Site Discussions

I found out that the 10 acres I just bought is full of Black Birch.  Incredibly heavy, dense wood.  Didn’t know what it was until I looked it up later, but while I was chainsawing through a driveway, the smell was wonderful.  Got to love that fresh wintergreen scent.  I will be making use of it for several things for sure.

I found two of the beautiful ash borers on my deck on two different occasions last summer…in case anyone wants to know.  I live in the high country on the Dixville border.  If I see more this year I will not let them go!

Excellent article & beautiful work. Could not find contact or purchase info on his website. Can you help, Tom Seymour? Thank you, Ryan.

Nice to know about flowers and trees.

A big reason to plant a diversity of trees, both currently native and to-be-native.

My woodlot has quite a few 16” to 18” diameter high quality ash trees. The closest emerald ash borer infestation is over two hundred miles away. So far, I have no intention of cutting these trees while they are productive crop trees. Probably my main concern is a statewide restriction might render these trees without the value they promise now. I am under-planting black walnuts as an insurance towards the future.
I realize the insect could have already arrived at a truck stop on the New York Thruway within twenty miles and just hasn’t been discovered yet.
In regard to saving maple over ash, the Asian long horned beetle is in Massachusetts now and may be heading towards us all as we write.

Where’s the line? There is no line. It’s a constantly fluctuating fuzzy boundary. All we can do is strive to have more people contribute to solutions than to problems.

As that idea relates to felt boots, if you want or need to use them, then invest the time and money to clean them properly every time. Eschew them if you don’t need them. Educate people to make the choice.

Legislation won’t solve the problem, though it will make a small dent in it because banning will stop some people from contributing to the spread of invasives. Other people will stick with their boots, spending energy to avoid getting caught with them. And how will enforcement work, anyway? A few Fish & Game Wardens might catch a few people. A few more signs will go up, warning people not to use them. So legislation can contribute but it will introduce new problems, just as all blanket bans do.

I got stung by the wood nettle in Louisianna and it left mesquito like bumps wherever it punctured the skin that itch.

I’m looking for sawmills to cut and take away 50+ ft of pine trees in/around my
area.

I thought your article was very helpful.  I have been working on an old orchard for a few years. All the apples are covered in vines and have useless trees growing all around them and through them. Lots of work still to be done and I will be using your tips to producing more fruit for my whitetail bucks.

Hi Jay,
I am interested in your story about the cougar(s). I am doing an independent study of alleged sightings of which many are from your general area. Please email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so I can get additional info for my database.
I saw a cougar cub in Belvidere, Vt in April 2005 and have been interested in them ever since. 
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Teri

Is there something that we can do to help the bats? Is building bat houses a way? I fear that without bats, we will have a bug infestation.
            Thank You
            Ford Geno

I’ve been monitoring the arrival of birds and blooms in my yard, along with general weather trends, for 12 years. And while, on one hand, spring this year manifested earlier than normal by about two weeks, on the other hand the birds and blooms always arrive with incredible consistency. This year the earlybirds followed the early spring, and the laterbirds arrived right on time.

According to my notes, migrant birds and perennial flowers/shrubs do their thing reliably within a two-week window—sometimes within a two-day window—every year. This is as true when it’s 80 degrees in April as it is when we still have a foot of snow on the ground in May.

What seems to matter most is temperature and wetness during pollination period. That can ruin the year’s mast crop, berry crop, and vegetable crop, with repercussions through subsequent seasons.

I am always dismayed during reportage of tragedies how infrequently anyone mentions their effect on flora and fauna. Focus is always about people and money.

Thanks for the info - great.

After the mushrooms have been picked, how do we propagate the next set of logs? Do we just cut the mycelium and put it in the new logs?

I have enjoyed this woman’s work ever since I saw “Pole Reflection”, and others, at the Portland Museum of Art, a few years back. Her ability to capture living water at near-calm conditions, and just that, “Ah…”, that we feel as Mainers, looking around our own state here, is evidence of a real gift.

More than all other artists, I often think of Sarah Knock when I see real-life landscapes—real-life images remind me of her work.

I am very sad to learn about this. Is there any good news about the northern forest these days?

Paddling is another sport where wood properties matter, both in the paddles and the boats. Here, too, composites are making inroads on tradition.

More about earthworms in the forest

Those are beautiful photographs.  Thanks for sharing them.