We have about 20-30 acres of apple trees gone wild. While we have be able to do some taming of the trees in the past couple of years, usually in the fall, this beautiful early spring weather with bare ground has given us a jump on the tree trimming before the wood ticks get too thick. Fifty to sixty years ago when this was actually a working farm, the area we now call the meadow was a cleared grain- or corn-producing field. Since then, birds, other creatures and the wind have worked hard to seed all manner of trees, but mostly apple trees. And with no one watching them through the years, the apple trees grow wild!
So, last week Leann made a bench out of reused boards from the deck on the old house. We have several benches positioned here and there up in the meadow to sit and stop to enjoy the view along our trails. We found a nice spot for this latest new bench overlooking a clear spot with potential for wildlife viewing. But just to the left was a grove of overgrown--messy--apple trees. My Older Daughter always accuses us retired librarians of trying to "organize the forest" and I guess that's how we roll!
Here's the same tree from another direction. Overgrown, dead branches, limbs crossing over other limbs, just a mess!
And here it is after an hour or so of work and three loads of branches hauled away. There's still more to do, but we're sure what remains of the tree is breathing much easier.
Then came the bonus! Just a couple feet to the south of this little grove was a small wetland area. We had seen some bugs skimming across the water so we knew there was some life there, but then while we were working we started hearing some sounds--sort of like chirps crossed with a croaking sound and soon we saw two little frogs. They are someplace in the middle of those two clumps of grass poking their heads out of the water. Where did they come from since this little puddle is not usually there the rest of the year?
1 comment:
Great work on the trees!
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