![]() |
This morning in the tamarack. |
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Porcupine Day
Monday, November 28, 2022
Betsy's Gift
![]() |
Betsy and her mouse. |
![]() |
Awww Monday at Comedy Plus |
1. | 3. | |
5. | ||
7. | 8. | 9. |
10. | 11. | 12. |
13. | 14. | |
16. | 17. | |
21. | ||
22. | 23. | 24. |
26. | 27. | |
29. | 30. | |
31. | 32. | 33. |
35. |
Sunday, November 27, 2022
November Almanac
![]() |
Northern Shrike |
![]() |
Keystone plants and soft landings Heather Holm |
![]() |
American Mink |
![]() |
Snowshoe hare tracks |
![]() |
Chanterelle |
![]() |
Chanterelles |
![]() |
John cooking up his chanterelles. |
![]() |
Green turkey tails |
![]() |
Blue turkey tails |
![]() |
Orange and brown turkey tails |
![]() |
Blue and brown turkey tails |
![]() |
A tree covered in turkey tails |
![]() |
Christmas Fern sori |
![]() |
Rock Polypody |
Rock Polypody
![]() |
Oriental Bittersweet |
Oriental Bittersweet
Sunday Dog Selfies
![]() |
Lucy awaits her cookie. |
![]() |
So calm! |
![]() |
Sunday Selfies at The Cat on My Head |
_/\_/\_
Saturday, November 26, 2022
Caturday Art iPhone Fun
![]() |
A poorly lit portrait of Betsy on iPhone |
![]() |
Background removed |
![]() |
That's better. But I couldn't recover her beautiful eye color. It's also a bit green. |
![]() |
Caturday Art at Athena Cat Goddess |
_/\_/\_
Pesky Porcupines
![]() |
Porcupine as seen from backdoor Barton Mountain ridgeline in the back |
![]() |
Digital zoom; eye is visible despite snow and handheld shake |
![]() |
More digital zoom; underbelly and claws visible |
![]() |
Fisher (Pekania pennanti) (c) Jeff Hullstrung |
![]() |
Lucy is watching the porcupine shown above in the tree. |
![]() |
I had my measuring tape with me, but it did not work! |
![]() |
Saturday's Critters at Viewing Nature with Eileen |
_/\_/\_
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
My Porcupine Clarity
![]() |
The two surviving cottonwoods at the edge of the bog and orchard. |
![]() |
Flakes of snow. |
The inner bark of tamaracks is edible and has many medicinal uses among Native Americans, among them, treating burns, wounds, inflammations and headaches. It’s also a favourite of porcupines.
From another "Tamarack Time" article (pdf), author unknown, from the US Forestry Service:
Tamarack habitats are used by a variety of wildlife species. It provides cover from summer heat for bear, deer and moose, but is browsed by relatively few species. Snowshoe hares feed on twigs and bark, and porcupines feed on the inner bark. Spruce grouse and sharp-tailed grouse eat the needles and buds. Ospreys nest in the dead trees. Red squirrels cut and store the cones. Mice and voles eat large numbers of the seeds off the ground.
I checked all of my archives for photos I may have captured of all of the "pests" of tamarack. I have not found one. But I did possibly find the cocoon of Hyalophora columbia, a rare silkmoth that loves tamaracks. I brought the cocoon inside to raise, but it never developed. But my daughter, Amelia, did find an adult in nearby Brownington at school. That was such an exciting day for both of us! It was also an extremely frustrating day since I have been searching for these for 20 years and she found one in her first bug hunting year.
![]() |
Columbia Silkmoth (Hyalophora columbia) |
I have also documented the Larch Tolype (Tolype laricis), whose host is tamarack. It's a beautiful fuzzy gray moth with a brillo-type haircut. It was my husband's favorite moth each season.
![]() |
Larch Tolype - Hodges#7673 (Tolype laricis) |
![]() |
Larch Tolype - Hodges#7673 (Tolype laricis) |
![]() |
How high will a porcupine go? |
![]() |
They love the main stem inner bark the most. |
![]() |
I still don't know how they got out on those small branches on the left. I read that many die from falling off trees. |