Summer Blooms

From our early walk this morning it was already 75F and forecast  to rise into the mid to low 80s. Whew!   We ran the trail camera trapline too so there are more critters to follow,  

There was also silky dogwood - Cornus amomum. 

 
This deciduous shrub has an open-rounded form and features tiny yellowish-white flowers in flat-topped clusters in late spring to early summer, followed by attractive berry-like drupes that ripen from white to blue in late summer.

It is typically found in moist lowland areas, such as swamp borders, floodplains, and along streams and ponds. 

The berries are edible for birds and wildlife. The berries can be used in teas or other preparations when ripe but are otherwise toxic to people. 

Lots more blooming in the pollinator habitat; and monarch butterflies, pardon the pun, are king.

Stay cool

 

Autumn

From our walk this morning there was more than a whiff of autumn in the air.

There was also silky dogwood - Cornus amomum.

This deciduous shrub has an open-rounded form and features tiny yellowish-white flowers in flat-topped clusters in late spring to early summer, followed by attractive berry-like drupes that ripen from white to blue in late summer.

It is typically found in moist lowland areas, such as swamp borders, floodplains, and along streams and ponds.

The berries are edible for birds and wildlife. The berries can be used in teas or other preparations when ripe but are otherwise toxic to people. 

Spring Blooms

This last weekend the Red Rocket and I took a walkabout to locate the wild blue flag iris.  I figured it was too early for blooms just yet and sure as shooting, they were not.  But we know where they lurk so you can expect some photos closer to the end of the month.

Nevertheless, some of the native shrubs were blooming-up a storm.

The pagoda dogwood...

And the red osier dogwood....

 Pollinator heaven. 

More Early Blooms

It isn't only the woodland wildflowers that are beginning to bloom.  Just as yesterday's lilacs and apple trees so are the other trees.

The white oak tree in the yard was a bare root stick when planted eighteen years ago.  In almost two decades it has grown into a handsome pre-adolescent.   

The other day I noticed that the tree had large numbers of catkins hanging from the prior year’s growth as the leaves of 2022 emerged from their buds.  These are one of the flowers that are produced by the tree – the male flower to be certain.  This species is monoecious – meaning that it produces both male and female flowers. Each male flower typically has six stamens (ranges from two to twelve) which have long spreading white filaments when the flower fully opens.  The female flowers are more reddish-green and appear as small slender spikes in the axils of new growth. 

I gave this tree a thorough examination and could find no flowers of the female persuasion. Not surprising inasmuch as they are not visible to the naked eye.  It is from the female flower that acorns are formed.  White oaks mature sufficiently at twenty or more years of age before they are capable of producing acorns.  Large numbers of acorns won't materialize until the tree is fifty years of age.  Which makes sense for a tree that will live many hundreds of years.

Friday Music

Originally a traditional German folk song this tune had little if anything to do with Christmas - or describe a decorated Christmas tree.  The original lyrics had everything to do with a fir tree’s evergreen quality as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness.  You see, a Tannenbaum is a fir tree.  

The folk song eventually became associated with the celebration of Christmas when Ernst Anschütz added two additional verses of his own to the traditional verse in 1824.  The custom of the Christmas tree developed in the course of the 19th century and with Anschütz’s changes the song came to be seen as a Christmas carol early in the 20^th century.

You can also cut the tannenbaum and use the limbs to camouflage your German Leopard tank.

Nothing like heavy armor to get you in the holiday mood..... 

Nature's Color Palette

During the spring and summer the deep green color of chlorophyll assists plants in the absorption of sunlight and masks additional colors lurking in the leaves of trees. The fall colors are there but hidden.  

The green pigment of chlorophyll is produced by plants during the photosynthesis process.  Those other ‘hidden pigments’ are called carotenoids and they are the source of the yellows, oranges, and anthocyanins, which yield red and purple leaves. While chlorophyll and carotenoids are present throughout the growing season, most anthocyanins are produced exclusively in late summer and early autumn.

There are several reasons why leaves change color in the fall, the most significant of which is shorter daylight hours and longer nighttime hours. As the days become shorter and the nights become longer, the amount of light required for photosynthesis is diminished and the production of chlorophyll slows to a halt. Without any new chlorophyll being produced, the leaves' characteristic green color begins to break down and vanish. This mechanism essentially reveals the colors of the carotenoids and anthocyanins that were lurking beneath. 

The red color is actively made in leaves by bright light and cold. The crisp, cold nights in the fall combine with bright, sunny days to spur production of red in leaves – especially in sugar maple and red maple trees. During these days, lots of sugars are produced in the leaf but the cool nights and the gradual closing of veins going into the leaf prevent these sugars from moving out. These conditions — lots of sugar and lots of light — spur production of the brilliant pigments, which tint reds, purples and crimson. 

 

Elevation and variety of tree species are two other factors that affect the timing of fall foliage. Trees in higher mountain elevations are likely to change colors more quickly than their valley counterparts within the same latitude.

We’re lucky here in the Midwest to be blessed with pretty decent fall colors.  They’re slightly late this year - yet continue to delight.

*Photos sourced from the Brussels community and our yard... 

 

More Signs of Spring

It remains rather brown outside and when it is dreary and rainy it's difficult to imagine spring. That is, unless, you get out of doors and examine the natural world that surrounds you.  

From our walk yesterday there was this.  

Catkins!   

This is the petal-less flower associated with willow, birch, hickory and a few additional trees.   

Willows thrive in the wetter soils found around here and form tangled thickets that provide valuable wildlife habitat.  The flowers you see pictured emerge in early spring before the leaves.  Willows are dioecious with male flowers are associated with a separate plant from those that bear female flowers.  

