WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST It’s just beautiful out there. Between the serviceberry, apple, & pear trees flowering, there is no shortage of color & fragrance. I was at a member’s property grafting some apple trees the other day & became acquainted with a new favorite–American plum. The foliageContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST I’m noticing quite a bit of flowers these days. Some pear trees are in full bloom down in central Ulster County. The apples are showing some pink swelling, maybe an indication of some good future flowering & apples in the fall? We’ll see. IContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Been away in Massachusetts with my wife’s side of the family. On my way over the Berkshires I noticed in one section on the Mass Pike a bunch of American yew (a.k.a. ground hemlock, Canada yew) growing. This plant is extremely rare in theContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Oh how I wish logs weren’t so heavy and they could float to the nearest mill for sawing. I watched a beautiful 20 inch, 16 foot red oak log be cut up into firewood lengths when it could have made some beautiful wood andContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST Been grafting apple trees here & there. It’s a weird thing. I’m like a match-maker for apple trees. Taking scionwood from forgotten varieties planted in Sullivan County by God-knows-who & trying to connect them with a younger rootstock in central Ulster County. I justContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST My part-time job is in “Firewood Procurement, Usage, & Maintenance”. Of course I’m kidding, but every person who burns wood knows that it’s a way of life & not just a fuel source. Right now I’m working on wood I’ll be burning 2 orContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Not exactly in the forest, but some trees near people’s homes came down. Last week we had 60mph+ winds mixed in with heavy snow-loads that tipped some trees over. I don’t think the snow on the trees had that much to do with it.Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Went for a ride right before dark yesterday evening to see how the snow was treating the deer. In late winter or early spring, deer – according to deer biologists – are at their lowest in energy reserves. A deep, late snowfall like yesterday’sContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? It’s that time of year again when spring is slowly setting in & deer can easily be seen near roadsides feeding heavily on the first greening of grass. Anecdotally, I feel the deer look better this year than in prior years. That makes sense,Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? A couple of days ago it was so warm that I swore I was scratching the back of my neck from “no see-um” bites, but that could have been my imagination. Temperatures reached out into the mid 60s for 2 days in a rowContinue Reading