our animal (or tomatoes) home… we harvest them.  They feed ourselves, friends and family and serve as reminders of the animals we harvested and the habitats we found them in.  If we really care about these animals, and desire to give back, then we should do so by managing our forests, enhancing habitats and providing both food and cover.  Hunting is a way of life and not a mere sport.

Hi Paul,

My opinion would be that you should consult with a forester. He or she will be able to give you a sense of the value on your woodlot, give you up to date information on the log markets in your area, tell you what’s mature and what you should hold on to, etc. You can save a little money by cutting the forester out, but it’ll probably cost you more in the long run. This story we did gives some sense of the complexity of timing timber harvests beyond the current markets. http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/it_pays_to_keep_good_trees_growing

Also, check out the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine. (http://www.swoam.org/) They’re a good group and a good resource.

We have been using a Vermont Castings Vigilant (vintage 1977) since we moved into our 1700 sq. ft. home in 1987.  It cranks out the heat and still seems to be sturdy—inside and out.  A couple of years ago, we considered replacing it with a newer version in hopes that it would burn more cleanly and efficiently than our Vigilant.  Our chimney man talked us out of doing that because he stated that our 1977 Vigilant was just as efficient (and more durable) than anything on the market today.  The few statistics I could find pertaining to the matter seemed to back him up, but they weren’t that solid.  I wrote twice to Vermont Castings for some information, but they never responded to me.  Does anyone have some thoughts about this out there?
Tom in Athol, ME—Jan 15, 2012

Thanks for the article, Todd. I also have been following Stinson’s results with great interest. Just a quick comment to point out that if one cuts the flowering stalks of garlic mustard it will very likely grow once again. I just want to point out that folks should be prepared to return for a second or third cutting to prevent seed set. With garlic mustard and other herbaceous invasive plants it is all about seed prevention. Another thing to mention on the topic: If you cut a little late and the seed heads are just beginning to form and then you cut—the plants may still produce viable seed. In this case it is better to bag them up in paper leaf bags and burn the whole bags in brush piles.

I’m so pleased to know that there are simple wood coffins being made in VT.  In my 70s and expecting to live 1-2 decades longer, I’m just beginning to look at what’s available here for simple, ecological, reasonably priced burials.  Cremation has been my family’s traditional burial method - but that takes a lot of energy - to “roast” a human body.  That’s my uneducated opinion.

I think the federal government is the one that has failed the worst.  Thus, I think that this attitude that government is inept and bad has flowed from the national level and with much justification.

Having a quasi-national, government bank print trillions of $$$ without any accountability, having a national government go on several, undeclared wars that have killed tens of thousands, all because some guy decided he was no longer going to sell his country’s oil in dollars, opting for the Euro instead, as well as pass a multitude of laws and rules that only huge corporations can follow (for example, look at what’s happened in the food industry) have all impacted our opinion of government and not for the better.

I don’t think we’ll see a return to more in-depth discussion of any issue any time soon either, Dave as I think short, sound bites, as they call them, are inherent in the media that we use now and inherent to the multi-tasking world most of us live in.  The only hope I see is that, as traditional electronic media such as television give ground to the Internet, and as traditional print media also give way to Internet discussions such as this, perhaps we will regain more ability to discuss and reason once again, such as what we all are doing here, but only time will tell.