WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Seeds of hemlock, basswood, and birch scattered over crusted snow makes a valuable food source for overwintering animals. In this case, the seeds of hophornbeam provides a quick meal for a cottontail rabbit. Also known as ironwood due to their dense bark, these understoryContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I’ve said it before. The Catskill Mountains have some awesome volunteer or wild apple trees growing around. Some of the best fruit I know comes from them. However, if they’re not pruned, they will “umbrella” or shade themselves out over time. In other words,Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Believe it or not, this is a busy season at CFA. January through March is APPLE TREE PRUNING season and we’re scheduled every day! We’ve learned a lot about how to dress for the weather and retain heat. I can’t stress enough heated hand-warmers,Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Took a hike on a portion of State Forest Preserve last week. Some of this area used to be cleared for agriculture at one time. Now some of these areas have gone from growing cows to growing beautiful sugar maples. Tree cutting inside StateContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Got a chance to do some hiking in the mountains. Sometimes I like to just find & follow an old “bark road” as high as it’ll go. Can you see the road from the photo? “Bark roads” are numerous throughout the Catskills. They wereContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? What it “all boils down to” after harvesting 3 does this deer season is 3 containers of rendered fat. Spent about 4 hours last week rendering deer fat. Rendering removes water–and other undesirable components–from raw fat, so that it will be cleaner, more stableContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Recently at CFA we have been “releasing” or cutting around this tree–shagbark hickory–a lot. Many of the trees cut are red and sugar maple trees. Shagbark hickory apparently not only gives edible hickory nuts for wildlife but also its “shaggy” bark is important forContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Last week I was up in a tree near Cragsmoor, Ulster County and it was blowing snow. I thought after that, my body would begin acclimating to wintry weather. However, my wife convinced me to bring the kids to Florida to my in-laws andContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Down goes this old sugar maple near Margaretville, Delaware County. I have been watching this maple tree for almost 15 years. Low crotches or tight-unions on large trees like this one are always susceptible of breaking apart since each stem/leader grows into the other.Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Probably when this hunting camp was going strong (maybe before the 1970s or so), this forest held a lot of deer. I can see remnants of old wooden tree-stands here & there. Ironically, this area in Ulster County has fewer deer than it didContinue Reading