CNWE Green Header Image Bar
Newsletter
June 13, 2014
In This Issue
Editor's Blog
What In The Woods?
Last Week's Contest Answer
Northern Woodlands News
Quick Links

the hiker EDITOR'S BLOG
The Hiker
Dave Mance III       

 

Red and Georgia were sitting on the lip of a Long Trail lean-to together, while the rest of us were massed on a nearby picnic table eating lunch. Red was a 20-something Irish-looking kid with a kind face. Georgia was his mutt dog; piebald and floppy-eared...

 

owl pellets THE OUTSIDE STORY 

Owl Pellets: Down the Hatch and Back Again                  

Leah Burdick                                              

 

"She's so cute!" a little girl coos to the snowy white owl. The owl blinks languidly, ignoring her admirer. No doubt she is used to human attention, as she is one of the more popular raptors housed at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science Nature Center (VINS) in Quechee, Vermont...

 

Full Article Text
butterflies

Giant Butterflies Moving North  

Susan Shea                                               

 

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a...? In September of 2012, I spied something fluttering wildly on the lavender phlox in front of my house. At first I thought it was a hummingbird, but as I moved closer I discovered it was a huge butterfly...

 

Full Article Text

rusty riddle

It's metal, it's rusty, and it's hollow. This is a section of a longer piece found in the woods in southern Vermont. What is it?

   

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 our next e-newsletter. 

 


This week's contest deadline is 8:00 AM, Wednesday, June 25, 2014.
mystery Previous Contest Answer

Congratulations to our winner Michaeline Mulvey of Bowdoin, ME! Michaeline receives a copy of our book, The Outside Story.

 

 

Red petals decorate the forest floor in Windham County, Vermont, on Memorial Day weekend. What are they?                    


NW Answer:

Diana Todd sent along the photo. She reports that they look like flower petals but are, in fact, leaf bracts from a black cherry. Here's a second photograph showing an unshed leaf bract at the base of newly budded leaves.
leaf bract 

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

NW Woodpecker logo NORTHERN WOODLANDS NEWS

Our cup runneth over. Actually, our inbox spilleth over. Either way, we have a lot of interesting news stories that cross our desks. Here were some of our favorites:


NATURE

Some good news: New England's lakes are bouncing back from acid rain and restored floodplain forests in the Midwest are improving water quality in the Gulf of Mexico. And some that's not so good: A new report looks at the future threats posed by nonnative insects and pathogens, and emerald ash borer has been found in New Jersey. Through the marvels of technology, there are now apps to help you if you get lost in the woods and to keep track of roadkill. It turns out that Lyme disease has been around longer than humans, and even rabbits need a little help breeding sometimes. Finally, keeping things all bottled up doesn't seem so harmful after all.

INDUSTRY

Demand may be high and supply may be low, so get your firewood now. Plum Creek Timber Company is profiled amid an improving housing market, while the news isn't as good with Maine's paper markets. Atomic energy might be making way for wood in Vermont. Holland is on the cutting edge of biomass heating, while salvaged lumber is being pulled from the Seekonk River. D-Day has been in the news lately, but here's a World War II story you may not know about: "The Women's Mill."

Stories You've Shared

Brian Theriault wrote to let us know about a new book he wrote with his 91-year-old father, Edmond. Leaving Tracks: A Maine Tradition explains how to make traditional snowshoes out of brown ash trees. Email Brian if you'd like to order a copy.

We Welcome Your Questions and Comments
Postal Address:
Northern Woodlands
1776 Center Road
P.O. Box 471
Corinth, VT  05039
Toll-Free: (800) 290-5232
Phone: (802) 439-6292
Fax: (802) 368-1053
Email: [email protected]
General inquiries form

Top of Page
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.