Blue Eyed Moose – Topsfield (Map 45)
While hiking in Topsfield, Emma and Ricky Irish were surprised to see this blue-eyed moose this week. What a treat! Thanks to Emma for allowing me to publish her photo. 
Quoddy Nature Notes – Balsam Fir
Witches broom in summer.
I’m pretty lukewarm on my feelings for Balsam Fir, Abies balsamea. Even though I like all plants and Balsam Fir is our only native fir here in the Quoddy region and it is the provincial tree of New Brunswick, I don’t rate it as high as, say, White Pine, Beech or Red Oak. Fir is sort of a sticky forestry weed, clogging up my trails even under the heaviest overstory. I consider it higher than skunk currant or poison ivy, but fir is not a big part of my scheme of things, as it makes poor firewood and seldom grows big enough to be useful saw logs. I do appreciate our fir a little more after researching it, and for a puny, pesty tree it has a significant economic impact on the area. The big use is during the Christmas season, when the pleasant scented branch tips are collected for wreaths. There are several ‘large’ companies and many small organizations and households that handle a tremendous amount of brush to do this; for example, one local company, “Whitney Originals”, buys upwards of 1,000,000 pounds a year. Balsam fir is pretty shade tolerant, but the best tips are found on a tree with good sun. The lower branches often take root, and I’ve not noticed any other conifers that do this.
The sap of Balsam fir had been used in the past for making microscope slides, as the stuff is a preservative and has a coefficient of refraction similar to glass. Wildlife often inhabit the dense stands of fir that appear in some sections of older forest for winter cover. Deer, bear, moose, hares and grouse may browse firs, but it is not a sought after food. Birds like Chickadees and Crossbills and Red squirrels do seek out the cones for winter food. Native Americans used the sap of Balsam fir for glue and sealant, and also for cuts and bruises. They made a tea from the inner bark and twigs, and also used the twigs on the hot rocks of their sweat lodges, and in all cases this was thought to be beneficial for the lungs. Early European colonists used Balsam fir twigs as stuffing for pillows and mattresses, and prepared a mixture of about 20% fir pitch and 80% bear grease to use as an ointment for joints and muscular aches. Backpackers know that Balsam fir twigs make a much better sleeping mat than even the least prickly Black spruce. Apparently, in the Province of Quebec the properties of Balsam fir are used more frequently, and the pitch is harvested in the summer by woodsmen called ‘piquers’ who collect the sap in a little special bucket called a ‘picou’. The fir pitch is made into many medicinal items and used in soaps and perfumes.
Witch's broom in winter. The needles have fallen off but the twigs are still alive, and will grow new needles in a few months.
The Balsam fir is attacked by the spruce budworm, the balsam wooly adelgid, and a host of other insects and diseases. An interesting malevolence is the ‘witch’s broom’; a rust fungus Melampsorella caryophyllacearum. This causes a rampant growth of twigs resulting in greenish-yellow blob of needles in the summer that drop off in the winter. The alternate host for this rust is Chickweed. The Balsam fir also is an alternate host for the rust Pucciniastrum goeppertianum. This rust attacks highbush blueberries, and there is no cure or remedy for this once the berry bush becomes infected. The ‘Rancocas’ type of berry is somewhat resistant to the rust, but planting highbush blueberries within a thousand feet of any Balsam fir is not recommended.
I always wondered what was happening to my highbush blueberry patch. I have it all fenced in to protect it from the rabbits in the winter and arrangements for netting in the summer to keep out the birds. Let’s see. If I dig up all my present plants I’ll probably need almost a quart of soothing ointment for my joints and muscular aches. I guess I will need about 6 ounces of Balsam fir pitch and mix that with 25 ounces of bear grease. Hmm. Maybe I’ll use Olive oil instead.
Robin’s Journal – From the Observation Stand
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Molunkus Stream (Map 44)
After seeing nothing in another stand we drove to a parking area for “big field.” It was after sunset but before dark. The only sounds during the quarter-mile walk were the small roosting birds we disturbed, crickets, and tall grasses under our feet. Tammy spotted a cow moose in the field before we got to the end of the trail. We backed up to a path that leads to the steps of the observation stand, walked in quietly and closed the door behind us. It was getting dark quickly and I realized I’d left the head lamps in the Jeep. We watched the moose eat until she disappeared down a path into the island of trees.
Watching over our shoulder occasionally, we made our way back up the hill to the Jeep. The full moon helped us see our way over ruts and through tall grass, and to see the moose if she happened to change course and be coming up behind us. This cow doesn’t have a calf to protect but that doesn’t mean she’s docile. They are large and usually slow but they can be fast and dangerous without notice. They aren’t called “wild” life for nothing.
We got into the Jeep and headed back to camp. Eyes. Glowing eyes in a clearing beside the road. A cat. Someone’s cat was 10 miles out the dirt road. It disappeared into the tall grass. We’d see another cat the next day.
