Green Sexy

When Camping, Don't Bring Firewood From Home!

Here's an alert that I received from Reserve America:

Firewood Alert: Don't Move Firewood! (New Regulation as of June 2008)

Dear New York Park & Campground Visitor, A new regulation is now in effect that prohibits the import of firewood into New York unless it has been kiln-dried. The new regulation also limits the transportation of untreated firewood to less than 50 miles from its source. Bringing your firewood with you? Most people don't realize they move bugs along with their firewood. You could be spreading diseases from insect invaders that can quickly kill large numbers of trees. Our forests are at risk from the transport of firewood infested with tree killers. Help protect our campgrounds and STOP THE SPREAD of these pests. Leave firewood at home - do not transport it to campgrounds or parks. Use only firewood from local sources. If you bring firewood, burn ALL of it before leaving your campsite. For more information on the regulation go to: www.dec.ny.gov (search word: firewood). The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation manage state parks with island camping, tent and trailer camping, boat launches, hiking trails, beaches and day use areas with picnic tables and grills. So, when camping, buy your firewood from local merchants and private residents.  You can buy a decent bundle of campwood for about $5, which should get you through a good night's campfire.  Anyways, the wood you don't bring in your car is all the more room you'll have to pack your camping gear and accessories!

Are Daddy-Long-Legs Spiders or What?

The other day I was driving to work and upon peering up at the visor, I saw the spindly legs of a Daddy-Long-Legs creep over the edge.  Let's just say that I'm not, nor have ever been crazy about these creatures---I mean, they have those long, impossibly thin, constantly probing legs, and that tiny football body---they're just plain freaky!  Well, I spent the whole half-hour drive blowing puffs of air at this creature every time it tried to venture onto my side of the visor, nearly causing an accident a couple of times.

Now, I've heard before that Daddy-Long-Legs, otherwise known as Harvestmen, are not spiders at all.   Well, they are arachnids (in the order Opiliones), but they have only one body segment (the football!), whereas spiders have two.  According to the June 2007 issue of the New York State Conservationist, Harvestmen "are omnivores that hunt small insects, scavenge on decaying material, or feed on plant juices.  They do not have venom, but can produce a foul smelling scent."   Also, unlike spiders, Harvestmen have no silk glands.   There's this urban legend that the Harvestman is one of the most venomous spiders in the world and could easily kill a man, but their fangs can't penetrate human skin.  Well, they have no venom, so that's phooey. Harvestmen are often times confused with the Cellar Spider, which are also referred to as Daddy-Long-Legs, but Cellar Spiders live in your house and are traditional spiders.  If you've ever seen the recently disembodied legs of a Harvestman, you'll notice a good amount of post-mortem twitching.  It's theorized that the twitching keeps the attention of a predator so that the remainder of the Harvestman can escape.  Some species of Harvestmen have legs that will twitch for up to an hour after being plucked from their bodies!  Yuck!  Another disturbing aspect to the Harvestman is the fact that multitudes of Harvestmen like to congregate together to have a little harvest festival or something, and form a huge pulsating mass of legs and beady little bodies! 

So what did I do with the Harvestman who tormented me on my ride to work?  What I always do with them:  I grabbed it by one of its legs and flung it as far away from me as I could.  I may dislike these creatures, but I will not kill them.  The Harvestman lives on to harvest another day!

Can You Canoe?

Every year my friends Mark & Jake organize a canoe trip on the Ischua Creek in Ischua, NY.  Some years there have been over 30 people camping at this event; and whether you're an experienced outdoorsman or a novice, all can partake in the joys of canoeing.  For those who don't have their own canoe, my friends have an arrangement with the Boy Scouts to loan a number of their canoes for all to enjoy (thanks, guys)!
Our paddling guide Take A Paddle rates the Ischua Creek as a four out of four paddles (the highest difficulty rating) for "fast current, sharp turns, and a few portages around downed trees", though we found that most of the creek is an easy and relaxing paddle.

What are the benefits of the sport of canoeing?  First of all, there are the physical benefits:  it's a great work out for the back, shoulders, arms, hands and the core muscles.  Secondly, canoeing has a therapeutic effect on the mind, getting you out on the water amidst nature, seeing things from a vantage point that those on the trails or on the road can never see.  Third, it's a way to engage in a sport that has no environmental impact---once you're in the water, it's all you: your muscles, your effort, your skill, your mind!

So, if you're interested in trying out this fun sport, make sure to go out with someone who has canoed before, and try out your skills on some still water, such as a pond or a small lake.  Then when your appetite for adventure is really whetted, get out on a creek or river and let the current take you where it may!

 

The Brazil Nut Tree: An Amazing Arbor Day Story

What follows is an amazing Arbor Day story...

The show Nature: Deep Jungle on PBS discussed, among many fascinating topics, the amazing story of the Brazil nut tree. 

You may enjoy eating Brazil nuts and you may be consuming them because of their health benefits, but you may not know that it is a miracle that Brazil nuts even make it into our mouths.  First of all, the fruit of the Brazil nut tree, which contains up to twelve Brazil nuts, weighs up to 5 pounds and falls from the treetop (Brazil nut trees grow to be 200 feet tall) at 50 miles per hour.  The fruit is incredibly hard, and it appears that it would be impossible for any animal to crack this shell, so how does this tree propogate?  Also, "it wasn't clear why only (Brazil nut) trees in undisturbed forests bear fruit."  This last point is very important, for this fact prevents Brazil nut harvesters from clear cutting the forest around the Brazil nut trees, lest they want to endanger this $50 million dollar a year crop. 

Anyway, returning to the mystery of what animal could crack the seemingly impervious shell of the Brazil nut tree's fruit, scientists discovered that the agouti, a guinea-pig-like animal, has extremely strong jaws with razor-sharp teeth that can penetrate the shell.  Without the this one animal, the Brazil nut would perish, which goes to show the delicate balance of the rain forest.

Also, the Brazil nut tree can ony produce fruit in undisturbed forests because of an amazing an unlikely interplay between bees and orchids.  As intimated on the Nature site:

"Orchid bees visit flowering Brazil nut trees to collect nectar; as they buzz about feeding, the bees inadvertently carry pollen from tree to tree, fertilizing the flowers and helping the trees produce nuts. For the bees to survive, however, the males must attract mates, and to do that, the male bees need fragrance from a particular orchid to attract female bees. If the forest is damaged and the orchids disappear, so will the bees -- and the Brazil nuts."

This is such an amazing tale of symbiosis and goes to show that if you destroy or negatively impact one aspect of an ecosystem, you will affect some seemingly unrelated part of that ecosystem.

So, if you can, try to plant a tree on this Arbor Day, or at least take some time to enjoy these majestic beauties.