tight in the bud

This vine looks dead for intents and purposes, but the those new spring buds give it away. A few feet further down this vine, the buds had already burst and were leafing out showing tiny grape clusters. But I liked the tendrils better on this section. You know how I am about tendrils.

wild grapevine with old tendrils and new buds

P.S. Happy May Day everyone! Make a posie and put it on your neighbors doorstep.

abundance

It is hard to communicate in a single image the sheer abundance of even a single tree of crab-apple blossoms. Think Washington DC or Kyoto, Japan during cherry blossoms. That is Minneapolis/St. Paul during apple blossom season.

crab apple blossoms

Two words: Apple. Blossoms.

It’s apple blossom season here in the North! We have a lot of apple trees, which means we have a lot of trees loaded with pink and white blossoms. It’s pretty spectacular. We had 24 hours of rain yesterday, and that was clearly the memo all the trees were waiting for, because when I ran to the grocery store around noon today my world looked entirely different than it had only the day before. It doesn’t always work this way–all the trees blooming on the exact same day. But it sure is fun when it does happen!

crabapple blossoms

planting trees is a an act of hope

Planting a tree is an act of hope. It is a profound act of hope. It is a self-less long-term investment with lasting ecological benefits. Planting trees is a gift to the future.

This past weekend, Steve and I planted five trees. Three fruit trees and two evergreens.

quince blossoms

forest stewardship

Our house, along with six others, sit in a snug row along 30 acres of heavily wooded lakeshore. Steve and I own three of those acres. For years I have been wanting to know more about how to manage our section of the woodland. And finally this winter, I found the perfect solution: The Minnesota DNR started offering a free Friday morning webinar called “Friday with a Forester”. It’s been great. So far I’ve listened to experts talk about preparing our northern woodland for “Climate Resiliency”, and just last Friday I learned about “Enhancing Forest Habitat for Birds.” I am loving learning the best practices for managing our trees. Honestly, I am such a nerd.

For example, last week I learned about the importance of “high mast trees” for wildlife habitat. Have you ever hear of this? I knew oaks have masting years, but I never thought much more about it. But there is a whole category of “masting” trees: High mast trees in Eastern hardwood forests–such as oaks, hickories, beech, and hazelnuts–are vital, and nutrient-rich “hard mast” producers essential for wildlife, particularly during winter. These deciduous trees dominate the canopy, periodically dropping large amounts of nuts in mast years to overwhelm seed predators. Literal air drops of high density, nutrition rich, protein. It’s so cool!

We have lots of masting trees (mostly oaks, walnuts, and hazelnuts), and lots of wildlife. But hickory might be a fun addition!?

Pin oak (?) acorns caps I picked up in Atlanta last autumn