Discover More from This Category: The Outside Story
The Outside Story: Sneaky ducks and scrambled eggs
March 19, 2015
By Carolyn Lorié If you peek into a wood duck nesting box during the breeding cycle, you might find 10 to 11 eggs, which is the bird’s normal clutch size. But you might also stumble upon a box overflowing with as many as 30 eggs. How, you might ask, can one duck lay and care…
The Outside Story: Nothing rotten about deadwood
March 12, 2015
By Joe Rankin A guy down the road has been working in his woods for the last couple of years. He’s cleaning them up-—and I mean cleaning. He cuts the underbrush, takes out the dead trees, the downed logs, the dead branches. Okay, I confess. The neatnik in me is envious. Part of me would…
The Outside Story: Positioning a game camera for best results
March 4, 2015
By Janet Pesaturo My town had the job of removing a dead beaver from a culvert pipe cage, a rather sad and odorous affair, but also an opportunity. I alerted the usual suspects–there’s nothing like a rotting carcass to bring camera trappers together–and we moved the body into the woods and set up a few…
Porcupines waddling through winter
February 25, 2015
By Steven D. Faccio The porcupine is one of the most recognizable mammals in the North Woods. And thanks to its short legs and fat body, it’s also one of the slowest. Of course, a porcupine really has little need for anything faster than first gear, since its quills provide excellent protection from most predators.…