Site Discussions

I want to thank Dave for addressing this issue from an appropriately objective point of view.  All of the (justified) buzz around exotic and invasive pests, the parallel with chestnut blight, wooly adelgid, beech scale nectria, zebra muscles, alewife, honeysuckle, rock snot other insects and diseases is too stark to ignore.  This is an opportunity to be proactive and not reactive in regards to the balance in our environment and home. On this issue we have a chance to be smart to ensure that we and our land are not victims of a lack of foresight.

I am writing a children’s book, and wish to include information on the extended life of trees though recycling, extracting, etc.  Discoveries such as the used for scotch pine bark extracts, are exactly the eye opening kinds of knowledge I mean to share/incorporate.  These discoveries and their potential are incredible and so natural.  I enjoyed reading your article.  Thanks.

You need not to worry a wolf will not bother a human. The only way you would have a problem is if you corner it. As for your goats and type of canine you need to watch for. Let’s forget the fairy tales of wolves are just that, a fairy tale.

His explanation about is not correct. The reasons for the summers being moister in New Hampshire than Wyoming have nothing to do with proximity to the coast, since summers are also drier on the Pacific Northwest coast and every place else in the west. I could go into the climatology, but I’ll focus on treeline. The answer is which elevation results in a minimum winter temperature of -40C. That is the temperature that causes ice to form in plant cells and kills trees. Because of the arctic fronts that move down from Canada, those temperatures occur more in the Northeast than the west. It takes one rising to 10,000 feet in Wyoming to routinely achieve those temperatures.

By the way, treeline is only 5,000 feet in mild Washington, where temperatures rarely drop below 0F even in the mountains. Why? Huge deep snowpacks that bury trees till July.

I’m looking for white ash to turn into baseball bats. My son and I are looking for a niche in the market as quality bats hand turned from Maine.

Diameter limit cutting and its more common relative, high-grading, come with impacts landowners should understand.  UMass Extension recently developed a pamphlet about high-grading based on the scientific research surrounding diameter-limit cutting to help inform landowner decisions.  To see a PDF of the pamphlet, visit: http://www.masswoods.net/pdf/High_Grade_Harvesting.pdf.  Send email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you would like hard copies.

How do game birds like prairie hens reduce the amount of ticks in the east? I think the increased bird kill years have a rebound affect on the number of ticks.  What do you think?  Do you have any data on this? Patricia

So, THAT’s why I have such a hard time getting up in the morning!

Why would you consider the 24-hour day modern, Graham? My understanding is that this math has been around and approved for centuries.

Do teach.

I’d guess all of those things, Kimmie. Or at least 3 of 4. Snowpack certainly would have an effect (more snow means longer snow means colder soil). Cooler ambient air temperature certainly contributes. I’d buy the thinner soil argument, based on the fact there’s not as much insulating detritus to stave off hard frost. I’m not sure about moisture, though.

Stay Away from Shaver Outdoor Boilers

These morons have been jerking me around on my order since July 2008, after paying a $1,500 deposit. The boiler was supposed to be delivered in September 2008, here we are approaching December 2008 and no boiler. Their customer service is non-existent. Ben is available to take your order & deposit, but try to get someone on the phone or by e-mail after that. Mission impossible!

I canceled my order with Shaver and went with a Natures Comfort 250. Natures Comfort distribution network to dealers is great, response time at the factory or the dealer was immediate. You can talk to a real person! Shaver Wood boilers - never ever again!!!!!!

Why does it take longer at treeline for the soil to warm up? Is it a difference in the soil? Soil moisture? Snowpack? Air temperature?

We decided not to build, but to restore an 1880 farmhouse 10 years ago. We soon learned that the 1975 oil boiler was about 70% efficient and consumed 1700 gallons per year.  At $4.60 per gallon (which is a little cheaper than most liberal dems like to see it), would cost us $7,000.00 plus per year. The new e-classic OWB will use around 8 cord per year at $225.00.  It is not your daddy’s OWB and was pricey but you do the math! Get serious! is there any form of energy liberals would be accepting of! You name, and they will find fault with it! I’m just waiting to find out how I will be punished for this purchase, probably a phony global warming wood tax under!

I was very pleased to come across this article on the Resilience Science blog.

I’m very impressed with this program and hope to use it as a case-study in my current research taking place in Otaki, a small village in the mountains of central Japan. 

The village owns about 2,600 hectares of forestland, but is struggling economically and having a difficult time finding funds for management.  Ecologically, things are getting bad—habitat conversion has made wildlife pestilence rampant.

But, I was encouraged to see this article.  Thank you.

You can read more about Otaki and its forests at my blog: In the Pines.

“.................OR SOME OTHER FACTOR”

I have been trying to get a quantitative academic answer to the question “Do bees suffer from circadian disruption?”. So far I cannot get a definitive answer. Does anyone know if bees suffer from “jet lag” caused by the modern 24 hour day?

This is causing severe problems for many species. It is suppressing melatonin production in humans. The 24 hour day is maybe killing off Life On Earth? Are bees suffering as well? Does anyone know? Does anyone care?

For those who read the comments about it costing $10,000 to install and purchase a OWB and were horrified, no worries. Check eBay, that poster obviously has no common sense or simple mechanical knowledge to be able to hook one of these up. Second although firewood may cost “$300” for a cord it is obvious this person has never considered cutting it themselves.

First comment would be, where are you getting your numbers on a cord of dry firewood?? $150 yeah, maybe 15 years ago!! Let’s start with true numbers, say $300 for dry, $250 for seasoned, and $225 for green. Those are real numbers in northern NH.

From Shari Halik, formerly a butternut researcher at University of Vermont:

You can definitely eat the butternuts if you can get to them before the squirrels do!  I’m sure there is info out there on drying and cracking and recipes. 

You can also plant the nuts, but again you have to make sure the squirrels don’t dig them up.  I’ve heard of people using wire mesh or even cow manure to fend off the squirrels!  Sometimes the nuts take a couple years to germinate.  They do need a period of stratification, or cold (refrigerator temperature) and moist, before they will germinate, which they naturally get outdoors in the winter.  When using butternut seed in my research projects, I kept the nuts in moist peat moss in a cooler for 3 months and then planted the nuts 1-2 inches beneath soil in pans.  As they germinated, I transplanted the seedlings to individual tubes or pots.  When transplanting the seedlings to the field, they struggled, but butternut seedlings are pretty hardy.  I have several coming up on my property in Vermont and also have a couple mature trees that haven’t been infected by the canker fungus.  I’m not sure how long they will remain healthy, but there is always hope.  If you have a lot of nuts, I would try different things, dry some, keep some moist in a refrigerator over the winter, plant some this fall, plant some in the spring. 

Good luck!

I have black walnut and butternut trees in my yard. I would like to grow more and save the butternut. I do not think they are sick. Please help me to know how to grow more.

There’s a picture of two walking sticks in this article, and the caption says “This pair of walking sticks rests on a sumac flower.”  Well, they may not be moving much, but they’re certainly doing more than resting!

I have 200 plus nuts from my tree and was wondering what to do with them. Can I start new trees from the nut, eat them etc.?