Site Discussions

I so enjoyed reading about Lynn and all she has done/is doing. I connected with her at a Northeast Wildlife Trackers Conference.

Fascinating.  Love it.

What a fascinating adventure! I am involved with our local land trust here in Lovell, ME. One of our goals is to educate children and adults so they learn to feel safe and excited to be in the woods. If they love it and have some curiosity and knowledge, perhaps they will join in being care takers.

I love this article; how long do the dyes keep in glass jars, and are there any particular tips for storing?  Keep in a cool dark place, for instance?

Haven’t seen Roy in 50-odd years. He’s had quite a life. My grandfather was married to his older sister, Maudetta. The whole Amey family is very close to the land, which comes from living in that part of the world. I wish him well!

I enjoyed your description of spider mothers. The brief sampling of your writing reminds me of British author John Crompton, whose book, “A Hive Of Bees”, made me forever fall in love with the honey bee, the bumble bee, and other “friendly” bees. His and your writing offer the framework for an emotional attachment to these tiny, but wonderful creations of our loving God, Jehovah.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on firewood cutting. For years I heated my house with 3 cords of firewood and newer cut live trees. Lots of red maple both down and standing dead, most less than 8” dia. Occasionally cut blown down trees but never ones still alive. Firewood cutters in the aftermath of a logging operation significantly reduce the leftover woody debris. What do you think about this?

I really loved reading this article and has enlightened me more about this specific aspect. Thank you!

Fascinating! Thank you.

Interesting, thank you.  I was not aware aphids were symbiotes in this fashion.

Our fields have more rather than fewer milkweeds. I wonder what stage of succession this represents and whether I should expect them to decline.

I have property on the south shore of Nova Scotia and the large patch of milkweed has disappeared and the area was taken over by cow parsnip,which seems to be growing everywhere since the weather became more humid and damp about ten years ago .

I have noticed that certain patches of milkweed will abound with monarch caterpillars, while others will have very few. It’s the same patches, year after year. In 2009 I was living in northern Minnesota, and found one patch that was abounding with caterpillars. I was trying to harvest milkweed buds for cooking, gathered a pint or so, and had to separate out a few dozen little caterpillars (the whole patch was like this). There is a very small patch near me (now in Nelson, NH) that had larvae several years running, while I have trouble finding any in larger nearby patches.

My question—if there is something genetic (rather than environmental) that is making those patches more attractive to monarchs, how about harvesting some of the roots/underground runners from those patches, so as to have a clone of a more monarch-friendly plant?

-Al Stoops
Nelson, NH

This article hit close to home with me. Her daughter’s “replacement” of her love of the beauty of Vermont with Wyoming would touch me the same way. Having grown up in upstate New York, I, like Judy, harbor a great love for the beautiful landscapes of the Northeast. I find the western U.S. landscape barren and it is a landscape that does not so much invite me as challenge me to enter it.” My older son and his family live in LA. They are avid campers and love the outdoors. Despite occasional visits to our cabin in the Catskills, I fear my grandchildren will never fully grasp what I feel when I am there. My younger son and his family live in Switzerland. Switzerland is beautiful; we love it there. But I still long for the beauty and solitude of our Catskill cabin. I fervently hope that it will not be replaced by another landscape, as is the case with Judy’s daughter.

Thank you. And sage advice on how to start an identification of a gall, though that raises of the challenge of improving our leaf identification skills…

Such an elegant description of the plant/gall-forming insect relationship!  - gave me a better understanding of galls. Thanks!

Your essay is beautiful, poignant, and so moving. I also have a daughter raised here in the northeast. Your ending brought a tear to my eye. Keep writing.

OMG! What a wonderfully sensitive, informative and heartwarming article that was written by Mr. Thurber about ReelRecovery! I was so happy to finally read this story, after hearing about this amazing program for men recovering from cancer! (My son, Chris Sewall, was pictured in this article, holding a wee fish and with such a broad smile of happiness!) My belief in the innate goodness of humanity has been renewed after reading about the giving/caring attitude of all the volunteers involved! Truly!
Thank you all for the kindness/love you share for these men trying to cope with such heavy burdens. Chris certainly gained strength and hope because of those days spent with others at Grand Stream! Keep this program going, please!

Marvelous article, Susan! It reminds me of my days canoeing in marshes, and viewing many of the natural wonders which you have mentioned. Thank you!

Came across my first water scorpion today while visiting our vernal pool. Didn’t know what it was so I greatly appreciated the article.