11.17.07 GRUESOME HARVEST

Saturday is the first day of regular hunting season. A neighbor has put out some deer skulls to mark the entrance to his land. The deer are a blessing and a curse. They have severely overpopulated the forest around here and affect the health of the habitat for many creatures. And of course they wreak havoc on the gardens of those of us silly enough to try using their territory for vegetables! I welcome the hunters who have come to perform a necessary service. Their bow season began in early October and gun season will go through January 5 with quiet days on Sunday when I can cautiously, very cautiously, return to the woods.

10.22.07 ICONIC TREE

When we think of an image of a tree, we very often think of this one, the white oak, Quercus alba. And justly so since it is one of the most common trees of the eastern forest in the United States. Superlative as well in longevity, a white oak can live to be eight hundred years old. Here it is loaded with acorns ready to feed all sorts of wildlife. The fallen acorns, or mast, are an essential part of the forest ecology. The Smithsonian recently reported that white oak seedlings, despite all of the frenzied planting by squirrels, are taking a hit. The huge increase in the herds of deer in our eastern forests are making it very difficult for white oak seedlings to survive. They are commonly browsed by hungry deer. Researchers note that we won't see it for many years, but the lack of juvenile oaks will have a dramatic effect on our future forest.

09.29.07 APPLE OF MY EYE

The deer have finished most of the apples from our tree. The fruit that remains are high up in the branches beyond the reach of the deer standing on their hind legs. This morning I decided to harvest a few for a family apple crisp. Shaking the branches to get the apples to fall I got beaned in the eye by one of Sir Isaac's orbs. Knocked my glasses off and punched a nice hole in the apple. A black eye from a sweet fruit.

08.09.07 DEER DAMAGE

The deer are descending upon the garden nightly and eating up everything that might be green and tasty. These photos are of a bed of sunflowers and some of my squash plants. All of my squash plants throughout the garden have now been eaten back. Oh, it is hard to watch. Notice that the plants behind the screen fencing in the background are doing just fine. Unfortunately I only have enough fencing to surround 4 of my 20 beds. I now have a new project for this winter.

08.06.07 TOMATO TIME

It’s that fabulous time of year when big juicy tomatoes are available at every supper table. Unfortunately these are NOT from our garden. In spite of planting out over fifty tomato plants, we haven't a single red fruit. The deer come every night to our smorgasbord and browse the plants back hard. These beautiful specimens are a gift of our neighbor, Sondra, whose dog Molly does a good job of keeping the deer away in the evening.

07.20.07 AMAZING MAIZE

It's corn harvest time! Here is a photo of the load of corn I harvested from my two little fifty square foot beds. If you look closely at the kernels you will notice they are a bit small. I think I picked the ears a little early, but when you see the work the deer (or racoons?) have been doing in my tiny patch at night, you will understand why I wanted to bring them in from the garden right away! Despite its small size, the corn is sweet and delicious, a real treat with supper.