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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Thanksgiving is over and that means the Christmas season is in full swing in my house. Each year we visit Bell’s Christmas Tree Farm near Accord, Ulster County. This year we chose a Douglas fir; Its form and appearance seemed just right. Normally IContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Don’t get me wrong. I’d like to kill a big buck like most hunters. But, at the end of the day, I’m a deer hunter and does are exciting enough for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any doe tags during Opening Day weekend ofContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Remnants of last year’s deer made into tanned leather.  I cut out the pieces using patterns and punch the holes and my wife does the sewing. I thought this pouch might come in handy while working up in the tree to hold small thingsContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Kind of difficult to tell, but this little flake is all that’s left, while hunting state-owned “wilderness” land a couple of weeks ago. Before NYS DEC took over, this area had once been privately-owned and someone’s farm. Besides a few foundations, rock walls, andContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Spent a week in Upton, Long Island with CFA field staff at the New York Wildfire & Incident Management Training Academy. We took the S-130 & S-190 courses which represent Basic Wildland Firefighter training. It taught entry-level wildland firefighter skills and is often requiredContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Been looking for acorns. This year I’m finding the acorn crop–mainly red oak–to be quite spotty. Actually, this seems to be beneficial to hunting deer since on years with abundant acorns, it can be difficult to predict where deer will be eating them. But,Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Been getting some complaints from members of CFA that they’re not seeing too many birds around their bird feeder recently. I’m unsure exactly of the reason, but perhaps its due in part from the abundance of wild fruit. Seems like there is plenty ofContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Each year on my camping trip, I hit a small stand of old growth hemlock trees pretty high up in elevation. I used to hit another stand farther down, but those trees have unfortunately succumbed to hemlock woolly adelgid. This higher stand remains adelgid-free.Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Some of the black cherry trees really are having a bumper crop this year. While hiking in the higher elevations of the Catskills last week, I actually could smell cherries on the forest floor fermenting. I guess not even the bears could keep upContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Got a chance to go camping up on the mountain for several days last week. I normally take a few photos of noteworthy trees here & there while I walk about. This balsam fir’s will to survive is real. Just look how it shootsContinue Reading