Early leaf drop

Each year a few trees have changing leaves by now. The high temperatures at several points since June must have triggered something. We've had several trees already change color and drop nearly all leaves. One large red maple on the south hill was totally yellow a few days ago. Here is the picture of a trail near the house with many birch leaves already down. 

Most trees are still green, like this huge yellow birch farther down the hill. Due to its advanced age, the peeling bark is starting to crack. Big plates of yellowish-silver will mark the tree as a very mature specimen.

Each walk brings more and more beauty.

Morning harvests

This week we've picked great vegetables from the raised beds near the house, as well as perfect berries from the woods. The broccoli ended up small, but they will be marvelous.

Forest management case study

Once again we discuss the irony of thinning trees to make the forest better. Yes, taking some trees out can be a good way to help preferred species. This work area is close to the northwest corner of the loop trail, about 1000 feet north of the house. Mother Nature decided to let a lot of red maple grow, which can quickly overtop red oak, yellow birch, and sugar maple.

This first photo shows the aftermath of axing out three red maple stump sprouts. Note the smaller sugar maple on the right of the clump, which will get more sun and not wrap around the removed trunks any more. Removal of the remaining red maple will be for another day.

Some stump sprouts are way too big for easy removal, but a pole saw will help the red oak and yellow birch on the right of these pesky red maples. (Note the large amount of downed branches/leaves from the red maples). The two smaller preferred trees will still struggle, but they have more of a chance.

Easier work makes more crown space for an oak, illustrated by this before/after duo of photos. Once again, red maple stump sprouts were removed to help out the quercus rubra.

Before:

After!!!

The axe can be quite handy to quickly remove a balsam fir creating a lot of shade. Previous pole saw work cut away many lower branches for much easier axing.

Wildflowers!!!

You know it's the second week of June on Hardwood Hermitage because of the annual return of our lupine and the beautiful white daisies. We've had some nice sun this week, a pleasant change from the abundant rain.

Loaf worthy of immortality

Oatmeal bread can make great the rainiest of days!

A Sawbuck State of Mind

Not in the limelight as much as the power tools, our sawbuck still does great work. Today, we cut big wood from the recent red maple project, as well as a bunch of kindling, some of which was brought up over the fall and winter. The sawbuck allows for cutting a great deal of wood in a short time while elevating all the biomass. It's a great time saver, as well as much better on our backs!!

 

Work in progress

Some splitting remains, as does moving the wood up, but we had a lovely morning for dropping the last of the four red maple quad trunks, about 45 degrees at7 a.m. It's nice to see the sun, which has been hidden for much of the month.