Another White Pine Hit

We have transplanted Arbutus in three different widely spaced plots on our land.  Each of these and the one wild patch are near White pine trees.  Soil under these trees contains everything necessary for Arbutus to grow and prosper.  One group of plants was placed behind a drystone wall directly adjacent to the lane.  That was our destination today since Arbutus flowers were found open elsewhere yesterday.

This tree suffers from multiple trunks growing close to the ground.  An adventurous lad walked out on one such trunk causing it to break.  We knew that this tree was flawed but still we built the wall and transplanted six Arbutus plants between it and the base of the tree.  For more than a decade all went well.  Then a heavy wet snowfall broke off parts of  many trees.  

That is Becky wearing her pink hat sharing tender moments with Luca, the good neighbor's dog. We are pleased that this white pine dropped its heavy branches without contacting the stone wall or the arbutus patch.  After surveying the damage we realized there is nothing we can do about it today.

This group of plants started out as six transplants.  Two were female with the others male.  Seed is seen here every year but the growth habit of the plants covers the ground.  If plants from seed are growing here we cannot see them since now we can no longer even find the original six plants.  Seed is formed on the outside of a small white ball much like a raspberry.  Ants carry off pieces of the berry interested only in eating the white substance.  Seeds are simply cast aside.  We wanted to see plants growing away from these but have yet to find such a plant.  Without a wire cage, young plants would be eaten by rabbits or woodchucks.

This picture does not show the pink color of these buds.  None of our other groups make pink flowers but these do.  When first transplanted, these plants received water every week that it did not rain for two years.  We also carefully removed all fallen pine needles that were in contact with the leaves.  Full exposure to sunlight air and rain were maintained.  Their survival was our top priority then but now we recognize that these are wild native plants capable of getting by on their own.  Fallen needles sometimes completely cover leaves leading to their deaths but that is the nature of life in the wild.  The wire cage will remain to block out animals that feed on Arbutus leaves.

This fallen red maple branch is blocking use of the lane.  I parked the truck and Becky and I walked under this branch so we could continue up the lane to check the arbutus.  It was slow going because small broken branches  are scattered everywhere. We have along standing rule here that says stop and stand still to look around. The sheer number of broken trees to look at, together with the branches to trip over made this a slow process. 

The ROW users misunderstood the deeded terms of the right of way and involved a lawyer that found me impossible to move.  This fallen branch is totally blocking their access to their campsite at the top of the hill.  The tree that the branch fell from is not on land that I own so I am under no obligation to clear it.  When it is cleared, I will then have access to other places where removing the fallen branches is my obligation.  We shall see just how this situation is resolved.

 

Yellow Footprints

An outside walk was absolutely necessary today.  Air temperatures were well above freezing with fifty plus degrees forecast for the weekend.  Warm rain will soon melt all of this snow.  This was a last chance to tramp about in our December snow.  New sightings were there if one looked closely.

Frost had entered the ground in advance of the snowfalls.  Despite recent days where the air temperature remained below freezing, the insulative blanket of snow kept that cold away from the surface and allowed the warmth of mother earth to thaw the covered ground.  As I walked back down the lane today, I was surprised to see that my incoming tracks were well wet with yellow moisture.  Organic litter that had fallen from the trees was decomposing in melt water trickling under the snow.  A water bar at the base of the hill directs runoff into my woods.  Solids settle out in the deep leaves that cover my nearly level ground.  Each spring I harvest this black gold and use it to enrich soil around my cultivated wild flowers.  I cannot work my garden today but natural processes are at work helping with next year's garden.

A stone bench marks the final resting place of  Becky's parents.  Its location was selected in a somewhat remote spot that overlooks a long ago favored fishing hole.  Two quarried blue stone slabs cap this bench and Vermont marble marks the graves but the bench is built with stone found here. The end stone that rests on an outward slope may work itself free in a geologic time scale but its placement remains solid for now.

This huge red maple tree was the first treasure found when we initially looked at this land.  Its location near the declining end of a bedrock ridge saved it from the early farmer's axe.  Between two of the numerous trunks was a hollow that perfectly fit my back.  Every hike here included time with me standing almost in this tree.  The first trunk to fall had formed my sanctuary.  Now a second trunk is nearly on the ground.  Its snow cap neatly outlines the fallen giant.

My plan was to have my ashes scattered at the base of this tree.  It seems to be failing faster than me so a new plan is needed.  My stone walls seem to be holding up over time.  Perhaps one of them will  do.