Discovering the world around me.
On a late October day, the wind has blown most of the leaves off the trees. They crunch underfoot, reminding me of childhood. The ancient elms near our school dormitory used to provide vast quantities of leaves to play in. We would jump and roll in them, relishing that autumn crunch. I’m sure the grounds […]
Continue reading Falling Leaves
There’s an old Jonathan apple tree (Malus domestica) at the edge of Owl Acres. Last year it was so heavily loaded with fruit that a couple of its branches broke under the weight. This year it has fewer apples but they’re bigger. And, alas, a lot of them are wormy. The big, sweet apples that […]
Continue reading Ideal Fruit: Jonathan Apple Tree
Last fall we identified several types of berries along the edges of Owl Acres. One type of those berries was the white, pea-sized berries of the rough-leaf dogwoods which were growing in the yard and along the railroad tracks. I was familiar with some of the legends surrounding the dogwood, and was perhaps a bit […]
Continue reading Native Host: Rough-Leaf Dogwood
Most of the trees on Owl Acres are elms, walnuts, boxelders, hackberries and cedars. We only have one oak. It’s a red oak that we planted along the driveway about fifteen years ago. It was a sapling then, battling with the rabbits for survival. Those little creatures of the night wanted to eat its tender […]
Continue reading Red Oak
Winter food is abundant this fall, with the seeds from foxtails, ragweed, ditchweed, and all the other seeding plants. Berries are ripe, too. Juniper berries, elderberries, pokeberries and more hang in invitation to the birds. And in one spot by the railroad tracks, we found lots of red, white and black berries. The red ones […]
Continue reading Invasive Bully: Buckthorn
There’s a clump of four trees in the front yard on Owl Acres just outside the dining room windows. I often hear birds singing and squirrels chattering from these trees, even in the winter. There’s also a two-foot-tall seedling in the garden space. These trees thrive in several other places on Owl Acres and are […]
Continue reading A Gift from the Gobi Desert: Siberian Elm
Half of Owl Acres is given over to a forest reserve for tax purposes, but more importantly, woods for habitat purposes. The woods run along the west and north sides of the property and make a good windbreak as well. There are several types of trees in the woods, including quite a number of boxelders. […]
Continue reading River Maple or Boxelder Tree
My favorite flavor in the whole world, more favorite than chocolate, or smoked porkchops, or pecans, is cherries. Those big dark Michigan cherries; those spotted Washington cherries, and yes, the sour cherries that grow here. I love to eat the sweet ones by the handful, reveling first in the beautiful shape of them, round and […]
Continue reading It’s the pits: Cherries
Our mulberry trees are about ready for picking. The fruit is beautiful—cone-shaped, about an inch long berries with stems still attached and full of seeds. It is soft, sweet and fragile, a purple that will stain anything it comes in contact with. The flavor is delicate as well. They make lovely pies and cobblers. […]
Continue reading The Fruit of Broken Dreams: Mulberries
On a frigid evening in late winter, I love to sit in my favorite chair beside a blazing fire in the fireplace. Dave lies on my feet, and I revel in the warmth, and the popping, fizzing, roaring, chuckling, murmuring of the fire. The wood we’re burning is a mix of things gathered from downed […]
Continue reading Teeming with Life: Hackberry