Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with forest

Trees. What's up with those?

A Terrible Llama — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 04:52:28 -0800

We live in a rural New England house on a wooded lot and we don't actually know a whole lot about taking care of trees. Other than 'you should call someone and learn about taking care of trees' what will be useful for us to know? We both grew up in the suburbs where you had 'Tree A and B in the front yard' plus maybe 'trees X and Y in the backyard' and that was kind of it. Now we're on a wooded lot surrounded by hundreds of them.

What we know:
-There is only one right next to the house and about a dozen scattered throughout that are in the range where they could fall on the house, which is on my Paranoid Fears "favorites" list.

-They are both deciduous and coniferous. Some of them are pine and some oak and some maple.

-There are a couple of decorative-ish trees, like a dogwood and a magnolia and a weeping cherry. We're actually less worried about those as they're a lot more Google-able and more clearly in the purview of 'landscaping'.

-How to watch YouTube videos of other people's tree removal misadventures

-The trees edge the grassy part of our yard and then continue out a short distance through the rest of our property and then on to forested land owned by neighbors

What we don't know:

-When trees edge our yard (by 'yard' I mean 'the part of the yard where we have grass') , is it good to 'thin' them the way one would 'thin' a row of carrots, to grow stronger trees with thicker trunks? We have some thin bony trees beneath very tall (see the paranoia above) pines. And non-pines.

-Are there trees that we should encourage more than others? Should we be taking down some pines to give the deciduous trees some extra room and maybe ultimately reduce the soil acidity a little (we haven't tested the soil but will and we're assuming it's acid-ish)?

-Are there trees that are more valuable than others due to some other perspective, including the perspective of critters?

-What signs should we look for in terms of the surprise tree that is going to crash on our house? We're aware of the obvious, like leaning over toward the house with the roots progressively showing, rubbing its ands and laughing maniacally, but is there anything other that we look at to determine instability? What about that freaky thing I've seen in other people's yards where for no reason it appears a pine has broken in half?

-Who specifically should we call and how should we find them to tell us specifically what trees they are and point out the non-obvious?

-What about pruning? Do/should big oaks and so on be pruned occasionally? Is there an advantage to that? Or is that making work where none would otherwise exist?

We want to be good stewards of the land and the trees, and give them what they need. Trees deeper in the woods we're not necessarily concerned with assuming they'll fight it out against themselves, but the ones that come close to our house or edge the lawn, we want to care for those particularly well.

We do recognize these trees are often homes for other creatures and preserving the little ecosystem and making sure that the critters who live around here also stay happy and protected is a concern as well and something we're watching out for.

Specific recommendations: Car camping on the central California coast?

carsonb — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:26:59 -0800

Five of us from San Francisco and Los Angeles like to meet in the middle along the coast once a year and car-camp for a long weekend. The past few years we've had a blast at Limekiln State Park campground, but it's under new management now and they won't allow us to reserve a specific ('our') campsite. In case we can't get one of the spots we want there, we'd like some backups to make reservations with somewhere between the southern end of Monterey Bay and San Luis Obispo—any suggestions? Hang on, let me tell you what we liked about Limekiln. 1. Privacy. We carouse and stay up late. We get nervous with small children nearby. Limekiln was great because it has 2 or 3 campsites that are secluded from the rest of the camp, and we used to be able to reserve one of those specific spots. Everything else (and most of everything we've seen at other camps nearby) was your typical car-camping circle of fire circles.

2. Oceans to the left of me, Forests to the right. We loved being able to hike up into the redwoods in the morning, then go down to the beach to watch the sun set over the Pacific. Having accessibility to both at another campsite would be awesome. Easy access to the grandest natural beauty (be it other than ocean+forest okay) is required.

3. Fire. We like campfires.

4. Facilities. Not required, but it would be nice if we could have a shower once or twice. It is required that we not dig a pit.

So, where should we make a reservation? Specific campsite numbers sought, though if you think any would do at a particular campground that's fine too. Thanks!

Hiking in Shasta area

ethel — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 00:12:46 -0800

What are your favorite hikes in Shasta Trinity National Forest? Some friends and I are camping in a yurt at Lakeshore East campground in Shasta Trinity National Forest in Northern California this weekend, and are looking for some hikes. In particular we're looking for: views/vistas, lots of green, ferns, hot springs, moderate hikes that would take a day or less.

Thanks in advance for sharing your favorites!!

Real terraforming

ignignokt — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:12:39 -0800

I want to know more about the part of forestry that explains how and why forests (any kind) are composed and developed. By "composition," I mean the relative placement of the elements of a forest, like ravines and canopies. Books, web pages, and a massive, super-detailed time lapse animation of a forest forming from nothing would all be great.

