North American Porcupines in Maine

These photos are from an old post I made back in November, 2012. As we often see porcupines in the woods and crossing the trail in autumn, I thought I'd write about them now (and, for the fact that I just cannot get back in the woods to look for porcupines with my new knee, yet.) 

We saw this one while on a walk through a woodland in our neck of the woods. Porcupines prefer mixed or coniferous forests. Their winter range is about 6 acres in our area. They are generally solitary animals but might den together in wintertime.

Porcupines are the third largest rodent in the world, behind the capybara and the beaver. The North American porcupine has an average body length of 24"-36" and body weights between 7.7 lbs to 39.7 lbs.

What surprised us was the dirt mound he was standing on. We don't know what the purpose of it was, but I have read that porcupines bury the bones of other animals that they find in the woods, so maybe this is a burial mound??? 

Porcupines eat wood vegetation in winter, particularly inner cambium, buds, and needles of white pine (and especially hemlock in the northeast), and bark of sugar maple and birch trees. In summertime, they add fruits, seeds, nuts and the leaves of aspen, elm, basswood, and birch to their diet. Source: DeGraaf, Richard M., and Mariko Yamasaki. New England Wildlife: Habitat, Natural History, and Distribution. Hanover, NH: University of New England, 2001.

Den sites, especially long-used sites, are recognized by piles of droppings, and may include a rocky cavern of ledge, a hollow log, an abandoned fox or beaver den, and even abandoned buildings.  Source: DeGraaf, Richard M., and Mariko Yamasaki. New England Wildlife: Habitat, Natural History, and Distribution. Hanover, NH: University of New England, 2001.

The quills are modified hairs coated with thick plates of Keratin, and they are embedded in the skin. Quills are released by contact with them, or they may drop out when the porcupine shakes its body. Porcupines cannot shoot attackers with quills (like projectiles) as many people think. They will loosen the quills then swing their tail toward their attacker. There are tiny barbs on the tip of the quill that allow the quill to be embedded into the attacker's skin and are difficult to remove.

This is a riveting 16 second clip of the porcupine chewing on some vegetation. All you can really see are his quills quivering during the super slow chewing action. I was quivering as well as it was about 30F outside;-)

African Crested porcupine quill collected by Gary Haines
North American porcupine quills collected by Laurie Haines

And here is a photo of the difference between the quill length of the North American porcupine quills (3.5" long) versus an African Crested porcupine quill (10.5" long.) The crested porcupine has an average body length of 24"-33", and weights from between 29 lbs to 60 lbs. They tend to charge their disturber back end first trying to stab them with their thicker, shorter quills.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_porcupine

Gee...so how do you remove a quill from your skin if you happen upon an angry porcupine? Pull the quill out very carefully with pliers (regular and needle-nosed.) Firmly grasp the base of the quill near the skin, but be careful not to break the quill. Pull the quill straight out in a rapid motion, at the same angle as the quill went in. Disinfect with hydrogen peroxide, then put antibiotic ointment on the wounds. See a doctor and get a rabies shot if necessary.

NOTE: DO NOT CUT THE END OF THE QUILL BEFORE REMOVAL. THIS MIGHT SPLINTER THE QUILL AND MAKE REMOVAL MORE DIFFICULT. AND, NEVER USE YOUR HANDS TO REMOVE THE QUILLS AS THE BARBS MAY IRRITATE YOUR SKIN.

Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary...and the calming force of nature

After a long week at school, I needed some forest time. Since Thorncrag is just a mile away from LHS, it is the perfect place for me to walk my stresses off and to feel the calm that only a forest can give me. The minute we stepped onto the Blue Trail, a feeling of peace surrounded me.

Our destination was a small frog pond that always has a bit of water in it. It is really hopping in springtime;-) 

There are lots of huge and stately white pines in this part of the forest, and they were begging me for a hug! Did you know that trees have feelings, too? You might want to read the book titled, "The Hidden Life of Trees, What They Feel, How They Communicate", by Peter Wohlleben.

I found that the pond was as far as my knee would let me walk today. I think that the bit of instability I felt was due to all the acorns on the ground! Every footfall had to be carefully placed so as not to twist my knee as I stepped on these slippery oak nuts, each of which contains one or two seeds that could develop into a mighty oak in the far future;-)

Oh yes, I almost forgot! If you see Cinderella, let her know that we found her glass slipper hanging from a tree branch on the Blue Trail!

Maine Firearms Season for Deer is coming soon

Lots of gunfire lately as hunters hone their skills to gear up for deer season! 

Check out this Wildlife Management District Map for where each town in Maine is located! Personally, we are in WMD 22.

Toby says, "Time to don your orange vests for safety in the woods! Arf!"

Chainsaw Shannon at work

We accompanied our friend, Shannon, to a store to buy a chainsaw today. She purchased a Husqvarna 120i battery operated model. It is the perfect weight and length for small women, weighing in at 10.8 pounds with a 14 inch bar, chain and battery. The Chainsaw Journal is a great reference for reviews, etc. 

Shannon has purchased all the safety equipment for working with wood, and now she is practicing on small logs before tackling bigger ones.

This chainsaw will be great for cutting down small trees as well. Here Shannon is measuring her cut as a regular sized wood stove won't take longer than 16" logs.

She took a women's chainsaw safety workshop last year, and will take a more advanced class in the springtime before cutting down trees herself. 

She had a professional come in to fell 8 large trees last weekend. She will take her time processing them into 16" logs, and will then split the logs by hand for the woodstove. She has many hours of work ahead of her as she thinks she will have at least one cord of wood when all is done. I must say that I do have amazing friends who are so inspiring! Way to go, Shannon!

