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Dave Mance III
You do this job long enough and you turn into Andy Rooney, I've decided, which is to say that you slowly become some crotchety old guy who gets mad at the news and wants to tell everyone about it. I ran the theory by my partner and she suggested that maybe crotchetiness is instead related to the length of a man's eyebrow hair...
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This month's photos showed, at long last, the woods waking up. Amphibians mated in vernal pools, bees ventured from their hives and bright green ramps popped up among the brown, snow-flattened leaves. Meanwhile, a chickadee gathered nesting material, a boy explored a flooded stream, and a daughter enlisted her forester-dad to release and prune some apple trees. Spring has sprung.
Our next gallery will be published in early June. Submit your May 2015 photos on the gallery page.
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Tim Traver
There are times when fish appear telepathic. Consider the uncanny way a school of bait fish moves as one to avoid a predator, or the way goldfish in their lighted bowl turn towards the glass when someone walks into the dark room. Researchers often describe this ability as "touch-from-a-distance."...
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Russ Cohen
Scratch and then sniff a black or yellow birch twig, and the pleasant aroma will likely put a smile on your face. What you are smelling is oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate). This chemical compound is present in the inner bark in both species, although typically to a greater degree in black birch...
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An animal was eating the bark near the crown of this sumac tree. What kind of animal was 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 one of our Season's Main Events Day Calendars. 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, May 13, 2015.
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Congratulations to our winner Joan Ray! Joan receives a Season's Main Events Day Calendar.
We'll try to make this the last WITWIT photo of the season with snow in it. At least the white background makes things clearer! Can you identify the sources of this scat (from left to right)?
NW Answer:
(Left to right): Deer, rabbit, porcupine.
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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
Animal antics: a cappuccino-loving coyote in Manhattan, fish that can't handle the cold in Lake Champlain, a spider that serves itself for dinner, and a barn owl that's mastered air-to-air combat. A science (fiction?) update: Faking photosynthesis in an artificial forest, and manipulating genes to make trees grow faster. Next up, the medical report: Wood fibers that can capture harmful viruses and maple syrup that can improve antibiotics. Now, for the rest of the news: The melting ice makes for clear water in the Great Lakes, while California's quest for water is sinking the state (literally). A plumbing mystery has been solved in Yellowstone. "De-extinction" is a big deal: A manual to building a mammoth.
INDUSTRY
Apple trees: The computer giant buys 36,000-acres of forest, some of it in Maine. The U.S./Canada softwood lumber deal is set to expire. Maple syrup bootleggers are circumventing the Canadian cartels. New York State acquires a 6,200-acre parcel in the Adirondacks, and helps fund trail repairs in the Park. Vermont studies forest fragmentation. Also in Vermont, a long-time woodworker is honored. And these tips come from Minnesota, but are helpful for anyone doing some spring tree planting.
STORIES YOU'VE SHARED
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Vermont is in the midst of spring planting as part of the largest elm tree restoration project in the Northeast. Christian Marks, a TNC ecologist, has been developing new Dutch elm disease tolerant strains at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. These new strains will be planted in floodplains by TNC staff, the NorthWoods Stewardship Center of Charleston, and volunteers throughout Vermont. Upcoming planting days include: May 4 at Willoughby Falls Wildlife Management Area, Orleans on the Barton River, South Bay WMA, Coventry on the Black River; May 6 at John Farm WMA, Canaan and Lemington; and May 14 at White River Ledges Natura Area in Pomfret on the White River. For more information, contact Eve Frankel via email or at 802-229-4425 x101.
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