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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? This is my favorite time of year. The weather isn’t miserably hot and things are coming to “fruition” in the form of actual fruit and moving deer. Fall is known for its spectacular colors in turning foliage. After staring for hours from my tree-standContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? It happened again. I must have a magnet on me or some sort of scent that makes me attractive to black bears. For the second time–while out bow hunting for deer–a bear has curiously bee-lined his way to the tree I’m sitting in andContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Autumn olives (Elaeagnus umbellata) has a bad reputation as an “invasive species.” However, this time of year is when–I believe–it stands out for its benefits. After most fruits have already begun rotting away or dropped, autumn olive hangs on. Some individual plants are sweeterContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Just when you thought that utility poles had enough to worry about from wind, snow, and falling trees; Now this. This pole is getting its butt kicked by black bear. Apparently, both male and female bears rub their scent on “marking trees.” However, maleContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Here is one of the most under-rated fall foliage trees I know of–the sassafras tree. Although it is a smaller and shorter-lived tree than others, it makes it up in a few ways. The fragrant smell from one of its twigs and roots isContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? In 2018, I walked a member’s property in an area that I know “can” grow ginseng, but is seldom–if ever–found. The soil there is well-drained and great for growing forested plants. Some of the heights of the nearby trees are the tallest I knowContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I don’t like to see oak trees cut in the Catskills too often because of their important wildlife value in the form of acorns, unless they are competing with a better quality tree or it’s just their appropriate time for harvest. However, one benefitContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? This year it seemed that every tree was producing either fruit or nuts. Shagbark hickory are my favorite nut to harvest since they taste similar to pecans and are much easier to process than walnut. I first crack them, then boil the bits inContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I’m always looking for wild fruit to pick while walking around. Last week I was walking quite a bit Connecticut while on a training. Now, I’ve picked my fair share of wild concord grapes in New York State, but I’ve never seen the abundance,Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? It’s been awhile, but I finally found another–black maple (Acer nigrum). Black maple is just about identical to sugar maple barring a couple of traits that stick out to me. One is the leaf. Similar to sugar maple, the leaf margin is entire orContinue Reading