Site Discussions

Take a hand full of ginseng seeds and throw them to the forrest…..they will grow. GINSENG SAVED!

Had to remove a stand of black birch at a site for the future home of the Ramapo Saltbox Environmental Research Center in Ramapo New York. This is a re-assembly of a two hundred year old American Saltbox House that was used by the iron works community in the area. The research center is a field classroom to study the ever changing nature of the Torne Valley in this part of lower New York State. This is a collaboration of Town of Ramapo with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland County along with students from an Environmental Studies program with Ramapo College of New Jersey. Anyway, the ‘cutting crew’ worked in a very cold time late this past winter taking down the black birch and the aroma was so powerful and so wonderful that they all had to stop and take it in. We all wound swapping stories of our parents and grandparents making home-made birch beer and root beer and such. It was really magnificent.
Chuck

Not sure, Larry. I’d love to see pictures of those chambers, though. If you have any, send them along to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

I have recently become involved in the investigation of the numerous stone chambers in Putnam County NY and environs, and during my first tour of around 12 chambers, noticed that many were directly adjacent to a swamp, and many others directly adjacent to a road. One was on a hillside, with stone wall enclosures going down the hillside to the edge of a swamp. My thought is that the chambers along the swamp would take advantage of hemlock growing in the swamp, and the use of the swamp’s water as well for tanning purposes. Would this be a feasible explanation? Thank you.

How is the wood dried after chipping?

We cant find any recipes for butternuts either. Queries just bring up butternut squash. I would assume black walnut recipes would work.

I am finishing up Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick.  It’s a fascinating book and I recommend it.  Forestry facts stated by the author:  In the 1650s the grown children of the original settlers built post and beam homes covered with clapboards and shingles.  It took twelve tons of wood to build even a modest house.  It also took fifteen cords of wood per year to keep the home’s open hearth going for heat.  A town of 200 homes required the cutting of as many as 75 acres per year.

This past week While trying to ascertain what animal was in our back yard creating havoc. Using a hunting camera that flashes when motion is detected, we got a beautiful picture of a catamount. Not very large, but clearly a beautiful animal checking out our yard.

A book I recently read that blew me away was Stewart Brand’s Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto (Viking, 2009).

It’s the most positive and inspiring work addressing environmentalism in general and climate change in particular that I’ve yet seen.

We all know what the problems are; this book is about solutions. You must get through the first chapter and on to chapter two in order to appreciate it, though.

Just thought I’d say that this is one of the best articles I have read on poison ivy, (and others).  I have read many as my husband’s reactions are extreme while I can walk in the exactly the same ares and remain unscathed.  Very informative - thanks.

By the way, the staff of the Memory Clinic in Bennington, Vermont reportedly got a very good look at a Catamount lion recently. He was standing there for a while by all reports, so they got a good look and apparently it looked just like the pics and statues of the catamount.

I have eaten quite a few this summer. They are delicious and have not made me sick. They are actually very nutritious.

The first time I ever saw a Spotted Sawyer was in the mid to late 90’s in Greenville ME. I did hold it but it never bit me. I have seen them numerous times since then in the MooseHead region of ME, never have been bitten. I recently moved to Millinocket ME. from MA. In June I saw the beetle again on my car in Millinocket. My neighbor was with me and said he had been bitten more than once by these beetles. He said they were more painful than a bee sting.

Is the black birch susceptible to nematodes or other diseases?  Is it considered a ‘dirty’ tree?  I am looking to plant a fast growing clump in my backyard and want a healthy, fairly clean tree.  I remember this tree while growing up in the woods of Pennsylvania.  How will it do in southeastern CT on the shore?

For our family, camping is the ultimate summer activity. After a busy school year, kids require immersion in the woods. Akin to riverwalking, we love going to the more remote Vermont State Parks and swimming in the small, clean lakes and ponds. The parks also have excellent dirt roads for biking, and many of them have nature programs and hikes with a park naturalist. Just returned from an extended trip to Brighton State Park…recommended!

Your article brings back so many memories.  We’ve enjoyed several camps in the Maine woods over the past 20 years and have been lucky enough to have a stream out our back door at two of them.  Some of our most memorable times are when my husband and I would take off up the stream and “rock hop” as we called it during low water.

Now that I am getting a bit older it seems a bit more difficult and treacherous. I am hoping that my 9 year old grandson will carry on the tradition for another generation as we enjoy showing him the pleasures of such a great activity away from all electronic devices - but at a slower pace!

I have three grades of sneakers, and they follow this progression over time: The first are ones that can be worn in public. The second are ones good for mowing the lawn and working in the garden. And the third, dedicated solely (no pun intended) to river walking.

The ultimate leisure activity is, of course, kicking back in a hammock or in a lawn or deck chair and just watching the world go by.

For active leisure, we paddle—and if you choose your body of water right (especially at low-water time of summer), there’s plenty of wading involved!

Note to river walkers: We now have to be careful about spreading things like “rock snot” and invasive plants/critters between waterways, with our shoes and boots as well as boats.

Nothing beats a hot,hazy summer day than an evening river walk. A call to the dog, and we’re off, walking up the road and then down into the Kennebago River. Splashing along, hearing coyotes calling,evening birdsong, the river itself. The day melts away, your mind settles and relaxes. And I never see another soul.

Hey Veronica, check out this article from our summer 2009 edition: http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/the_buzz_on_pollination. If you are still confused, send us a pic!