I always make sure to have a pint or two of real maple syrup squirreled away in the back of the cabinet. It seems only prudent to have a back-up supply.

With any number of agricultural products—meats, eggs, milk, vegetables, fruits—it’s not always easy for consumers to connect the end product sitting temptingly in the market with the effort it takes to grow and prepare them for sale. Wood products—notably lumber-- are no different.

Pundits and politicians could learn a thing or two from a New Hampshire woodlot. For all the science involved in managing the inevitable change in the composition of a forest, sometimes the change a forester wants just doesn’t happen.

As those who know me would eagerly agree, my dog is way smarter than me. Even those who know don’t know my dog would wager on it. Even my dog would agree, although as long as I keep punching his free ticket on the gravy train, he doesn’t judge.

Funny how cultural behaviors become traditions.

Like many professions, forestry has developed over time its own specific vocabulary. Even forest management has a fancy name—silviculture—that doesn’t have anything to do with mining for precious metals.

There’s a great debate going on these days, in and out of the woods, over biomass. When it comes to the forest, biomass typically refers to wood harvested in the form of chips that are then burned, either to generate renewable electricity, or heat.

It’s not easy being a logger. Members of the public love to hate you for making what looks like a mess. Prices at the mill never seem to be good, the cost of fuel keeps going up, and the capital investment in the right equipment is substantial.

Certified Tree Farmer P.J. O’Rourke wrote an entertaining piece in the Wall Street Journal recently in which he attempts to explain why he owns land in New Hampshire. He concluded by noting , “ I can’t give up my estate….I’ve formed an inviolate bond with the land.