What on earth is this?

tylerkaraszewski — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 09:44:26 -0800

Help me identify the animal that makes the horrific sound in this recording. Last night at about 2:00AM I was awoken by something making a horrific screaming/howling sound outside my house. The audio is above. I recorded this by holding my phone to my open window, and so I made a couple adjustments to try and make the recording a bit better: I brought the volume up and tried to remove some of the microphone hiss that you get on an iPhone mic, otherwise this is exactly what it sounded like.

I live in the forest in coastal central California, not far from this park, and my property backs up to undeveloped forest land. We have seen pretty much every type of animal you might expect to see here, including deer, bobcats, raccoons, coyotes, possums, etc. None of them have ever made any sound like this when I've been looking at them.

My first thought was that something was killing my chickens (which are only maybe 10 yards from my bedroom window, which gives an indication as to how loud/close this sounded), but the chickens are all fine and it doesn't look like anything was trying to get into their coop, and after thinking about it, I'd guess that whatever was doing this was up on the hill behind our house, maybe 100-200 yards from the window.

The sound is honestly the most frightening thing I've ever heard in real life. It's like something out of a horror movie. If it was the sound of a mountain lion killing and eating a deer, even that would put me more at ease than the sorts of things I can imagine when hearing this at 2:00AM.

Any good ideas?

Help me be apartment free for one month.

fake — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:34:08 -0800

What are some cheap and interesting ways to spend 2-3 weeks without a home in and around the Bay Area? (examples: camping, retreats in redwood forest, etc). I'm making some changes in my life and will be home-free for a spell. Most of my waking hours are spoken for during this month of transition, but I am looking for interesting ways/places/sites to go for sleeping/evening/weekends. Suggestions can be creative, unusual, cheap, remote, peaceful, industrial - all are welcome.

I have:
1. Some cash, but not crazy amounts.
2. A truck with a topper.
3. A tent and sleeping bag.
4. A fondness for unusual living arrangements.
5. Stuff to cook with.
6. High tolerance for weather and uncertainty.
7. Low expectations.

This is a fun thing for me, so if I don't find something interesting I'll just sublet or whatever. Time span is Oct 9 through 31.

Help me find a forest green bridesmaid dress!

amileighs — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:06:23 -0800

Help me find a forest green bridesmaid dress! I am a bridesmaid in a close friend's wedding. She chose a color (forest green) but let us find our own dresses. I am having a hard time finding something with the appropriate shade, level of formality, and within my price range (about $150). I figured I'd tap the hivemind and see what you guys could come up with.

Here is the inspiration photo and another one.

The only other requirement is that it is about knee length.

Thanks in advance guys!

Cutting a tree on public land?

Miko — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:22:39 -0800

I've always wanted to cut my own Christmas tree....on public land. Legally. How do I find out whether and where I can do this? I understand that state forests and sometimes other public lands allow citizens to use their resources. For instance, a friend taps all the maple trees in a state forest near his home.

I live in Massachusetts but can easily get to Maine and New Hampshire. But even more general responses would be helpful. I've found it hard to navigate the websites of the various state agencies in a way that helps answer this question. Where should I be looking?

How can I cover a tree in lights? In the middle of nowhere?

niles — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:54:02 -0800

What's the best way to string a tree with Christmas lights? Oh yeah, it's out in the middle of nowhere. Right, so I want to cover a rather bare tree with some lights, but it's out in the middle of a forest. (here's a random picture that more or less illustrates my idea). In order to keep this relatively self sufficient, I'm thinking my only option is to utilize solar powered string/Christmas lights.

Has anyone ever used any/have any recommendations? Many of the results on Amazon suggest that some solar powered lights are woefully tiny.

Not fluffy white clouds

carbide — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:54:52 -0800

Help my friend identify this white cloudy thing photographed in a forest in British Columbia! Here's a photo my friend took on a frosty morning - Sunshine Coast, British Columbia - and it's in a coastal temperate rainforest.

Apparently, there were a few of these on trees and branches beside a lake, and his guess is that it's some sort of fungus that was covered in frost. Any suggestions? Thanks!

how much deet?

kenbennedy — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:10:07 -0800

What kind of bugginess can we expect if we stay here in November? My family is planning to travel to Puerto Rico in November, and we ware wondering if we should be prepared for an army of insects or anything like that if we stay near the forest. I haven't been to anywhere but the beach in the spring time, so any insight/anecdotal experiences or suggested resources would be appreciated. I had a look at previous Puerto Rico posts, but didn't catch anything. Thanks in advance!

