WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? One of my favorite spring flowers just made its arrival here yesterday in Ulster County–Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.). Serviceberry is also known as shadbush, shadblow, bilberry, and Juneberry. It’s a kind of non-descript little gray tree that goes unnoticed until it flowers, making a strongContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? The Apple Tree Grafting season has now begun. Although the first day out brought snow in Ulster & Sullivan Counties, the weather quickly warmed up. The best time to graft is when the bark begins to slip or becomes pliable. Hopefully, this April willContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Every tree is a little different and you never know what peculiarities one might find. While pruning some apple trees today, I came across this funky ash tree; If you look closely, it’s not actually touching the ground! This tree profoundly exemplifies a tree’sContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? The 2019 maple sugaring season has ended for me in central Ulster County. The season finished as one of the best with high sugar contents and the most syrup I’ve made/tap as of yet. I’d like to take credit for it, but really itContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Sometimes a seemingly perfectly healthy tree can begin to die & then a perfectly damaged tree survives; This is one example I saw the other week off the side of the road. This maple tree had been damaged by livestock and burned near itsContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Maple sugaring season may be underway or in fact waning down as temperature-forecasts show a warming trend in central Ulster County. However, once temps remain above freezing consistently for a couple of days marks the time to spray dormant oil on your apple andContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I realize there are complaints about the “invasive” nature of honeysuckle in the Catskill Mountains and beyond. But, I have to admit that in a forest continually maturing which offers less and less young growth for wildlife cover, there are some benefits. Take thisContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I’ve said it before, but I’m amazed at the abundance of volunteer (wild) apple trees found throughout the Catskill Mountains. Last weekend we were near Long Eddy, Sullivan County. Before that up near Franklin, Delaware County, and coming up will be near Westkill, GreeneContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? We’re deep into the middle of the Apple Tree Pruning season. Last weekend, I was given the opportunity to restore some really old apple trees. When I walked up to them, they resembled one large “chia pet” of limbs and branches. But, somewhere insideContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Just got some of my “from the forest” harvest back from Quaker Creek Store in Pine Island, Orange County. This butcher shop located in the middle of the “black dirt” country has been butchering up meat since 1947 and they do a good jobContinue Reading