Site Discussions

I’ve often heard that Mt. Monadnock in southern New Hampshire has a “false treeline,” noticeably lower than the Whites, because the top was burned off back in the 19th century to kill off marauding wolves that were killing the farmers’ livestock at lower elevations.  The top of Mt. Monadnock has an elevation of 3,165’ and the treeline is some 100’ to 200’ below that.

I just got my chainsaw back from the shop. The engine will finally kick over, (old gas and a clogged fuel line) but when I got it fired up, the chain made a slight grinding sound and it soon started setting saw-dust smoldering when I began cutting.

I killed the engine, pulled it apart, and found a ton of dirt and grit in both the chain and deep down in the grooves of the bar. The friction was actually setting things on fire! Since it was clean as a whistle when I brought it to the shop, I’m a little ticked, and don’t trust them anymore to get the job done. Anywho. I know how to clean the chain, but how do I get all that crud out of the bar’s grooves?

The 1/4 cut technique is a good way of wedging small diameter trees.

For Japanese knotweed, mechanical treatments, or hand cutting then spraying, are not very effective.

We’ve had great success eradicating Japanese knotweed in the Adirondacks using cane injections of glyphosate and foliar spray only to canes too small to inject.  The treatments are done after the plants start to flower, when they are taking nutrients (and glyphosate) to the root system.  Injections minimize exposure to surrounding plants, and pure glyphosate is used for injections, so there are no problems with toxicity from adjuvants.

Don’t know for sure what a maul ring is, but i’d guess it’s some sort of handle guard that sits right beneath the maul head. Today they’re made of rubber—don’t know what they would have been made out of in 1820.

I am trying to find out what a maul ring is.  I am doing research on a farmer from the 1820’s in Pa and he mentioned buying a ring for his maul.

The point of Chuck Wooster’s article is significant and well taken. Placing a particular experience into larger context, as this article does, serves as a reminder that enriches one’s experience and appreciation.

No wolves in New England ? Check out this link about a wolf shot in Shelburn Ma. This article doesn’t mention it but another article I read has this wolf’s DNA traced back to a pack in Quebec. This is one of many wolf story’s that don’t make the headlines.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080305-AP-wolf-return.html

Hi Dave- 

I always look forward to your annual sugaring adventure.  Great writing and keep up the good work!  Hope all is well…

Interesting to think about what mutual strengths / adaptations come from interactions between:
communities of humans and bears / deer
exotic invasive species and our “native” ecosystems
different human cultural groups

Oh my god this made me laugh!!...

“If you’re in any sort of romantic relationship, this is hands down the hardest time of year. By now, nerves have been keenly honed by four months of low light, cold, mud, and slop. Just the other night my buddy was jarred awake by a 2 a.m. elbow to the ribs. “Stop breathing,” his wife admonished him. “You mean snoring?” he replied sleepily. She didn’t answer.”

This journal would have made a great blog! One thing I love about you guys… you understand and love nature and you know how to write! Great combinations. Keep up the great work!

check out this piece to learn more about wolf/coyote hybrids.

http://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/canis-soupus-the-eastern-coy-wolf/

Hi Chris.

I have not heard anything about the warmer winter causing tree damage of this sort.

If I had to take a guess, I imagine the large amount of downed and uprooted trees are likely “leftovers” from the early snowstorm much of New England and parts of New York experienced back in October 2011. I know driving to CT from VT a few months ago, I was surprised to see so much tree debris along the roadways, dating back to that October storm. Also, there may still be some downed trees from Tropical Storm Irene.

If any other readers out there have thoughts on this, please weigh in.

The extinction of wolves in NH & VT is probably more due to concerted efforts at extermination by humans than any lack of adaption to the changed environment, other than not avoiding humans. Also I’ve heard several wildlife experts say on some local radio program that the coyotes from the west have interbred with wolves (possibly coming in from Canada) and that now the current local “coyote” has a fair amount of wolf genes (by DNA analysis). They also appear (or at least did a few years ago) to have adopted wolf tactics and hunt in packs. At least that’s what it sounds like.
Just minor comment on great article.

Nice, warm intro, Meghan. I just wanted to chime in with the mention of the iPod Touch (think iPhone without the phone): more affordable and more portable than the iPad and Leafsnap et al. work on it too….. Disclaimer: I own no stock in Apple!

I have a question if anyone has any information. I live outside of new York city. Is there any correlation between the extremely warm winter we are having and the large amount of downed and uprooted trees?

Thanks for the educational piece on mourning doves, Michele.  We definitely see many more over-wintering doves here in western NY than in the past. It is always a pleasure to hear the first spring “coos” of the male doves, which occurred here on February 29 this year. This sign of spring rates right up there with the first robin sighting, the first bluebird song, or the first “peents” and aerial displays of the woodcock.

I had a chance to hunt, and eat, some mourning doves in southwest Texas with my son last September.  They offer challenging shooting and delectable table fare.  It is unfortunate that we sportspeople in the Northeast aren’t able to take advantage of the healthy supply of excess doves, which hunting or not, will only overwinter less than half of the fall population, hunting season or not.

I once declared war on porkys on a couple hundred acres of forested land that we own in southern Cattaraugus County, in western New York.  It seemed that they could not get enough of the painted steel covering on the windows of the new cabin we built.  They disregarded the lumber and ate the steel and paint.  They also ate the aluminum handle of a pot that was left outside on the porch.

After eliminating 18 porkys in the vicinity of the cabin, the problem abated.  Subsequent to my assault, we started seeing fisher sign in our woods.  The Pa. game Commission (I believe) had stocked fisher in the nearby Allegany National Forest. Porky numbers have remained low since.

I enjoy your articles and always learn something from them.  I’d like to share an insight about their behavior that I haven’t seen in any literature.  One winter I located an active den tree in a far corner of my property, a place where mostly beech, ash, hard maple grew with hemlock and red oak sprinkled in.  I could see clearly in the deep snow that this porcupine wasn’t travelling far to find food.  There were several paths to nearby beech and maple trees ten to twenty feet from the base of the den.  The animal chewed patches of bark at the base of several trees, some large patches, some small.  I was puzzled by this.  I knew they would chew beech, but a rough barked maple?  And it didn’t climb; all the patches were at ground level.  Then it dawned on me.  This animal conserved energy by not travelling far and not climbing to chew bark,and it was creating future den trees in the process!  Debarking would certainly cause rot at the base of those trees creating potential den trees decades hence.  This type of behavior would have a selective advantage to the individual as well as the species itself.
An additional note, one spring day in the ‘70s I counted eleven porcupines, seven adults and four youngsters on my property of 165 acres.  Twenty eight thousand pine trees were planted in the late 50s and porcupines were chewing many of them.  Today those trees are 65 ft tall and seldom do I see a porcupine in one of them.  I’ve shot only one in forty years.  There is an active den and that animal will chew a twenty foot beech until there’s no bark left.  I think the pines are too tall to scale in the winter.  Why expend all that energy when there are short beech trees nearby.  And, yes, I still find bases of nearby trees eaten.
Thank you for reading.  I was a biology major (BA,MS) and still get a thrill (chills, really) thinking about what organisms have to endure to survive.

Hi J,

The equation is constantly changing, as the sugar content of sap fluctuates throughout the season. To figure it out, you have to divide the sugar content of your sap by 86. Thus, if you’re boiling 1 percent sap, you’ll need 86 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup. 2 percent sap you’ll need 43 gallons.