Site Discussions

Any chance these paper nests will be reused if left alone?  Seems like a lot of effort to construct one.

Dave,
Enjoyed your blog as usual. The whole farming vs. tree harvesting discussion is interesting and I think there are more similarities than differences. Our local PBS station sent out a notice saying that if subscribers would elect to receive the monthly program bulletin electronically rather than in paper form, we would “save” 23 trees. These are folks who ought to know better. I wondered if anyone ever tells the local Italian restaurant patrons if you order your pasta without sauce, you will “save” seventeen tomatoes? Somehow this need to “save” trees has become fashionable even though harvesting may be far better for the long term prospects of the forest. Keep up the good work.

(Received by email, posted by our office.)

To the Editors:

I was impressed with Bob Kimber’s patience with beavers (Upcountry, Autumn 2012). I am now more patient than I used to be. Decades of struggle do lead to accommodation. After reading Mike Freeman’s well-written and compelling article (“Bar Bar: Why Regulated Trapping Still has a Place in the 21st Century,” Autumn 2012) it’s good to know I can feel better about trapping beavers because the new traps kill instantly, but I don’t need that option anymore. Chalk it up to the dry Summer of 2012.

My shiitake mushroom harvest from hardwood logs was failing. The logs I inoculated for three straight years were all dangerously dehydrated, despite my strategic placement of them in the shade of the north side of the sugarhouse, catching concentrated rainwater from the roof when we did get a shower. Below 30 percent moisture content they become worthless for fruiting mushrooms. In desperation, I threw a few in the beaver pond to soak them. Pulling them out a couple days later, I noticed one was missing. I suspected the big beaver my wife once mistook for a black bear. I was overdue for a paddle, so I headed for the woodshed to dust off the Old Town Discovery, hoping to recover my shiitake log from the dam.

One of the things I always appreciated about Castor canadensis was the esthetic blessing their industriousness creates. They’ve built a series of three ponds on the small wetland on my woodlot, the largest of which is bigger than any beaver pond I’ve ever seen. I’m glad for these ponds even though their builders constantly threaten to flood the woods road which is the only access to my maple orchard, and also take maple saplings not meant for harvesting in my management plan. Still, you can’t compare what they do to what a bulldozer could do for $10,000. Beavers build beautiful ponds for free, like Jesus gives away love for free. All I must do to accommodate them is to hoe out a couple of their dams everyday (and unclog the PVC pipe baffles), like a dairy farmer hoes out his gutters everyday.

I rescued the shiitake log with my canoe freighter and thanked God for the beavers. I now soak 6 or 8 logs a week in the pond, and I’m finally getting a nice, consistent shiitake mushroom harvest.

Michael Caldwell, North Wolcott, VT

In early July my wife was stung on the foot by a wasp. It immediately became painful, swelled up a lot, and stayed that way for about three weeks, and now her foot is still swollen although no longer tender. Is such a long reaction to the sting a rarity? What might be the reason?

I made my living as a cabinetmaker and now teach at the Yestermorrow design/build school.  My teacher Teruo Hara, felt that imperfect boards were more spiritual and that knots and splits that had been treated with a patch or butterfly connected the plank to the tree and the transience and imperfections of the living world.  For a further discussion of this aesthetic Google the term ” Wabi sabi.”
My students now relish dealing with boards that are less than perfect.  This has a very long history, enjoy it!

The painful sting of any wasp or bee can be quickly neutralized by the application of a piece of an aloe vera plant or masticated plaintain placed directly on the sting - the sooner the better.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Diane

What a wonderful, informative article.  Joe, may I have a copy?  I will see you at the market someday.  To Rick in VT.  If the yellow jackets are on the roof, why do you have to get rid of them?  They are probably feeding on insects that are more harmful to you than they are. My nest is in my compost bin and has been a very interesting evening event from my deck six feet away. I too will harvest the nest after the killing frost.
I look forward to reading more articles written by you, Joe.
Jane

Place 5 lbs of sugar in a pail half full of water and let the wasps come to you on or near the ground. Watch out some of their friends are not around and come visiting. I discovered this by accident after making home made wine and threw the pulp out in the woods soon to discover the pulp was covered with wasps. I don’t know if this will work will all types of wasps.

New to us this summer is a football sized paper wasp nest in the eves of a barn top cupola, accessible only by scrambling up a steep metal roof after a two story ladder climb.

It was scarey enough to get up there to paint the cupola. No way to spray insecticide the nest and then retreat quickly.

