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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? The kids look cute on their first day of school last week but notice the background. September marks the beginning signs of fall’s “golden rays.” I’m mesmerized by the golden appearance these rays cast through the trees, especially as fall foliage unfurls. Oak’s deepContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Highly recommend planting Asian pear if you want a relatively low-maintenance fruit tree and have subpar soils (i.e. clay). This tree seems to tolerate (not like) drought and wetter soils better than apple. It also has suffered fewer pest issues, like this year’s leafContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? As some of you may already know, beech leaf disease is making its way through the Catskills, finishing off trees that have already been suffering from beech bark disease. Beech leaf disease attacks both American beech and copper or European beech; This is theContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? After climbing this mountain, this butterfly just wouldn’t leave me alone. Most are aware that butterflies go after nectar, but they also will seek out salt from a perspiring human. Apparently, some believe there are spiritual reasons butterflies land on one, such as: GoodContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Here’s an example of “old growth” in the Catskills. The photo doesn’t do it too much justice, but this is a small stand–less than 3 acres–of old hemlock and red spruce at around 3,000 feet in elevation. Just below this area are some remnantsContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? How awesome are the roots of this old growth red spruce tree? This ancient spruce was found growing at around 3,000 feet on some rocky ground. The photo doesn’t do it much justice, but it was pretty storybook looking for sure.  May the ForestContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Yellow birch is an interesting tree. For me, it’s the ability to metamorphosize bark over time. When it’s young, the bark appears a shiny, papery gold. An old tree’s bark resembles that of a black cherry, kind of like burnt potato chips, but completelyContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Paul Misko recently installed this beautiful black cherry slab for CFA’s lobby in the new office. The board came from a cherry tree in Woodland Valley, Ulster County. Notice how the tree’s rings are growing fast near the middle when it was younger andContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? This photo was taken back in 2023 on one of my favorite streams. It’s located in one of the most remote areas of the Catskills, yet it’s highly infected with hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA); A devastating insect brought into the US sometime in theContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Just planted this little shrub last fall. It’s a goumi (Elaeagnus multiflora) and bearing large amounts of fruit already. I’m a fan of autumn olive–a cousin of goumi–but others consider autumn olive and other Elaeagnus plants (i.e. Russian olive) to be invasive. Goumi apparentlyContinue Reading