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

WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? After today, it seems like the entire extended forecast is showing a general warming trend. In other words, here comes the heart of the maple season. I think I’m just about half done with my season. Already, I’m just about over a quart of syrupContinue Reading

WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? A few days ago my daughter – Metta Mae – said, “Daddy, I just need to go in the woods; I want to go outside with you.” After hearing this, I had to readjust what I was about to do & took her “inContinue Reading

WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Been busy gathering scion-wood for apple tree grafting coming up this spring. A scion is taken from a desirable apple tree and grafted onto another apple tree (or rootstock). I was fortunate enough to be able to gather from Schoonmakers Farm near Accord, Ulster County. The Schoonmakers are 12thContinue Reading

WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Been out cutting a lot of trees recently for habitat management purposes. On one member’s property we were “day-lighting” the white oak & cutting the nearby bitternut hickory trees. These trees were less than 24″ in diameter. After cutting one down, it aged outContinue Reading