They don’t bother us so we were waiting till after a hard freeze to remove it. The mention of the hibernating queen in this article tells us that won’t really solve our problem.

Any ideas how to kill the wasps before the queen disappears and we get a new outbreak next year?

Thanks,

Rick

The venoms do indeed have some different chemical components, and it is possible for one to be more sensitive to one group of stingers and not others. However, a simple test at the allergist will give evidence if it is likely that one might respond in a cross-over reaction. Example, my son, after a severe reaction tested positive to all three of the main stinging culprits and immediately began 5 years of immunizations that will likely save his life in the future.
One must always remember that only through repeated exposure does an allergic reaction process even begin to take place and thus vigilance is a must. I just stepped right into a ground nest of yellow jackets and received no less that 10 stings. My reaction was minimal, but painful, itchy and temporally traumatic. The fact that my response was not even close to life threatening does unfortunately not mean that I will not, should there be a next time,  react the same way. Keep working with the bees, but I strongly recommend that you get the skin tests that may save your life.

Judith - I’m not an expert, but I have seen fellow beekeepers develop allergies after being stung over time.  I’m told the opposite can occur, that one can loose an allergy as well.  Keep in mind that a lot of people think a really bad reaction to a bee or hornet sting is an allergic reaction.  It’s not.  Though very painful, uncomfortable and possibly necessitating medical attention for relief, a true allergy can be deadly resulting in a whole-body reaction that may close the throat very quickly.  It’s nothing to mess around with.  If you’re considering beekeeping, please find out for sure if you are allergic by visiting an allergist.  If you find out all is well, the Vt. Beekeepers Association can help get you started with a mentor and trainings.  Best of luck to you.

I have question. I’ve heard that if you are allergic to wasps that you are not then allergic to bee stings. Is this true? I seem to have an increasing reaction to wasp stings, but want to keep bees. Should I take a chance on beekeeping?

I was just riding my bike with my Weimaraner along our gravel road by our oceanfront house in Prospect Harbor, Maine. I saw an animal sitting in the middle of the road. I initially thought it was a fox, as they do that sometimes. But as I got closer, it didn’t look like a fox. Then I thought it was a cat, but a big one, 18-20 lbs at least, and beefy, not lean like a cat. It saw us coming and didn’t go anywhere until my dog saw it and began pulling towards it, about 50 yards away. At that point, it ran into the brush. I was able to get a better look as I got closer. It had dark ears and dark stubby tail. The coat was tawny looking, but it didn’t look particularly spotted like the photos on this website. I suspect it was a bobcat. In 30 years of coming here I have never seen a bobcat before. It was quite exciting. Do you think it was a bobcat or is there some other type of wild cat it could have been?

Frank,

We here at Northern Woodlands are unfamiliar with any particular method for stripping dead leaves from oaks, as none of us have ever tried to do that.

Many thanks, Virginia, for the detail you included two years ago in your description of the Nannyberry (viburnum lentago).  From April to October in 2012, I have taken photos of this plant on a walk I take and this helped verify that it is indeed the nannyberry.

Greatly enjoyed your article, Ben! I’m a huge fan of wild rice, and love to look for it along the river and marshes in CT. A year ago I wrote an article for our local Audubon Society’s newsletter concerning wild rice, and a few times a year I purchase wild rice from Native Harvest in Minnesota. Thanks again for the excellent article!

IS there a way to strip the dead leaves from oaks?

I am working with students in high school and we are identifying trees and it is difficult to determine which spurce trees are which.  Your website was extremely helpful.

Ingrid Volikas

Well, I am definitely sure that I saw a catamount the beginning of this week. To be exact, it was on Monday,Sept.17,2012 at 11:30 am. I was sweeping leaves on my back deck which overlooks a meadow and brook which flows thru my back yard. The phone rang and I stopped raking to answer. My daughter from San Fran was calling. I was literally leaning on the deck railing and speaking to her. All of a sudden, I heard a movement in the woods and looked over to see this catamount walk gingerly from the meadow across my bottom lawn that parallels the brook. I told my daughter what I was seeing. The catamount was about 3feet long,perfect girth size,head and face and ears I was totally able to idenify this catamount. My daughter said for me to make a noise to see what he would do. I made a sound and he stopped, looked up the hill at me, then immediately jumped the brook without touching the water and walked up from the water bank into the woods. I was thrilled to see this and called my neighbors and farmers on my road to let them know. Quite an experience! Next time I will have the camera ready.

Elise, I want to wish you my heartiest congratulations on your new position.  I look forward to seeing regular postings of your wonderful writing!  Best, Rose