November Pines

 Some combination of favorable weather conditions resulted in a huge crop of pine cones on several different varieties of trees this year.  These Norway Spruce trees are still holding a heavy load of cones despite their fallen cones thickly covering the ground.  These trees regularly produce a crop of cones but their numbers are usually small.  This crop exceeds anything that we have seen in the past.

Norway Spruce cones remain tightly closed whether on the tree or on the ground.  Some resident rodent peels the cones to expose the seeds tucked close to the center shaft.  This bounty will likely help the squirrels and chipmunks survive the winter in great numbers.  The impact of great numbers of these creatures remains to be seen.  A recent bumper crop of acorns aided an increase in the number of mice which was a factor in a record number of ticks.

Not all trees with needles rather than leaves remain evergreen.  Larch trees needles change from green to a beautiful gold before falling to the ground.  New green needles will not be seen here until next spring.

They may be dropping their needles but they retain a tight hold on their cones.  A slight disturbance now will cause seeds to drop from the cones.  These trees were planted in some of the driest ground we have.  Perhaps this will be the year when some of these cones are scattered on ground that is frequently wet.  Larch trees prefer moist soil.

Our White Pines have matured and dropped their cones.  Hungry critters peel away the scales in search of seeds.  Scales and stripped cone centers litter the ground while the seeds are secreted away for winter food.

These cones have been gathered for two reasons.  Their open structure and white colored tips make attractive holiday displays.  They reportedly make excellent fire starters.  Once snow covers the ground, I plan to make small fires to clear away the nuisance shrubs unearthed earlier this year.  These White Pine cones may help start the fires.

Autumn Gold

The two groups of Larch trees were planted when we first acquired this land fourteen years ago. Their water was trucked in using covered five gallon pails. Ed was younger then and carried two pails at once across the meadow and up the hill. Now a rest is required to walk up the hill empty handed. Each planting had three trees at the start. One tree was lost in each group.




The field guide identifies the larch tree as deciduous since it drops its needles. This characteristic is why we planted them. A pine tree that is bare all winter just seemed like a must have. The fall yellow color is a plus also.




The trees have been producing cones only recently. With me education always follows acquisition. Now I know that the larch tree prefers a moist location. I carry cones to the area at the base of the ridge where water is abundant. The first trees from seed have yet to make their appearance. Another reason to look forward to next year.