Is my one acre meadow a fire hazard?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:03:50 -0800

Do I really have to mow my one acre meadow to prevent fire hazards? I have a one acre meadow right in the middle of a dense old growth forest. There is a river on one side a road on the other, my house with a green zone around it to the east and my neighbor has created a firebreak on his side on the west.

No one is asking me to mow the meadow. I don't want to mow the meadow. But am I creating a fire hazard? If there is a forest fire here will it really matter in the big picture if my meadow is not mowed?

The government forest service has been here to help me create a forest plan and they suggested I kill all the weeds in the meadow with herbicide. Twice a year. There is no way I will do that. They didn't seem concerned at all about fire hazards. In fact they seemed really clueless about what to do with it.

Grazing animals are not an option because I can't afford to fence it right now.

I am mainly concerned about my responsibilities to my neighbors. Am I putting them in danger or is a one acre meadow any significance in a forest fire scenario? I have no neighbors with similar yards. Everyone pretty much has densely forested acreage with no meadows.

Can I make it a designated wildlife area somehow to legitimize keeping it un-mowed?

How to fake a forest?

gmm — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:58:30 -0800

How to record (or possibly fake) forest ground, roots and moist dirt in an arctic climate? Maybe the hive thinks of something I haven't:

I am doing sound design for a video art installation, probably surround. I need lots of very high quality (24 / 88) sounds of the following; person digging in mossy forest dirt with bare hands, tearing up and snapping large roots, shuffling dirt around, stamping and thumping on forest floor, etc. Very organic and "wet" sounds.

This would usually be no problem - very easy to record myself in the local forest, any time of the year, except for the unfortunate fact that most of northern Europe is frozen hard, has been for a while, and it does not look to thaw! I've checked multiple places, everything is frozen stiff.

I'm on a deadline. Currently my only (and expensive though comfortable) solution, is to travel a few hours south on a cheap charter-holiday, somewhere the ground is not frozen, and do my recordings there.

But! There must be something local or artifical I'm overlooking? I'm in Bergen, Norway, a rather small town, all herbariums are outdoors and frozen. There's a few green-houses here but they'd rather not have me tear up their roots, and they are too small anyway.

Maybe fake it? Anyone have any experience with similar sounds and know about possible indoors replacements? There's a lot of bass and "thuds" in rooty forest floor, which I haven't been able to fake. The digging I can fix, but not the roots. There's a kind of boominess to the forest floor, in the snap of roots, tricking me all the time. Or maybe I'm just doing it wrong...

Proposing an official name for an Oregon Hiking Trail..how exactly?

naplesyellow — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:17:33 -0800

What procedure would one conceivably follow in order to propose a hiking trail be named for a person in the state of Oregon? A couple of years ago a man who was instrumental in mapping the hiking trails throughout the Columbia Gorge passed away. He had worked for the Forest Service. Many of the hiking trails are identified only by number. One trail in particular was his favorite and some of his friends and family want to propose naming the trail for him. Trouble is, no one has one clue how this type of thing is accomplished. Do we approach it as a formal proposal and submit it to the State of Oregon? or the Forest service? Can we consider it as a petition?

I apologize if this seems a simple question--I have tried googling to no avail. He truly was a wonderful guy and most instrumental in the preservation of the trails. I can help put together a packet to promote the idea..I have no idea if there is a procedure in place to follow. I didn't necessarily want to call the US Forest Service, if any of you already know what direction I should start in. Thanks for your ideas.

Best Practices in Sustainable Forest Management

53B3L1U5 — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:15:01 -0800

I am looking for information related to sustainable forestry management. I have recently secured a consultancy in Central America for developing a business plan related to the industry. While my client has provided useful information, I am also looking for external resources on the subject. I am researching best practices, value-added services, international markets, and technologies for streamlining operations. The client has recently received a land concession of Caribbean pine which is divided into 30 plots, one of which is available each year for harvest. After 30 years the process is repeated, having given the forest enough time to biologically rebound. Hence, sustainability is achieved and the impact of logging is restricted to a relatively small area.

The Amazon Forest Pharmaceutical Resource - Where?

watercarrier — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 02:00:57 -0800

Amazon healing plants. Who is the expert? I am looking for resources, individuals, groups that are involved with healing plants from the Amazon forest. Where are they, what are their names and how can I connect with them?

