Site Discussions

Nice article.  One speculation:  Could those clinging brown leaves create a little extra shade, thereby discouraging competing evergreens under the canopy of the young oaks and beeches?  That would be particularly important in soils that don’t allow for as rapid growth of the oak/beech.

So if I have a survey plat showing courses and distances that depict a measurement of a sloped hill and I want to locate the courses and distances on the earth’s surface of the the sloped hill, I would run my surveyor’s tape from the top of the hill to the bottom of the hill and reduce the actual distance measured as required by the angle of the hill. Right?

I did spend about $2000 for a Woodstock Soapstone stove w/combuster.  I also had to build a new chimney (another 2-grand) and I buy wood as well as cut my own.  I planned the cost to amortize from the cost of heating fuel in five years.  However, the cost of fuel went up and the whole thing amortized in the third winter of use.  The final amount to be amortized included the chimney, the chimney sweep visits, $65/face cord of seasoned firewood split and delivered.  It was a steep initial investment but I love the soapstone over metal and its use has been well worth the beginning and continued expenses.

I think people forget that hunting is kind of similar to cutting a tree down.  Cutting a tree down is one aspect.  Once the tree is down is really when all the work begins.  The same is true with hunting.  Despite the long hours in the field whether waiting patiently or stalking through the woods on uneven terrain, “harvesting” an animal requires a lot too of the hunter.  “Harvesting” is a more accurate term since in hunting, an animal is rarely “killed.”  To me, killing does not tell the entire story.  This would be like picking tomatoes and leaving them in the garden.  We take our animal (or tomatoes) home… we harvest them.  They feed ourselves, friends and family and serve as reminders of the animals we harvested and the habitats we found them in.  If we really care about these animals, and desire to give back, then we should do so by managing our forests, enhancing habitats and providing both food and cover.  Hunting is a way of life and not a mere sport.

Hi Paul,

My opinion would be that you should consult with a forester. He or she will be able to give you a sense of the value on your woodlot, give you up to date information on the log markets in your area, tell you what’s mature and what you should hold on to, etc. You can save a little money by cutting the forester out, but it’ll probably cost you more in the long run. This story we did gives some sense of the complexity of timing timber harvests beyond the current markets. http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/it_pays_to_keep_good_trees_growing

Also, check out the Small Woodland Owners Association of Maine. (http://www.swoam.org/) They’re a good group and a good resource.

We have been using a Vermont Castings Vigilant (vintage 1977) since we moved into our 1700 sq. ft. home in 1987.  It cranks out the heat and still seems to be sturdy—inside and out.  A couple of years ago, we considered replacing it with a newer version in hopes that it would burn more cleanly and efficiently than our Vigilant.  Our chimney man talked us out of doing that because he stated that our 1977 Vigilant was just as efficient (and more durable) than anything on the market today.  The few statistics I could find pertaining to the matter seemed to back him up, but they weren’t that solid.  I wrote twice to Vermont Castings for some information, but they never responded to me.  Does anyone have some thoughts about this out there?
Tom in Athol, ME—Jan 15, 2012

Thanks for the article, Todd. I also have been following Stinson’s results with great interest. Just a quick comment to point out that if one cuts the flowering stalks of garlic mustard it will very likely grow once again. I just want to point out that folks should be prepared to return for a second or third cutting to prevent seed set. With garlic mustard and other herbaceous invasive plants it is all about seed prevention. Another thing to mention on the topic: If you cut a little late and the seed heads are just beginning to form and then you cut—the plants may still produce viable seed. In this case it is better to bag them up in paper leaf bags and burn the whole bags in brush piles.

I’m so pleased to know that there are simple wood coffins being made in VT.  In my 70s and expecting to live 1-2 decades longer, I’m just beginning to look at what’s available here for simple, ecological, reasonably priced burials.  Cremation has been my family’s traditional burial method - but that takes a lot of energy - to “roast” a human body.  That’s my uneducated opinion.

I think the federal government is the one that has failed the worst.  Thus, I think that this attitude that government is inept and bad has flowed from the national level and with much justification.

Having a quasi-national, government bank print trillions of $$$ without any accountability, having a national government go on several, undeclared wars that have killed tens of thousands, all because some guy decided he was no longer going to sell his country’s oil in dollars, opting for the Euro instead, as well as pass a multitude of laws and rules that only huge corporations can follow (for example, look at what’s happened in the food industry) have all impacted our opinion of government and not for the better.

