Managing these wonders of #nature
and ensuring that All future generations have the opportunity to see such splendor,
should be a never-ending endeavor for us all. Here in Upstate New York, the Autumn brings with it scenes like these, breathtaking to say the least!
This #renewable resource has been stripped from all corners of our not-so-green planet.
Managing these forests should be a never-ending endeavor for us all.
Being a steward of our piece of land has been a passion of mine since the day we purchased our property 42 years ago.
Attending to existing trees and planting hundreds more has been gratifying beyond my wildest dreams! If you're interested, let's take a look at what I'm talking about.
Years ago we cleared a few acres of land and planted these Black Walnut trees. 70 of these beautiful trees have now become a part of the landscape.
Each different species of tree has its unique characteristics.
Another favorite of mine is the Hard Maple.
In the fall it's hard not to gawk at the bright yellow foliage.
Dead maples that have not decayed beyond a certain point provide some unique designs and colors.
This lumber is called Spalted Maple and is very valuable.
The Hard Maple is where we get our sap for making syrup.
Black Cherry is a high-end lumber used for furniture and cabinets.
The bark of this tree is very easy to recognize as it looks like the scales on a fish.
Like the Black Walnut trees, they also have compound leaves as shown in the middle picture at the top. When the trees are young their bark is very smooth.
Red Oak is another hardwood. These trees can reach an age of over 200 years.
Both Red and White Oak are used for all types of projects.
Boy do these trees grow fast and they sure do produce a lot of offspring.
We planted these Figure Poplar trees just 7 years ago.
Our property is laden with these once-hardy trees, but insects are playing havoc with their mere existence.
They make for great firewood. They are the only hardwood that can be cut down one day and burned the next. All other hardwoods need to dry for a year. The bug I mentioned that is killing this tree is the Emerald Ash borer which has infested much of our area. I've included a link if you would like to see what this pest really looks like and see the damage they inflict on a tree.
If you spot this tree in the landscape of a forest, you can be pretty sure that it's Soft Maple. Its bright red leaves light up the forest.
While the leaves of a Hard Maple have 5 distinct lobes the leaves of the Soft Maple only have 3 distinct lobes. I'm always fascinated by the different pests that can eat their way into the center of the tree and then cause the damage you see here.
Pine trees are a softwood and this lumber has many uses. The trees that rim this section of our pond were planted years ago to provide privacy. They were just saplings that were transplanted from our forest.
Pine cones are a staple of the Red Squirrels.
Letting the cones dry allows the seeds to drop from the scales of the cone. The two young saplings you see here came from seeds that we gathered. This is a wonderful project for you and your children to do together, dry a cone, seeds drop, plant them and watch them grow.
About 50 of these pines are scattered around the property.
Most framing material is some type of conifer. When we framed the addition to our home we used Hemlock which is just One of the many types of pine trees.
I hope you all enjoyed. I'm headed back to the hospital for my last knee replacement procedure, if you do reply, which is always something I look forward to, it may be some time before I can get back to you.
Back in the day they used wood for false teeth and wooden legs. I wonder how that worked out?😁