WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Frequent rain makes the phone ring here at the office. Apples have been slated for a bumper year. However, with all this rain, many (not all) apple trees are experiencing leaf & fruit fungal issues as spores fester. Many of the apple trees IContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Went for a brief walk in the woods last weekend & found some golden chanterelles. These are by far my favorite wild mushroom. Unlike some other wild mushrooms, chanterelles are normally pretty insect-free. In other words, there are no hitch-hikers crawling out of the mushroomsContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Just got back to the office after checking on 1 experimental pear graft made in May. CFA grafted an Asian pear to a wild or “volunteer” hawthorn (thornapple) tree; so far, so good. We’ll find something good about those thorny hawthorns just yet. MayContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? A couple of weekends ago I got a chance to go fishing with a CFA member. He caught some trout & bass and I caught mostly sunnies; that’s okay. Favorite part of fishing? Just sitting there on the edge, watching the water go by.Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Spent some time removing a large Norway spruce tree near my parent’s house. This tree was about 65 years old & probably planted around 1952 in the Town of Gardiner, Ulster County. It’s pretty amazing how much growth these trees can put on. Although eachContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I was away in eastern Massachusetts over the 4th of July weekend; noticed a lot of gypsy moth damage on oak trees in places. The entire canopy had been chewed away. Hopefully this remains east of us for awhile. Our oak trees don’t needContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Last night I was sitting on my deck just before dark & I heard something I haven’t heard in years; the constant, repetitive song of a whip-poor-will. The last time I heard one was on top of the Shawangunk Ridge. This bird never tiresContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? You’ve heard it before. “They grow up so fast.” The advantage we have over prior generations is our greater access to cameras and digital media. Yesterday, I snapped a photo of my eldest daughter near a pear tree. The pear is 5 and theContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Been inspecting some of the member’s apple trees that CFA grafted during April & May. One of them was loaded with flowers which is pretty unusual. Let’s just hope they put on a foot or more of growth before the dormant season. May theContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Last week I was doing a road walk & snuck up to a doe & 1 fawn nursing 10 yards into the woods. I took a knee & watched this rare occasion unfold. When I stood up, the mother snorted & sprinted away. InContinue Reading