I don’t think we’ll see a return to more in-depth discussion of any issue any time soon either, Dave as I think short, sound bites, as they call them, are inherent in the media that we use now and inherent to the multi-tasking world most of us live in.  The only hope I see is that, as traditional electronic media such as television give ground to the Internet, and as traditional print media also give way to Internet discussions such as this, perhaps we will regain more ability to discuss and reason once again, such as what we all are doing here, but only time will tell.

Hi, I’m thinking about doing some selective cutting. I have poplar, some big, pine - also quite large, and maple. In terms of marketability what do you recommend? I would very much value your opinion.
Kind regards, Paul
Thank you

Why not get out of the divisive problem of direct governmental choice of winners and losers, and instead try to level the playing field?

Abolish all the energy subsidies and mandates.  At the same time require all energy producers to pay all their “externalities”, fairly measured.  Oil and gas would pay for carbon emissions, wind farms would pay for viewshed damage, etc.  Then step aside and allow the market work with the new, more accurate price signals.  Let the chips fall where they may.

Economically this should be a more efficient solution.  And the simple principle of making all energy producers bear their full costs appeals to basic fairness and can create common ground.

But unfortunately the process of identifying and quantifying externalities would almost surely be more of the same old “politics”—probably just as divisive and distortive as the current reallocation game.

Well written article, I read several facts that I found interesting. On a somewhat tangential subject, would it not be cost effective to mix in lime with the salt/sand to help neutralize acid rain until we correct toxic emmisions? Thanks for the write up.

I appreciated your sensible view, Dave.  I shared your editorial with a 25 year-old niece who is struggling to make sense of all the anti-government rhetoric of an election year contrasted with her strong environmental ethic.  She admits to not knowing what to think.  This piece adeptly shows how governmental actions at the local level are easy to ridicule as they must content with inherent contradictions.

Wasn’t it Lincoln who said something to the effect that we get the sort of leadership we deserve?

That said, the fundamental flaw in the grand plan is that we are addicted to the idea that government intervention solves problems-partly because it absolves us of responsibility. We also want the government to figure out how we’re supposed to live together with different opinions and focuses because we’d rather not have to think for ourselves—at least not in a balanced way that looks at entire issues.

Yes, I’m from Maine, but I’m afraid I don’t have any inside information or magic tricks regarding the situation in Old Town. But I do know this. The current governor is trying to invoke some common sense. He actually is saying there are some things we just can’t afford to do. Steps like that cause some of the symptoms of withdrawal from addiction among the general population.

In the allowance example (an excellent one) if we didn’t have the ten bucks to give the kid to start with an entirely different scenario starts to develop wherein the kid has to think, make smart choices, and actually earn his own way.

When did that become wrong?

Thanks, Ms. Barlow, for another fascinating and enlightening article.  I’d known about salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant plants, but I never knew the biology and chemistry behind them.  I believe that Maine is using a new chemical on the roads (not salt brine, and still mixed with sand) that, while more effective on ice, is worse for vehicles.  Of course I wonder if it is also worse for plants.  I will have to try and find out.

While there certainly are concerns about trust (honesty), there are even bigger concerns about competence. To be blunt, the US government is fundamental inept. It’s very difficult to support this type of organization at just about any level.

Hi, I write a local nature column and had fixated this week on finding out why paper birch bark is so white—what makes it white versus why the light color is a good adaptation to northern latitudes.  You talk about this at the end of this article.  I had thought that yellow birch bark is higher in betulin than paper birch bark (am probably wrong), but, if this is true, is it the arrangement of the crystals in the outer bark that make paper birch more reflective? Or conversely, something else in the yellow birch bark that make it more reflective.  Your’s is the first article I’ve found about what makes paper birch white—do you have any suggestions for more background on this?

If I do write this up, can I quote/reference your Northern Woodlands article?

Thanks
Sue

I’m starting to appreciate the aesthetics of Christmas tree growers—my father-in-law has a small Christmas tree farm and we always get a lot of compliments on our trees we get from him.  They have a lovely conical shape and have been obviously trimmed but don’t have that super-dense look where the branch tips are almost going back on themselves.  It would be fun to compare trees from a set of growers and try to understand each person’s trimming style!

I was surprised to not to find mention of the classic shenandoah until the last entry. I wore out a couple used ones before buying a new one a few years ago. A bit of a wood hog but it heats great and takes big wood. Comes in a box or barrel and when it gets old it works great outside boilin sap.

This came in as a letter to the editor.

Dave,

In response to your question I would recommend any Vermont Castings stove built before the requirement for a catalytic converter. If they are used in the “open” mode at low temps, and in the “closed” at high temps, they are very efficient and almost indestructible. Parts are also generally available. I’ve been heating with both used and new VC’s for over 30 years,

Alan M. Robertson
Sheffield, VT