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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I live in Samsonville, central Ulster County, that was hit hard by the emerald ash borer earlier than other areas of the Catskills. Most of the time, ash is a smaller component of the forest; Roughly 4 to 10%. However, in some areas onContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I had to install some green carpeting a few weeks ago. I know what you’re thinking. It’s a sin to carpet over wood, right? I’m talking about my firewood-pile. Where I live, I get some pretty fierce wind. I’ve tried tarps, metal sheeting, bungieContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I seem to know which stores have gumball machines throughout the Catskills & Hudson Valley due to my sweet-tooth; I also know where the “sweet-trees” are as well. Some of my favorite finds are found near parking lots. I found this white mulberry behindContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Recently, I was fortunate enough to see 1 of 3 of the largest ash trees I know of in the Catskills. This Fleischmanns giant measured approximately 53 inches in diameter at the base. It was chemically treated 3 years ago, 2 years ago, andContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Recently there has been ample “rainbow weather.” Rainbow weather seems to occur when sunlight shines through scattered water droplets or mist. I didn’t catch it on camera, but I saw the largest rainbow I have ever seen last weekend. It was so large, itContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Spring in transitioning into summer fast and furious. Some of my apple and blueberries are already showing young fruit in the making. The swelling at the base of apple flowers normally indicates a future apple fruit is growing. The blueberries are already visible. IContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? It’s pretty warm out right now, but a few days ago we had some low temperatures reaching below 30 degrees. I have three different fruit trees flowering right now: peach, apple, and Asian pear. Peach and Asian pears seem like they were too exposedContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Sometimes I’m asked about which fruit tree to select for planting; The follow-up question is often about how long it will take to bear fruit. Often it might be 5 to 10 years. For some, this is too long, “I’ll be dead by then.”Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Spring has sprung and with it the bark of some trees is beginning to loosen up. Last week, I took the bark off a chestnut oak and ran it through the chipper. The bark will be used to make a “tea” or “liquor” forContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I have found both evidence of and presently living beavers far upstream in some mountain hollow or bowl, far isolated from the next beaver lodge. I always wondered how they knew a good spot existed far above them. How brave they must be toContinue Reading