WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Last night I got to eat some “hunter’s steak.” Hunter’s steak is the inner-loin or tenderloin portion of a deer; It’s one of the most tender cuts. I assume it would be the same as “beef tenderloin” on a cow. I got a littleContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I often use the analogy of “hunter generations” to show changes in habitat and forest regrowth. For instance, my grandfather didn’t hunt since back in his day most people were farmers and the land was completely cleared for pasture and crops in the HudsonContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Looking at the weather forecast in central Ulster County and the high & low temps are looking like great maple sugaring weather (if it was February or March). The problem is that it’s November! Some people–believe it or not–haven’t been able to wait thatContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Fall foliage is pretty much done in central Ulster County barring some oak trees. A couple of weeks ago I snapped this photo of a sassafras tree. Normally they seem to turn a brilliant gold, showing up any sugar maple tree. However, this year,Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Maple trees–red and sugar–are beautiful; They give us those brilliant red and golds. However, maple seems more finicky and sensitive to wind and rain and loses its leaves after a storm. Oaks aren’t as bright, but beautiful in their own rite. White oak hasContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Went to a member’s property the other day above Fleischmanns, Delaware County to check on their apple trees and saw this sugar maple. I had to go back to the truck & get my diameter tape. The tree measured 58.5″ in diameter at breastContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? It seems both Mr. Heron & I were after the same thing, the little brown trout. Dinosaurs may be extinct, but I imagine the blue heron seems pretty “Tyrannosaurus Rex-like” when it hovers its crane-like neck and beak over the stream. It’s long, narrowContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Remember playing in leaves as a kid? I haven’t thought about it much until I came back to pick up my kids and found one of my daughters (Maple Amber) hidden among the maple leaves. Fall is here! May the forest be with you, Continue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? When I first moved to our house in Samsonville in 2012, I thought about cutting this red maple tree. It is stunted looking and it’s form is “okay.” However, I can’t think of a red maple with better foliage; It’s always a brilliant redContinue Reading
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? If you’re not familiar with this tree, you might want to; It’s pawpaw. They make large banana custard-like fruit. What’s just as good is that deer don’t seem to browse the foliage for some reason. The pawpaws I see contain leaves down to theContinue Reading