The extended winter forecast looks promising!

We need colder temperatures during wintertime, and we might just get our wish! December may be a bit warmer than average, but January and February will be at or below average temperature. We need more snow instead of freezing rain and ice like we've been getting hammered with over the last few years. We are crossing our fingers for a cold winter!

Heading toward peak foliage and beyond!

Well, this Nor'easter is sure bringing down lots of leaves. We have been enjoying the autumn colors for the last couple of weeks, and now it is time for the tree skeletons to be revealed;-)

Toad Lily bloomed today

Purple Beauty Toad Lily with 1" diameter flowers. They like partial shade and many soil types. Good drainage.

I have been waiting forever for this darned plant to bloom. I know it is supposed to bloom in early September through October, which is why I planted it years ago. But, last year it only had 2 blooms (in October.) Right now it has 6 blooms, with a few other flower buds looking like they want to open. Of course, tomorrow is Nor'easter day, so I propped the stems up. We'll see what happens! Aughhhh...

The Papermill Trail in Autumn

We enjoy walking along the Papermill Trail, in Lisbon Falls. Today, we did a 1.36 mile roundtrip walk and our goal was a large chunk of granite jutting out into the Androscoggin River.

The short distance was due to my healing from knee replacement surgery. I am just shy of 14 weeks since surgery and am trying to challenge myself to "long" walks each weekend.

The colors are so vivid along the trail and it did not disappoint this year. Here I am photographing a stand of staghorn sumac.

The maple trees are at peak color and wowed us at every turn!

But, there were more than trees to peak our interest. There were also clumps of these purple asters alongside the trail, and the bumblebees were busy feeding on them.

And then, I spied the seed pods of the dreaded Japanese Knotweed. It is no wonder that this incredibly invasive species has spread so far and wide in Maine. There are seed pods galore and they will take root along waterways, ditches, etc. They can withstand a variety of conditions.

You can see the fuzziness of the branches here.

And, the staghorn sumac were absolutely brilliant in various colors of reds and oranges. They are called staghorn sumac due to the branches being adorned with small hairs similar to that of the young antlers of deer and elk.

Did you know that staghorn sumac plants are either male or female? The plants I photographed with the flowers and seed pods are female.

The staghorn sumac without flowers are male.

Drew spotted a large bald-faced hornet nest alongside the trail, and the bees were still active. They won't be killed off until a series of cold frosty mornings ends their activity for the year.

Did I mention maple trees? This is a red maple leaf that had fallen onto asphalt. Why the color change? Well, in autumn, as the air temperature starts to cool and the amount of daylight shortens, the deciduous trees start readying themselves for their winter slumber. The chlorophyll, that makes the leaves green and produces carbohydrates (food) for the trees, starts breaking down. This allows the other pigments like yellow and orange to become visible. The red pigment is produced in autumn as sugars are trapped in the leaves before they are shed. You can read this fascinating article by the San Juan Mountains Assoc., for more info. "Falling Leaves: What's happening to the trees?"

This defunct railroad track runs between the walking trail and the river. I would imagine that it was very busy in the early 1900s transporting textiles, lumber, and other goods made in Maine.

The Androscoggin River and the colorful trees makes a great backdrop for photographing family. We visit it each year as it is just stunning. And, yes, I was able to get over onto our favorite chunk of granite to shoot the yearly photo! To see more photos of us on the trail, check out Maine Nature Greyhounds!

Stunning Autumn Colors in a field and woodlot

Wow! Our eyes are filled with orange, yellow, red, and green as we gaze hither and yon at the stunning colors of autumn!

We had seen a field lined with color on our drive to work, so we stopped at a woodlot to see if it would give us access to the field, and it did!

This field is ringed with deciduous trees and is eye-poppingly gorgeous this time of year! Drew shot all these photos with our little Sony pocket camera;-)

Autumn on Caesar Pond

View looking down the southeast side toward the southwest end of the pond from Dale's dock.

Caesar Pond is stunning this time of year. It is lined with decidous trees on the south, north, and east ends, and with mostly evergreens on the western side.

The southwest end of the pond is a favorite of mine. Drew took this photo from Dale's dock.

This view looks toward the north end of the pond from Dale's dock at the south end. Oh, how I do love this pond...

This is the eastern shore of the pond just down from our dock. The colors are so intense and vibrant this year. Drew is our resident photographer this year;-)

Hix Small Cemetery Road walk

We took another short walk on Hix Small Cemetery Road today. This time, I was able to go 0.54 mile where I proudly made it to my destination of the "T"! The trail is rocky, uneven, and can be difficult to safely navigate. I took it slow, and had to zig-zag back and forth across the trail as it was on a downslope most of the way back to the car. This minimized the amount of pressure on my 12 week old new knee!

Drew found some White Baneberry along the side of the trail. Watch out! All parts of this plant are poisonous.

We found a wooly bear caterpillar at the cemetery. These caterpillars have glycerol, a natural antifreeze, in their bodies so that they can overwinter successfully in our climate, thaw out in springtime, whereupon they spin their cocoon. They eventually metamorphose into a pretty Isabella Tiger Moth. 

The sugar maples were starting to change color. This one had lots of mysterious white stuff on the leaves. But, the branch was too high up for me to examine.

First wood stove fire of the season!

Well, who thought it would be cool enough for a fire in the wood stove? Our inside house temp. was hovering at 65F, and I get chilled more easily as I get older. So, hence our first wood stove fire of the season! I think this is a record for us as we usually wait until nearer the end of October-)