The Kieffer Pear has been reliable at flowering and producing a lot of fruit.
This tree was bought as a Bartlett Pear, but was found out later that it was not. These pears have grit cells in them that make them grainier than Bartlett-type Pears.
Hinge Cutting
I have been hinge cutting some elms in the woods this month, opening up the canopy.
This will bring more sunlight in and give some more cover for wildlife.
Frosted Standstill
Winter is a time to relax, everything is at a standstill. Some of these days will be clothed in frost.
A closeup of the frost shows the interesting texture.
Hiding From the Cold
I moved an old couch and found all these ladybugs gathered up for the winter.
Once the cold hits, I feel like doing the same thing and hibernate during the winter.
2004 Fall Tree Colors
Here are a few pics of fall colors of some of my trees:
Baldcypress(Taxodium distichum) is one of my most reliable producers of fall color. This tree was bought from Starkbros as a Dawn Redwood(Metasequoia glyptostroboides) but was mislabeled..
Another reliable fall color producer is the Blackgum(Nyssa Sylvatica).
The young Oriental White Oak(Quercus aliena) has shown some good fall color, not sure if it will translate into good fall color later on in life. This was from Oikos Tree Crops.
Sniff You Later
We got a new dog this year named Gypsy. She is a German Shepherd and has been a great pet.
She is greeting Stormy in this pic.
Black Walnut Victim
I am the latest victim of the Black Walnut tree. The nuts attracts humans and as a result we end up like this:
Parts of my hand have been dyed black from removing the black husks.
Colorful Inside Barn
Looking inside the barn, you will quickly notice the colorful bucks we have inside there.
All of these bucks are Nubians, enjoying their hay.
Garlic Chives
Garlic Chives is very attractive to insects when it is flowering. A lot of bees spend time on them.
We have divided them and have more plots of them that are full of flowers like this. The fast growing vines behind them are grapes.
Fast Growing Hybrid Elms
Well the hype was true, the Green King Hybrid elm I planted this spring has grown very fast.
Now that the fast growth question has been taken care of, the main question is how resistant it will be to Dutch Elm Disease.