Geese on the Move

These baby geese are only a couple of days old and they have already walked over a quarter of a mile from Miner's pond to the pond near our cabin.



I'm not sure why the geese move between these two ponds, but they do it every year. The grass around our pond is taller than the baby geese.

Baby Geese

As I drove by Miner's pond this morning on my way to our cabin I noticed a couple of geese along the edge of the pond and one of them looked as if was on a nest. On my return trip I could see some newly hatched baby geese that the mother had been keeping warm.



The baby geese were soon in the water splashing behind their mother.

Tree Rings

I was doing some remodeling recently and was "re-purposing" some of the 2X4s that I removed in another project when I noticed one of the 2X4s was very hard to cut. When I checked the end grain of the 2X4 I found very tightly packed tree rings. This 2X4 was used in construction of our house over 40 years ago and must have come from some old growth timber.

Trees will add a new ring for each year of growth and I counted over 100 different tree rings within this 1.5 inch section of wood. Based upon the curvature of the tree rings this section of 2X4 was located about 16 inches from the center of the tree and the tree was therefore at least 3 feet in diameter.

This 2X4 must have come from a tree that was over a 1,000 years old.



Pine tree plantations in the South consider trees mature at 25-40 years old. Plantation trees are typically thinned when trees are 12-15 years old to promote the growth. These plantation grown trees have large gaps between the tree rings due to their rapid growth and the wood is much softer.

A close-up view of the tree rings.

Fruit Tree Grafting

Tree grafting is a technique to take a cutting from one tree and propagate it on another tree. Each spring I try my luck at grafting cuttings from my apple orchard onto wild (scrub) apples trees I find growing on our property.

This year I'm trying to propagate some of my neighbor's bartlett pears onto wild pear trees. There are several different grafting techniques, but this is a quick/easy one. First select the cuttings to propagate and trees to graft onto. I have selected a vertical branch on the wild pear tree, removed the top section and will use the base to receive the bartlett pear cuttings, known as scions.

After selecting a couple of 3 to 4 inch scions I taper about 1.5 inches of the bottom of each to form a wedge point.



Using a sharp knife I split the wild pear branch and insert the scions. To make a tree graft successful, the cambium cell layer of the scion must be in contact with the cambium cell layer of the receiving tree. The greenish layer of the scions is the cambium cell layer.



Press the scions in and align the cambium cell layers.



With the scions in place I secure them with cheap electrical tape (something that will deteriorate within a year). If the scion develops buds and leaves I will know the graft was successful and within a few years I will have some bartlett pears.

Deja Vu All Over Again

A couple of weeks ago I found two mourning doves trapped in my barn, twice since then I have removed more mourning doves from the barn. Maybe I should start banding the birds to see if it is the same birds.

Wildflower - Coltsfoot

The gray and brown landscape of early spring is starting to brighten with the appearance of the blooming wildflowers. It was easy to notice the bright yellow color of Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) blooming along the edge of Joyce Road. Coltsfoot is one of the first wildflowers to bloom in the neighborhood.



Coltsfoot may look like a dandelion, but it is a member of the Aster family.

Spring Turkeys

In the spring, the hills are alive with the sounds of TURKEYS.

I watched from the window of our house as more than a dozen hen turkeys wandered across our lawn looking for a meal. A short distance behind the hens were these two gobblers, but they weren't looking for a meal.



This gobbler liked the area near my garlic bed to practice his dance moves.



While the gobblers were dancing, the hens continued to march across a field and into a wooded area. The gobblers soon realized the hens didn't stick around for the dancing and they were in a hurry to catch up.

Opossum or Possum?

Technically Opossums are found in the United States, while Possums are native to Australia. I found this young Opossum in a brushy area behind our barn. Opossums aren't known for their good looks, but this one is above average.