Site Discussions

I’m doing a book on the state flowers of America, and I like to add in interesting plants/animals where I can - does anyone know which states specifically these plants grow in?  At the moment, I’m working on New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Illinois - so if anyone knows for sure that they grow there, it would help me.  Thanks, Laurie

Great piece. I’m always amazed by what we simply fail to see or appreciate. When I was in ag school (long ago), I remember creating quite a controversy in class by asking the simple question “What about the worms?” We’d be in sorry shape without them, even though many are non-native, and all the other parts of the complex “organism” called soil. Thanks for a great peek under the hand lens!

Hi Megan - will read your complete letter when time permits.  Was looking at what in the woods is that and saw the stumping entry.  I have an entry I want to submit, but that’s another story.  What I wanted to alert your readers to is an interesting web site ... http://www.leafsnap.com  It has very good resolution for tree ID of leafs, seeds (fruit), bark, etc.  It’s an ongoing project to have all the trees of the Eastern US in its species list.check it out.

WISH YOU THE VERY BEST !! 
I TRUELY INJOY NORTHERN WOODLANDS SUBSCRIPTION.

If a person is allergic to birch trees and uses a throat spray with this ingredient…what would be the consequence?  Would the person have an allergic reaction?  Could the fungus grow in the person’s throat or lungs?

Just one more note to say “welcome”.  Have enjoyed Northern Woodlands for several years now, and am sure your talents will be greatly appreciated in the years ahead.

Welcome, Meghan, and nice to “meet” you!

Your storm story struck a chord with us, who weren’t directly smacked by Irene but have been witnessing its effects all around us.

Meghan, welcome to another lovely natural area in Maine. I spent many years near Corinth; good people and the scenery is great. Let us know how you settle in. Cheers!

Meghan, thank you for that heart felt letter and welcome aboard.

Hi Diane,

I’d contact American Distilling directly and ask them. They’re at: http://www.americandistilling.com/

Hi Jim,

I think it’s safe to say that as a general rule fisher populations are rising throughout most of the Northeast. We get reports from suburban areas in southern New England all the time about fisher sightings. One biologist i spoke to in New Hampshire recently called fishers the “new raccoons” in his area. I’ve seen a remarkable increase over the past 10 years in Bennington County, Vermont—right next door to you—so it doesn’t surprise me to hear you’re seeing quite a few.

As to why your friend’s seeing less in Essex County, i could only guess. They’re primarily carnivorous and feed on small game, so their populations rise and fall with the mice and rabbits and squirrels and muskrats. Bad winters with deep snowpacks can knock them back, as can over-trapping.

I am not atrapper but my friend is and he mostly traps Essex county,n.y. We have had 3 trail cameras out mainly around the blue ridge road for about three months before fall. Last year we saw a couple fisher, not many rabbits, and a few coyotes. This year up till middle of sept., lots of rabbits, one coyote, and no fisher,martin squirrels, etc.  Have the fisher moved further south because I see quite a few in washington county lately?    Thank you,Jim

What do you pay them for a ton of witch hazel chips?  I’d like to know how much we (my husband and I ) can earn selling our witch hazel trees.
Thanks for any info you can give.

Karlayna, please see author Chuck Wooster’s response to your question about other C4 flowers below.

Hi Karlayna—

From what I can tell, marigolds are C3. There are, however, numerous different flowers with the “marigold” common name, and it’s possible that one or more of these are C4 because the aster family (which includes most marigolds) does have some C4 members. Sunflowers, for example.

If you have a specific flower in mind, I’d suggest a web search of that flower name (ideally the genus and species), plus “C4 photosynthesis.” Wikipedia, in particular, seems quite good at pointing out C4 where it crops up.

—Chuck

I have been fishing by 9N bridge in Upper Jay just to see if anything survived. (most of the houses & business were destroyed) The East branch of the Ausable was at about 19’ flood stage is 7. I have released a 16” rainbow & several browns around 12” all real healthy.
I was thrilled to see fish could survive this disaster.

Great story Mark, I was just debating whether to purchase a gransfors axe or splitting maul, and thanks to you am going for the axe!

what other plants (flowers) are c4? and are marigolds c4? thanks

Hi Richard,

I don’t know offhand of anyone who leases land in southern New Hampshire, but you might inquire at Allard Lumber (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))and see if they know of any timber company holdings with camp leases. I know Lyme Timber has Adirondack camp leases (http://lymelease.com/index.asp?w=pages&r=0&pid=3)—not sure about New Hampshire. For New York leases, you can also try Christmas and Associates. (http://www.landandcamps.com). Good luck!

Richard…....Northern Woodlands is selling a camp on leased lands owned by Plum Creek just outside the town of Island Pond, VT. You can email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and I’ll email a brief description of the camp if you’re interested.

I took pictures of 2 Guardian Ants working Woolly Aphids.  I am trying to find the name of the ant species that is acting as guardian to this mass of Woolly Aphids, Prociphilus tessellatus, on a growing Alder shrub next to a lake.
Can anyone point me in a direction to find this information?  I would be happy to submit an image if desired.

Thanks,
Richard