Site Discussions

I expect a post hunt update, Dave.

Brad from Charlevoix? How do I hook my hot tub up to my wood burner? I know I can do it, just can’t find instructions on how? ;o)

All of Vicky’s comments are nullified by the fact that she thinks global warming is true.  It is the biggest crock in the history of man kind. Yes some of the early OWB built in peoples garages put off a lot of smoke.  My OWB puts off so little smoke that I have to check it periodically to make sure it is still on.  And it always has been.  I could use old cars as a case for why we should outlaw cars because of the pollution they put off, but that would be as unintelligent as your reasoning seeing the modern cars emissions have been totally revamped.  Also just an FYI even without reduced OWB emissions, burning wood is carbon neutral as a log decaying in the woods puts off as much of a carbon foot print as if it were burned.  So either way it is the same.  All the liberal power-hungry people in government want to find more ways to regulate, so when ignorant people cry and whine about a practice that is as old as the world (burning wood for heat) they jump on the regulation band wagon.  Very sad.

Visit my site for new information on insect outbreaks.  I would be interested in your comments as I am not quite sure that I am right in my evaluation of the cause of outbreaks.  My site is loneresearcher.blogspot.com.

Thank you

I would encourage the burning of wood, and do…BUT…responsibly. A simple test of ANY wood burning appliance, to see if it is efficiently burning ...is…if a lighted rag or torch is placed at the outlet of the chimney, and IF the smoke burns, you have less than complete combustion. NOW, in practice, this may result in a chimney fire OR explosion in the flue/chimney. The point is, 30+% of the available energy in dry/seasoned wood is in the gaseous volatiles produced from the initial burning process. Hence, who in their right mind would buy a tank of gas and then pour a 1/3 of it on the ground..???

As I have info on combustion, your OWB should be refractory/brick lined in the initial combustion chamber, and the ‘after’ chamber, or secondary. The stack should be at least 12ft minimum in height…AND…insulated. That allows the unburnt gases to be emitted to the atmosphere…albeit…annoying and rude to any neighbor within 1/3 mile of your installation…downwind.  And, another thing is tending the unit, cleaning often, checking the auto-controls, etc, etc.  The smoke should not be ‘biting, or rancid, or foul’ , but the sweet smell of properly burned wood.

Hi Chris,

We are still moving forward. This year we conducted a test in TN and the preliminary results look promising!

Scott Costa .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Jeff- I’m not sure that’s correct either. I grew up in interior Alaska where temps went well below -40C and treeline is higher than along the coast which has a more moderate temperature. My guess would be it’s a combo of minimum temp, summer temp, moisture and wind that determines elevation of treeline.

Vicky - just wanted to let you know that the Globe has been consistently cooling for the past 10 years and now some of the major atmospheric researchers believe we may be in for a mini ice age.  Global Warming has been a big money grab since it was manufactured.  Although if it is true and the earth is cooling we should encourage everyone to use outdoor wood boilers to SAVE THE EARTH.

I totally agree with Carolyn. She articulated the position perfectly.  I am an animal lover, volunteer at a wildlife rehab center and rarely eat meat for health purposes. If I were to eat meat, I would much prefer to eat an animal that has lived a normal life and eaten a natural diet as opposed to eating an animal that has experienced the cruel confinement of feedlots, has eaten an unnatural diet of corn, chemicals and antibiotics all the while living knee deep in its own excrement and then subjected to the cruelest methods of slaughter. A skilled hunter affords the deer a much more humane and respectful death than our meat industry.

I come from the protected, sanitized suburbs, raised to abhor the killing of anything for any reason (meanwhile virtuously buying my meat in plastic wrap at the supermarket). When we moved to rural Vermont, one of our first social events was the arrival of two deer hunters at our door, politely requesting permission to cross our land to access their regular hunting grounds. The next spring, another one arrived to request same for hunting turkey.

Predictably, I was appalled, but, as a stranger in a strange land, I bowed to their courtesy and returned it. (After all, these were armed men and we live in a remote location. Who knows what could happen if we angered them?)

