• Saturday-What'sUP May 6 - 10:37 am

Did you know that a porcupine has up to 30,000 quills? (but then who's counting?) Also they have those long, coarse guard hairs around the front and back end - - but it's the barbed spines you and your pup need to worry about. Greta Jones was one brave photographer (or she had a good telephoto lens), getting this shot up close so we can have a good view of both hairs and quills, though I can't say which are which in the photo. The other two angles from Stanley Spruce are more in my comfort zone when it comes to spotting these quill bearing rodents. Up a tree is an understatement for this guy - - Stanley says he's about 30 feet in the air. Talk about a U.P. natural high.

Some other folks in the Keweenaw will be high this morning: the Pasty people on top of Brockway Mountain. It's part of the Spring and Fall ritual of changing the power source for Pasty.NET's wireless broadband relay (they're off the grid). Dignitaries from downstate are supposed to be there, to see the lengths some folks will go to for quicker Internet connections. Looks like a good day for it - - clear skies and no wind. And no blackflies yet! Who could ask for more?

good morning!

so does someone have to sled up to the top of brockway mountain
in the winter and shovel the snow off the solar panel?

are these porkies in the porkies?

We use wind power in the winter time for that very reason. If snow gets on part of a working solar panel, there is a danger that the other part will cause damage to the covered part. To avoid any snow problems, we disconnect the solar cells over the winter.

Wind power could operate the broadband relay year-round, but it is a bit noisy and distracting to have the propellers spinning while all the tourists stream to the gift shop. The solar is very quiet and very effective in the warmer months.

OUCH!! They can stay up in the trees as far as I'm concerned. Have a great weekend. Off to get the boy's stuff from college.

I recently read in the old Woodmans' code, they'd never killed a porky needlessly, as they were the only animal that a starving man could easily catch and kill with a large stick, if need be.

We have RAIN! and to those of you who get it often, it isn't usually seen here.

The only way this porky can get You would be if you were standing in range of where he could hit you with his tail. Then he would have to feel threatened. Can remember when I was a kid up there every once in a while one would wander into the yard looking for salt. We would take a broom handle or long stick and herd it back into the woods. Someone said about the old Woodsman Code of never killing a Porky as it was easy to catch. Most of the time they are up in a tree.
Like the pictures, has been many a year since I've seen one.

I thought that the easiest way to kill a porky was to run over him on the side of the road while he is looking for salt. The native americans ate them and used the quills for decorating their clothes and weapons.

Ouch, my dog just got her first taste of porkie quills. Hope she learned a lesson and gives them the right of way.

Where can I get a copy of the Old Woodsman Code?

When they change trees, they move at a snails pace. I've had them in campsites, and let me tell you, you can hear them coming down the tree. Their claws make so much noise on the bark, that you'll come out of the tent.

I didn't use a telephoto lens with this one, I was as up close as you see. The next day, there were two of them up in a tree making their mating calls. Quite an unusual sound - almost sounds like a bear cub. So I left them alone, hope to see some baby porkies soon!

Not only are they easy to catch and kill with a large stick but their meat can be consumed raw with no chance of sickness from parisites.