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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Last month spent a lot of time grafting apple trees. Hopefully, this month we’ll get to see some green growth from all this fruit tree match-making. One of our trees grafted 3 years ago looks like it might bear fruit; we’ll see. Let’s prayContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Last week John MacNaught & I treated the largest white ash I’ve ever seen in Delaware County (49″ in diameter at breast height). As many of you know, ash is being killed by Emerald Ash Borer. We hope to preserve this ash into theContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Been in the woods liberating some apple trees that were being overgrown by musclewood trees. One musclewood (a.k.a. ironwood, blue beech) actually “swallowed up” one of the apple tree’s limbs. May the forest be with you, Ryan Trapani Executive Director Catskill Forest AssociationContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Still grafting apple trees for CFA members. Today, I had the chance to monkey around on an extremely wide stretching apple tree. Its limbs spread so wide you could walk down it like on a cat-walk. It’s amazing how far apple trees will stretch to getContinue Reading

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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