Site Discussions

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.

Hi there, I’m camping in the wilds of Pennsylvania and just came across your article after harvesting a handful of berries and Wintergreen leaves. Thank you for the information! So looking forward to our breakfast and a warm cup of winter green tea later today. I’ve read it helps with headaches and so many other issues…

Loved the article. I am a docent for the marine biology program at UNH. I have never heard this information before. It made perfect sense once it was explained. Keep up the good work more people need to learn about this.

I have many large and old beech trees on my Rockland County property. This year I noticed that the one just outside my window did not have the usual foliage. I’m afraid I’m going to lose all the wonderful shade these trees provide to my house. Please let me know what I can do.

Looking for an app that can scan a bark of a tree in the winter time when there are no leaves to identify it.

It was nice to read Rachel’s memories. We were “neighbors” for many years, as we spent May-October at our “camp” on Dummer Hill. Her grandparents were our best friends thereac. Rachel’s dad logged our woods after the Ice Storm, and Rachel and her mom came up to camp one autumn after we had returned to Oregon, to plant bulbs to greet us the next spring. She was quite a girl then; quite a woman, now!

Male bobolinks arrived in our fields in midcoast Maine this year.  I think the young birds were flying by July 15.  concerned that’s start date of the protection window of June 1 may be too late in this locale.d

Just want to say I enjoyed this interview.  I’m glad Mike followed his dream to be a hiking guide.

Not meaning to quibble, but the photo of the Velvet Foot, Flammulina velutipes, is lacking its most distinguishing feature of the dark (brown/black) velvety stipe.  This feature is one that helps distinguish it from the Deadly Galeriina.