Eastern Europe: Hiking

mateuslee — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:40:26 -0800

Cool places to take day-trip hikes in Eastern Europe: suggestions? My brother is coming to visit me in Amsterdam for a couple weeks and, aside from the usual visit to the Netherlands, he wants to take a trip to Eastern Europe. He's pretty into the great outdoors and probably wants to do some hiking. Giving time constraints, I don't think we'll be camping - but aside from that I'm open to new ideas. I hear there's a very nice, old forest in Poland.... he seems interested in this. Any other ideas / indie travel-agencies / suggestions? Thanks!

Who covered that Cure song, 'A Forest'?

pelican — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:02:04 -0800

Which band did a cover of The Cure song called 'A Forest'? It's been a while since I heard it. It has a Latin sound to it but it is sung in English. It was an acoustic version if I remember correctly.

Thanks!

Why is there a path cut across southern Indiana?

ztdavis — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 08:11:51 -0800

What is this clear-cut path across southern Indiana? I often drive around with the intention of getting lost and look at maps later to figure out where I was driving. I saw this "path" cut through the forset in the area on Google Maps. I live in Bloomington, IN and followed it (on Google) all the way over to outside Terre Haute to the west.

It's not a railroad, at least not any more, and I don't see any power lines on it from the satellite images, but they could just be too small to see I suppose.

I apologize for the scant information.

Graffitti building

mnology — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 08:38:48 -0800

I'm trying to track down a location found in the movie 'Thumbsucker'. This movie was shot in and around my neck of the woods. There's a location during the montage of the thumbsuckers foray in to sexuality and drugs where the 'bad girl' and he are in this concrete building out in the middle of the forest. It's just your basic concrete building that's been abandoned, is open to the elements and has what looks to be years of graffitti plastered all over it.

Where is this building?

Trying to figure out what to do with pine forest landscaping

chef_boyardee — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 22:01:36 -0800

I'm trying to figure out what to do about landscaping in a pine forest location. The problem is the soil is sandy and nothing has grown there. We have a cabin out on the edge of a pine forest. There is almost no undergrowth. The ground is pretty much carpeted with old needles, and the ground is pure sand. It seems what's happened is a cycle: the pine trees put down a carpet of needles which doesn't decompose much, and which has prevented underbrush/grass from growing and adding any organics to the soil, so it remains chronically sandy.

First and foremost, I'm going to have to rake up the old needles since they're tinderbox-dry and are fuel for a fire to consume our cabin. But if I rake it up, I'll just expose barren sand. I doubt anything will grow in it, and furthermore since it's on a slight slope I'm worrying about erosion problems.

1) Is there anything I can do with this sandy ground? Or should I start with a truckload of loamy dirt?

2) What might be some common gardening center type plants that will do really well in sandy soil? (hardiness zone 8, 40" of rain a year).

I'm not sure where I'm taking this question, but the pine needles have to go.

Can someone tell me the name of this TV movie?

jam_pony — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 23:49:39 -0800

Can someone tell me the name of this TV movie? There are some spoilers here if you haven't seen this, but there's no other way to try to identify it. A man or woman, or maybe a couple, live in a house near a forest. They meet some new people. Unbeknownst to them, these new people are really birds from the forest who have taken human form. They make friends and one of the new people moves in with one of the real humans. It goes well enough until the human starts cooking a chicken. The bird-person is horrified. But he/she does not say so directly, but starts painting bloody images, death scenes, etc. on the walls. Clearly the relationship is not going to work out. The bird-people apparently form an unfavorable conclusion about life in human society. They abandon human form and go back to live in the forest.

It was a well-made, haunting movie. The time period (when it was made and broadcast) was about 1970's, and the setting was contemporaneous. I thought the title was something like "Birds" or "Forest" or "Trees" or something along those lines, but all my Google and IMDB searches with variations of such titles have turned up nothing.

It's not just my imagination. In addition to seeing it on TV I saw a review and recommendation in a book, one of those pre-IMDB alphabetical guides to movies.

Children's fantasy book

jb — Mon, 10 Jan 2005 14:13:30 -0800

Children's SF-Fantasy: For years, I have been trying to remember the name of a book I read as a child, in the mid-1980s. It is a novel, appropriate for 8-12 year olds, in a vaguely medieval/fantasy setting. The main character (I think) is a boy who goes into a forest (on a journey? a quest?) - he meets a girl there who is a firewitch, with really bright orange hair. Sorry for the vagueness, but I was about eight at the time, and haven't been able to find it since. One more (possibly unhelpful) clue - it might have something about dragons in the title. At one time, I thought it might be "Dealing with Dragoins" - but that turns out to be the first in the Enchanted Forest series by Patricia C. Wrede, which I have just bought - it's a great series, but not what I'm looking for. This book is a similar length/reading level, but more serious, and definitely has a young orange-haired fire-witch as one of the characters.