The cattle have been hard at work. Do to their pushing in dirt from various angles, they have created a pond that appears with a heart shape.
It really is their work of love.
Hackberry Leaf Drop
My Common Hackberry(Celtis Occidentalis) dropped a lot of its leaves this year. It was not a pretty sight and have not seen this happen before.
To my delight, it started to grow out new leaves, so ended up not being a major problem that was going to kill the tree.
Disney Goat
This spring we had some beautiful baby goats born. Interesting thing is that I see Goofy’s silhouette on the side of one of the young buck goats.
Also, here is another colorful boy that was born this spring. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to be black or white.
Purple Spring
Every Spring I get to experience the vibrant Purple Beech trees leafing out.
It is a variety of the green-leafed European Beech(Fagus sylvatica), which I also have. They are all slow growing trees, but Beech trees suppose to live for hundreds of years. Also when they are decades old, they suppose to produce Beech nuts that wildlife like. I am still decades away from that experience I imagine.
American Basswood
American Basswood(Tilia americana) is a common tree on my place. It attains a large size as this pic proves:
When I came close to this tree to measure it, I saw a lot of rot inside the huge trunk, the whole inside is hollowing out. The circumference of the trunk is around 16 feet. I really don’t feel comfortable that close to this basswood tree, as if a sneeze of mine could make it come tumbling down.
Iowa Waterfall
A fun time of the year for me is walking around during snowmelt. All the snow that piled up during these winter months finally hit some warm days and quickly melted. This created a wide, icy waterfall along an eroding ditch that was beautiful to witness.
Decades ago my dad planted Marsh Marigolds(Caltha palustris) back here. They are no longer there. The ditch has swallowed up the marshy area, quickly moving upstream. I hope someday to have a pond there, that stops this fast growing problem.
Fall Colors 2002
Fall is a sad part of the year, there is less sun and everything starts to look drab. So what is there to help me through these cooler, dark months of the year?
Well why of course, having some fall color on my trees helps me enjoy this letdown compared to the greener and more active months of Spring and Summer.
The American Sycamore(Platanus occidentalis) tree really doesn’t have great fall color when mature, but for some reason this small tree decided to brighten up the surroundings.
Ok, so sometimes fall color can be somewhat drab in itself, but at least this Shellbark Hickory(Carya laciniosa) does not have the leaves fall off while they are still green. The tree in the background that is still green is a Sugar Maple(Acer Saccharum). It turns a good color in most years, just hadn’t yet in this particular photo.
White oak(Quercus alba) is not native to my location like the Red Oak(Quercus rubra) and Bur Oak(Quercus macrocarpa). There are a few of these White Oaks that were planted here though. They offer better color than the Bur Oak tree, but I consider the Red Oak and White Oak a draw for fall color. The White Oaks have grow fairly slowly, which has been the main drawback.
Wind Break It
River Birch(Betula nigra) is a fast growing tree I like growing. It seems resistant to drought and has faster growth than most trees in its youth. The best part is the peeling flakes of bark on the trunk. I like to think it is one of the many trees I can grow to replace elms on my oasis, so that there is more diversity.
Well as luck would have it, a powerful wind knocked out the top of of my River Birch.
Also a Baldcypress(Taxodium distichum) was in the same area and the wind ended up breaking the top of that young tree, too. When growing trees, the weather ultimately controls too much.
Iowa Reflections
Sometimes it is nice to take a step back and see what direction one is going. As I am making subtle changes to the landscape, I have to decide how much effort it will take to make my dreams come true.
I have to decide how much grassland, woods, and ponds fit together well on this land to help attract the most wildlife and diversity. It is an always evolving plan and hope to have a better idea, as I start to fill in some of those question marks.
Fast Growing Evergreen Windbreaks
When searching for fast growing trees for your windbreak, I doubt you will come across this conifer. This is for good reason, because this tree has actually been slow growing for me.
This little treasure is called the White Fir(Abies concolor) and also another common name is Concolor Fir. So while it is slow growing, it will have an attractive color that adds diversity to your planned windbreak.