Site Discussions

So beautifully written and full of information. Thank you!

That was one of the most informative articles I’ve read on the ‘Jacks n Jills’ in the pulpit. Thank you for posting it. I hope to grow these beauties some day soon. I’ve heard that 2021 was a very good year for them so I am ordering some corms this fall. I had no idea they could grow to two feet high. I remember these and May Apples being in the woods I played in as a child. I love these old time favorites.

That was the most informative and sensitively written article on these puzzling creatures I keep finding under the rotting wood under our kitchen sink. We had a leak and the wood of our cabinetry has suffered. I’ve been reading what I can to learn about the little intruders and how best to remove them. As with all nature’s “intruders”, I’m prone to be of two minds. One is practical and concerned for child safety in the house. No need for excess earwigs or other unwanted creature to be popping out unexpectedly for small playing hands. On the other side I always consider what message Mother Nature might be sending me. Ants really do tend to show up in places I need to apply a bit more effort in maintaining. Earwigs…an intriguing guest. Thank you for such a well written piece.

Thank you for this article. This is such important and helpful information. In my own efforts to plant native species, I have found I have much better luck with seed that I have collected locally than with seed ordered by mail. Now it makes sense.

This summer I was able to raise and set free 16 Monarchs. I am still waiting on 8 more cocoons to become butterflies and one more caterpillar.
Down to the wire for the trip south!

Thank you for this page. Wonderful information.

In northern Illinois when growing up we had drainage ditches on the farm.  In a sudden cold snap the ditches would freeze over leaving clear ice over the path that the muskrats swam between their breathing holes We could drive on top of the ditch banks and see them under the clear ice.  We would jump out and run down and jump up and down on the ice and hit the ice with sledge hammers and axes. The pressure under the ice on the muskrats ears would cause them to lose sense of direction and stun them.  They would drown before they got to the next breathing hole.  We called it muskrat stomping.  I tell this story and everyone laughs and says it is bull. But true funny I never heard anyone talk about it but us - heard anyone else do it.  We would identify the area and tell our trapper neighbors where it was. We were young and stupid but not dumb enough to try to pull one out of the ice until it had been there a long time.

Heidi, watch NH LAW frequently and just learned you are Wayne Fortier’s daughter. He is my cousin. Your bio is certainly impressive. You have accomplished so much. Proud to know of your connection to our beautiful state of NH.

Thanks you for that interesting article. I live in the Vancouver (BC) area, and we have many mature beech trees in our heavily landscaped complex, although they are planted around the complex singly, not grouped together.  I had wondered (and was disappointed that) I could never find a beech nut that has any actual mast in them - they look like they do, but when you open up these tri-sided kernels, they are all empty. You would think that a few would have managed to get pollinated in that the trees are not that far apart from each other.  I am wondering if there are any other reasons these trees produce only ‘fake nuts’, and produce many, many of them - the ground under them is carpeted with empty nuts? The trees all appear very healthy - no evidence of that beech bark disease that I had read which causes reduced mast production.

I have a black racer in my yard… I’ve seen it twice. It’s more of a dark grey.. smooth and I have only seen the tail end of it. But it is a solid grey.

Wow, nicely done!  Looks great and well balanced in the water. It’s nice too that the pictures show the work that went into this.  Question: did birchbark canoes have planking as this one does ?

So fantastic to hear of this wonderful opportunity to maintain and increase sustainable economic activity, healthy ecology, and public recreational access!!

Fascinating, by the way. Thank you!

And we humans think we are so clever…

I love all the northern Woodlands articles but this was especially interesting Rachel!  It’s amazing what people discover!!! My son and I will be taking a closer look, I share these with him.

The wonderful aroma of wild grapes in CT can be smelled from some distance when ripe. I suppose it may be possible to smell them from the sea if they have such an aroma and grew at greater levels before colonial environmental degradation.

I have noticed a large amount of wild rice plants growing along the waterway on the Mattabesset River in the lower watershed area heading down to the Connecticut River from Cromwell, CT. It’s look like the rice is at or almost peaking time for picking. The birds do enjoy it as I have them eating away over the past few years.

Marc Parill—- I agree with you on the mourning doves being bullies. I have had a flock of them come in and chase away all but my small birds: goldfinches, sparrows and black-capped chickadees. I am really upset about this as I have counted up to 29 species that USED to visit my feeders. Now it’s just the doves and the small birds. At this rate, I will probably stop feeding my birds for awhile just to see if the doves will go away.

Enjoyed learning about Harvey’s story. Love the phrase comparing iron and wood.

Loved your article. I’m a beekeeper with several hives, I do not take much of their honey, but give it back to them to survive winter instead of sugar. I’m always curious to where they obtain their nectar and pollen and therefor marked a handful of Worker Bees with a bright color to be able to recognize them in the field after following them on a mountain bike. Your way of bee-lining is much more sophisticated and fun because of so many of the readers have done this during their childhood with their dads. Love that. Thanks for the drawings, I’ll make one for myself for sure.

Great story.  Beautiful table!!!  Would love one.