But these hunters have returned every year for more than a decade to politely repeat their request, in the process becoming friendly acquaintances and teaching us much about the land and animals surrounding us. They have also brought us meat.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, we have seen jerks in pickup trucks swilling beer, shooting out the windows, and trespassing without qualm. We have found deer carcasses and body parts lying discarded in back corners of other people’s property. I suspect that these folks have formed many non-hunters’ notion of hunting.

While I, personally, find the idea of shooting and dressing an animal revolting, I’ve learned to accommodate it in others. After all, that’s how our forebears survived. And it seems that serious hunters are not only respectful—if not reverential—toward animals and the natural world, they also are honorable toward people and clean up after themselves. They hunt for the challenge of tracking; the intimate experience with the wilderness; and to put food on the table.

Given that the human population has seriously squeezed the animal population into smaller and smaller habitats, overpopulation is definitely a problem “out there” where predators no longer cull the herd. The state agencies responsible for wildlife management carefully monitor and calculate a species’ status and adjust hunting allotments accordingly. In the suburbs, where hunting is impossible, wildlife have become nuisances and disease carriers. Population management is vastly more difficult, and serious accidents on roadways vastly more common.

So I no longer sympathize with townies who romanticize wildlife and blanketly condemn hunting. My ongoing ties with the suburbs and city have shown me over and over that the average resident is clueless about the natural world and cannot speak from direct experience. I wonder if their opinions would change if they were hungry… or if a wild animal took out their pet, or ravaged their garden. Or if they couldn’t call an exterminating service to make squirrels, mice, skunks, and raccoons go away…

I was in the Allegheny National Forest, North West Pennsylvania back in the mid 80’s. We found this plant in abundance in the forest. We used it to mark trails at night because of it slight glowing effect.

I can’t find recipes anywhere for butternuts. Can you help me find at least one recipe if not more? Thank You

There are people out there who will not be happy till we are once again rolling in our own filth like animals.

Don’t try and reason with that type. Theirs is a faith based religion, not logic.

I have a tree farm.  Need to know how much white pine is now.

I am pleased to find a word that describes the feeling Dave describes, which I know so well.

But . . . how do you pronounce it? “Swuh-DA-day”?

I think I have some serious infestation of a Norway maple tree in my yard. Small, perfectly round holes on one third of the bark/trunk from knee level up to 9 ft. I think today I see a small, reddish-looking insect (beetle) in one of the holes. Lots of sawdust on the ground and lots of bark peeling away. How do I know what kind of infestation I have and what to do. Whom to call? Help!  Jenny

Mr. Mance has done it again to me. No one can make me “feel” the written word like he can. This story makes me feel “saudade.” I wish he would publish a book of his short stories. I’m sure it would be my favorite book. Thanks Dave.

Thanks for the behind the scenes glimpse of what goes on in the editors room. Sorting out passionate opinion from crackpot observation isn’t always easy. In the example given, I think you made the correct decision not to publish. Northern Woodlands is a fine publication and I for one would not like to see it turn into an editorial free-for-all.

I finally identified this plant in our restored prairie and wetland.  The unusual thing is that it is in a heavily disturbed area that was completely replanted with prairie plants and was upland and fairly dry.  It had no trees associated with it, but perhaps there was dead wood that it was growing on.  It was June when I saw it, and then it was lost as the larger plants grew around it.

More years ago than I like to admit, I grew up on a farm in central Maine. We heated exclusively with hardwood that we cut from our woodlot. Being that it was an old, uninsulated farmhouse it took around 14 cords to make it through the winter. I’ve got to tell you, I never laid an eye on a splitting maul until after I left to go out on my own. My father preferred,what he called,a pole axe. The trick was to always split the wood when it was frozen and not to strike the wood straight on(that results in the axe being stuck in the wood). A slight twist of the wrists resulted in the blade hitting at a slight angle and popped the wood apart. After many, many years of using a splitting machine, I helped a friend hand split a pile of wood a couple of years ago. He was using a maul and I used an axe as my father taught me. He was amazed that I was twice as fast as he was with the maul. To be fair,we were both fifty something and that axe was a lot easier to swing!