Site Discussions

I found this in my bathroom and I am TERRIFIED.

I had the pleasure of meeting Officer Murphy today and I couldn’t be happier! I was riding my bicycle on the rail trail through Enfield, enjoying the beautiful weather. As I crossed a bridge over Mascoma River, I looked over and saw Heidi walking up from the river bank. I hollered and waved, and we proceeded to have a nice short conversation. She is a great member of North Woods Law, which is one of very few shows I record and watch. I’m very glad that she serves as the conservation officer in my district. Keep up the good work Heidi! I hope you get a chance to enjoy Mother’s Day with your two young boys today.

Have you ever heard of Osprey, diving with fish in talons, toward a hard surface to slam it’s catch against said ground? I think I witnessed this on a side street near our neighborhood. Could it be a behavior meant to kill a struggling fish before flying to a nearby nest with it’s young?

First time to see, even know they exist, this cold past winter. Heard the wings sitting in the house, so loud thought it was one of the owls really close. Ran to window like a kid and gasped loudly. Amazing!!!! I am surrounded by woods so maybe will see another.

Thanks for the excellent, informative article, Lee!

To avoid confusion, I am the son of Howard Fadden (1912-1963). Kudos to Dave Fadden (Onchiota) for his amazing art work. I vividly recall my first visit to the museum when I was a very young boy.  I was impressed by the stories shared by Cousin Ray and how it influenced my miss-guided perception of the indigenous occupants of this beautiful area known as The Adirondacks.

Thanks for the great info and feed back. I just recently started clearing my property of sketchy trees. I have 2.5 acres and am trying to extend driveway. Not to mention I have about 15 60’+ oaks 50’ from my home. Constantly thinking about them. Definitely getting the come along now. I’d rather not get crushed in the middle of the night by one. Thanks all.

Thanks for the info. I just spotted a kettle migrating north/northeast over Brownsville, TX. The winds were very strong for about 4-5 days before calming down today. There are easily hundreds- if not in the 4 digits. I’ve had my eye on it for about an hour. This is my first sighting. I’ll never forget it.

I enjoyed reading this article by Katrina very much. It made me think of my childhood in northern Alabama where I roamed the forests around my home. Growing up in that environment made me love the outdoors and want to protect it. I came to New England when I was 23 and never left it. I have spent many years hiking the White Mountain trails and surroundings. Nowadays, at age 77, I’m content to wander all the wonderful town forests in southern New Hampshire to get my “nature fix”. I recommend the SELT (South East Land Trust) properties which are very well taken care of. Thank you, Katrina and Miles. Keep up the good work.

Great article! I’ve been watching the PA farm country eagle cam and wondered about eagle winter migration and happened upon this info. Thank you!

The discussion of tree line is mistakenly assumed to be a temperature phenomena.  It isn’t. It is a partial pressure of gases issue with CO2.  Specifically the eastern tree line at Mt Washington etc is lower because the atmospheric pressure is lower due to the high speed winds in the area. The tree line corresponds very well to the partial pressure of gas because it will be higher on one side of the mountain where the wind blows faster than on the other side.

It is related to the ability of the plants to photosynthesize sugar. This tree line issue happens in the tropics at very nearly the same altitudes as in the West USA etc.  It even happens in Africa the same way where the mountains go above about 9,500 feet (3000 meters).  Even on the flat the large areas of Africa (Rift Valley) see the same effect. 
Sorry folks but looking at this for climate change in terms of temperatures is not borne out by the recorded data.  Look up DENSITY ALTITUDE calculations for pilots. When I was young the CO2 levels were lower and the tree line was lower, not because it was colder lower, but because the partial pressure of CO2 changed.

Are the Autumn Olive in all the counties in Vermont??

Great information Laurie. My experience is only anecdotal, but it seems that I see as many or maybe more than I did twenty years ago.
I saw one today in a little marsh surrounded by thousands of acres of forestland in the Allegany National Forest.

Thanks.

I have the Stihl 120C, which turns out (according to my dealer) to have the same power and bar length as the more expensive version with the longer life battery that was used in the article. I recall I paid somewhere around $300-400 for it (don’t quote me). I have found this saw to be a life saver! My model (without the extra weight of a gas saw) is really wonderful in terms of lugging it around, and it cuts really well and cleanly. For me, now almost 73 years old, the lighter weight and the ease of starting makes chain sawing so much safer and more efficient.  Every operation is much more controllable for me, and therefore a lot safer, especially if one is on a ladder. It is true that the smaller battery doesn’t last all that long - maybe an hour of limbing.  However, I purchased a spare battery, so now I can get a longer cutting time, which generally suffices for the jobs I need to do.  The extra battery was not too expensive, and is really a smart purchase. Finally, it is just more peaceful to use this electric chain saw, as noted in the article.  The smell of fresh cut wood is aromatherapy for me.

Today my daughter was standing beneath a tree talking to a friend when a morning dove laid an egg on her head. The egg bounced to the driveway and cracked. The egg was still soft and warm. Has anyone heard of a dove laying an egg without a nest?

Lovely article.  After a walk in the woods in southern Ontario, April 17 2021 I noticed Beech trees in several pine groves.  These Beech were isolated from other Beech and seemed to hold “territory”.  Is it possible they are like Walnut in this respect?  I think this spacing is more than coincidence.  A forest stream was nearby in the general area.  Other species included white and red pine, cedars, currents, raspberries, Mayapples, Skunkmcabbage, Canadian Anemone, Oak, Maple, Willows, and one unidentified tree possibly Hickory (a long dead single specimen in a 10 mile radius).

My brother has the Makita double battery saw and likes it. He has cut a bit of 6-8” diameter hardwoods with it and seems to think it does OK.  However, it’s the only saw he has ever run, so he does not have much to compare it to. His main reason for buying it is that he was already fairly heavily invested in Makita Cordless tools, so he had plenty of batteries for it.

I’ve had the opportunity to use the Milwaukee M18 Fuel chainsaw with a 16” bar a couple of times. When used with one of their larger, high output batteries (such as the 9 or 12 Amp-Hour batteries), it has good life and seems to cut on par with some of the better 40cc gas chainsaws. I was impressed enough that I will probably buy one at some point. Since I already own plenty of batteries, I’ll save a bit of money and buy the tool only.

We were burned badly by early attempts. Although our DR saw was useful, the batteries have failed, there is no replacement, and DR sort of shrugged their shoulders.

Nevertheless, I’m delighted to read that progress is being made. It was wonderful to saw in relative quiet and without fumes! Can’t imagine that these electric saws, like cars, are not much further!

Great detailed information and enthusiasm for his many-faceted job. Thanks.

Thank you James for your kind and thorough comment!

You are certainly correct that beavers have negative impacts; many land owners would likely have less kind words for me than your thoughtful comments.

That said, by most estimates, beavers have returned to dramatically smaller population levels than their pre-European hunting numbers.  Doubtless, they have dammed far fewer streams in recent years than they did before European colonization.

By extension, many of those streams would not have been suitable trout streams in that earlier time frame.  Removal of beavers may well have significantly expanded brook trout range in streams. It’s interesting to consider.

And they certainly remove trees both directly and by inundating their roots.

So is the return of the beaver a correction to a more natural state? If yes, this begs a second question: do we like this more natural state? I don’t think I’m smart enough to fully answer that question to the satisfaction of all.

There are so many interesting questions….but only so much space in a 750 word essay.  You may enjoy “Eager” by Ben Goldfarb.  He covers some interesting ground….and far more of it than I did.
Cheers
Declan