Bent But Not Broken

After sitting for a spell, a walk up the hill took me to the last of my transplanted Arbutus plants.  One plant of each gender were placed here and the deeply rotted White pine needle soil has supported impressive growth.  Seeds have formed for several years so new plants may be included in the photo but no disturbance has happened looking for new from seed plants.  A wire cage is needed here to keep animals from eating these evergreen plants when snow melt reveals bright green leaves.  Edge stones prevent marauders from pushing the cage aside with the central stones supporting the cage when animals walk across it.  Today taller stones were needed as the cage was pushed down nearly crushing the desired plants.  No protective gloves nor kneeling pads can be seen as this started out as a walk to simply get the mail.

Today's patch is completed with the cage returned to its intended location.

The White pine has been here for years and this year's cone production was again impressive.  Both chipmunks and red squirrels live among the old stone wall.  At this time they are busy harvesting pine nuts that are likely being hidden in crevices in the wall.  Few intact cone are seen here now while the shredded remains are everywhere. 

 Back up the hill at home six deer were grazing on what I call lawn.  I took a series of pictures as I walked in their direction.  This is as close as I got before the herd moved into the taller weeds.   Before they bolted several tried turf stabs in an attempt to frighten me away.  These mature does and their fawns see this land as their own and they do feed on my garden plants.  In my younger days I would shout and harmlessly shoot my gun in an attempt to drive them away.  Now they spend a great deal of time here and we enjoy watching another generation get ready for the coming winter.

Hazelnuts

Hazelnut bushes exist here because a naturalist friend recommended them to us. We planted them in 1998.   She advised us to allow the suckers to grow creating a bush rather than trying for a tree with a single trunk.  We followed her advice and now have the two bushes required for pollination.  Rock hard nuts and aged teeth do not seem like much of a match so no attempt is made to harvest these nuts.  They are finally doing well here and we do enjoy watching their natural cycle.

The fall appearing catkins appearing alongside of the mature fruit seem to be in contradiction.  Many plants form their flower buds in the fall then hold them over for spring function.  We will pay closer attention to the cycle of this bush.

The hull protecting each developing nut is nothing short of amazing.  This one has fallen from the tree, split open and still holds tightly to its fruit.

The largest chipmunk ever seen here claims ownership of this bounty.  The pile of discarded hull wrappers remains on the wall while the nuts have been secreted away.  Chipmunks tend to be sassy animals that are slow to flee from humans.  The monster claiming ownership of this wall will not be challenged.  It appears to be serious about protecting this wall and bush.