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Newsletter
March 8, 2013
In This Issue
Editor's Blog
The Outside Story
What In The Woods?
Last Week's Contest Answer
Northern Woodlands News
Quick Links

black syrup EDITOR'S BLOG
Dispatch From The Sugarwoods
Dave Mance III   

 

When sugarmakers talk to each other about how their season is going, they don't generally talk about how many gallons of syrup they've made because that number doesn't mean much without context. Someone with 100 taps who makes 50 gallons of syrup in a season had a smashing year; someone with 10,000 who makes 500 gallons had a terrible one...

   

sapstreak disease THE OUTSIDE STORY 

Intruder in the Sugarbush: Sapstreak Disease      

Virginia Barlow             

 

On a walk through a still, snowy sugarbush, the peacefulness can be overwhelming; everything looks to be in good order. But all may not be as perfect as it seems. In any sugarbush, there is a good chance that a fungal intruder has gained entry and is wintering unseen beneath the rich, dark bark of an unlucky sugar maple...

 

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muskrat
THE OUTSIDE STORY ARCHIVE FEATURE

In Homes on Ice, Muskrats Endure the Season         

Michael J. Caduto              

 

In early March, when many cold-weary souls head south for a late winter respite, others spend their days in toasty ice-fishing shacks on still-frozen ponds and on the bays of quiet rivers. They have company...

 

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mystery item WHAT IN THE WOODS IS THAT?
Our Biweekly Guessing Game!

This is a piece of antique maple sugarmaking equipment (coffee cup is for scale). What was it used for?

   

Every other week we run a photo of something unusual found in the woods. Guess what it is and you'll be eligible to win a copy of The Outside Story, a paperback collection of our Outside Story newspaper columns. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner's name, will appear in next week's column. 

 


This week's contest deadline is 8:00 AM, Wednesday, March 20, 2013.
specks Previous Contest Answer

Congratulations to our winner Jane Schlossberg of Saint George, VT! Jane receives a copy of our book, The Outside Story.

If Sting saw this photo, he'd likely sing, "There are little black specks on the snow today." What are those black specks? Photo by Jenna Gersie.


NW Answer: Springtails, also known as snow fleas.


Springtails are tiny, harmless arthropods that feed in soil and leaf litter - sometimes making their way into houseplants. When snow begins to thaw in winter, springtails make their way up to the snow's surface and can be found massing by the thousands. These arthropods can crawl, but by folding the furcula (a forked structure) on their back end, they can push off the ground and jump a short distance.

This week's winner is Jane Schlossberg, who said, "They are most abundantly seen when the temperature rises a bit, often around the bases of trees and where there are depressions such as footprints. In the latter, they can be so plentiful, that they appear as a gray shadow in the snow; only when you get on your hands and knees for closer inspection, you see the constant hopping about."

  

 Visit our What In The Woods Is That? contest archive.

NW Woodpecker logo NORTHERN WOODLANDS NEWS

Here's a list of upcoming events and festivals celebrating all things maple in the Northeast.

Hebron Maple Festival, March 9 & 10

Hebron, Connecticut, hosts its 23rd annual Maple Festival, featuring maple demonstrations, sugarhouse tours, historic church tours, woodworking and wood-turning demonstrations, blacksmiths, a tractor parade, crafts, birds of prey, maple cotton candy, and more. The event hub is the town center, where routes 66 and 85 intersect. For more information, click here.

New York Maple Weekend, March 16 & 17 and March 23 & 24

The New York State Maple Producers Association invites everyone to learn about the production of maple syrup and other related products. Maple producers will demonstrate how to make syrup, both by boiling the sap over an open fire or running it through modern equipment. Click here for information on event locations.

New Hampshire Maple Weekend, March 23 & 24

More than 60 sugarhouses across the state will participate in this open house weekend. Visit a sugarhouse near you and learn how maple syrup is made and the modern methods used to carry on this ancient tradition. Enjoy free samples, horse-drawn rides, sugar on snow, pancake breakfasts, and more. For a list of participating sugarhouses click here.

Vermont Open House Weekend, March 23-24
 
Vermont sugarhouses and some restaurants will open their doors so the public can watch maple syrup being made. For a list of sugarhouses, click here.

Lunenburg 8th Maple Festival, March 23

All are welcome to Sugaring Time, the Lunenburg, Vermont, 8th Maple Festival, which includes demonstrations of tree tapping on the Town Common, local sugarhouse tours, pancake breakfast, a photo contest, pie contest, scavenger hunt, meatloaf supper, and much more. The event's hub is the Lunenberg Primary School on Bobbin Mill Road. Click here for more information.

Maine Maple Sunday, March 24

The Maine Maple Producers Association presents Maine Maple Sunday when sugarhouses throughout the state will offer free maple syrup samples and demonstrations, and many farms will offer games, activities, treats, sugarbush tours, and music. Maine Maple Sunday is always the fourth Sunday in March, although some sugarhouses are offering events for both Saturday and Sunday. See a complete map and list of sugarhouses, and be sure to read the description of each to know what times they will be open and the activities offered.

Massachusetts Maple

While the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association let us know it does not schedule a specific maple event in March for the public, many of the state's sugarhouses are open to visitors and for tours. Please call ahead to inquire. See a listing of houses here.  
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The mission of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education is to advance a culture of forest stewardship in the Northeast and to increase understanding of and appreciation for the natural wonders, economic productivity and ecological integrity of the region's forests. Our programs give people the information they need to help build a sustainable future for our region. Through Northern Woodlands magazine, the Northern Woodlands Goes to School program, and special publications, we make a difference in how people care for their land.