This is a common native tree found throughout Wisconsin.  Depending upon the season it is also commonly utilized in floral arrangements.   

Since this is one of the very first spring blooms they are a sure sign of the end of winter and the beginning of spring. 

*Memo to self - be sure to keep a lookout for the first honey bees of 2021

More Rutting Activity

 

Speaking of the rut after the morning walk this was discovered in the south corner of our front yard.

This basswood tree had been planted about fifteen years ago as a tiny potted 'stick' of a tree.  And over the last decade and a half it has grown into a handsome and straight native hardwood of about 3+ inches in diameter near its base.

Overnight Mr. Buck decided to pay a nocturnal visit and tear-up the bark on the south-facing side of the trunk to mark his territory and establish dominance.

Grrrrr.......

Fall Colors Continued

The weather has been sketchy yesterday. Blustery overcast and dank. 

 

Nevertheless, we caught a break around 2:30 to investigate the blaze orange foliage a half mile distant. 

The black cherry are gone having dropped their fluorescent leaves. I had a hunch about the orange.

 

 

Sure enough - Populus grandidentata - bigtooth aspen.

 

Blonde dog got to splash in the creek and flushed a flock of turkeys.

 

Bonus......

 

Progeny

One of the things I've endeavored to do in retirement is to pay closer attention to what's going on in the natural world around me.                

At the end of May I published a post about the large numbers of catkins hanging from the white oak tree in our yard.  As it turns out these are one of the flowers that are produced by the tree – the male flower to be certain.         

This species is monoecious – meaning that it produces both male and female flowers. Each male flower typically has six stamens (ranges from two to twelve) which have long spreading white filaments when the flower fully opens.  The female flowers are more reddish-green and appear as small slender spikes in the axils of new growth.               

My sources suggest that white oaks mature sufficiently at twenty or more years of age before they are capable of producing acorns.  Large numbers of acorns won't materialize until the tree is fifty years of age.              

This oak was planted 16 years-ago as a one or two year-old bare root seeding.  A mere fifteen inch stick about as big around as a thick pencil.

It barely survived the first years of its life and I often thought it wouldn't amount to anything.

Suffice to say it has grown into a handsome teenager.                

Looky what we got growing....  

 

Wildlife Temple

Meet Cornus alternifolia – commonly known as Alternate-leafed Dogwood, Pagoda Dogwood, Green Osier, Pigeonberry and Blue Dogwood.          

Three houses-ago Jill and I planted one of these in our front yard because the spring blooms, fall foliage and curious branch structure would add interest to our city landscaping.  It grows profusely around here – along the line fences and along Silver Creek.        

From our walk a few days ago it was in all of its spring glory and hosting the pollinators that came to visit the prolific flowers.  It mostly grows in stands as a consequence of a fibrous, spreading root system. And it prefers cool, wet and shade.       

Unlike other native dogwoods this species does not have opposing leaves.  Instead, it sports alternate leaves that have teeny-tiny teeth on them.  This shrubby tree has a flattened crown below-which are horizontal branches – lending it a pagoda-like appearance.   
     

In autumn the foliage will change to a spectrum of gold to scarlet-maroon colors and birds will feast on the berries that persist long into the months of winter that follow.          

It is an all-around excellent small tree - pleasing to the eye and friend of wildlife.   

I recommend it.

Spring Blooms

The white oak tree in the yard was a bare root stick when planted sixteen years ago.  In the intervening decade and a half it has grown into a handsome young adult.            

The other day I noticed that the tree had large numbers of catkins hanging from the prior year’s growth as the leaves of 2020 emerged from their buds.  These are one of the flowers that are produced by the tree – the male flower to be certain.  This species is monoecious – meaning that it produces both male and female flowers. Each male flower typically has six stamens (ranges from two to twelve) which have long spreading white filaments when the flower fully opens.  The female flowers are more reddish-green and appear as small slender spikes in the axils of new growth.           

I gave this tree a thorough examination and could find no flowers of the female persuasion. Not surprising inasmuch as they are not visible to the naked eye.  It is from the female flower that acorns are formed.  White oaks mature sufficiently at twenty or more years of age before they are capable of producing acorns.  Large numbers of acorns won't materialize until the tree is fifty years of age.  Which makes sense for a tree that will live many hundreds of years. 

Later this summer I'll report on any acorns that materialize.

Stay-tuned...... 

Signs of Spring

It remains rather brown outside and when it is dreary and rainy it's difficult to imagine spring.  That is, unless, you get out of doors and examine the natural world that surrounds you.

From our walk a couple of days ago there was this.

Catkins!

This is the petal-less flower associated with willow, birch, hickory and a few additional trees. 

Willows thrive in the wetter soils found around here and form tangled thickets that provide valuable wildlife habitat.  The flowers you see pictured emerge in early spring before the leaves.  Male flowers are associated with a separate plant from those that bear female flowers.     

I suspect that these are black willows.  It is deserving of further examination.

Update

From our walk today there was this.

A tamarack with two stems that has grown into a living, intertwined, corkscrew.  A bizzare freak of nature - yet possibly a palette from which something might be made.

Gotta think about that.

Also have been finding tufts of whitetail deer hair all over the forest floor.  Evidence that they're beginning a molt of the thick outer grey guard hairs that constituted their winter camouflage.  Soon the deer will switch into their ruddy, roan red coats of the warmer months.

And the the afternoon brought a sudden, short, sockdolager of a storm complete with thunder, lightening, rain and hail.  Two years ago we had a blizzard this time of year with two feet of snow.  What next - locusts?

 

Door County weather - never a dull moment 

The Mighty Oak

One of my goals in retirement is to expand my observations of the natural world around me.  To be more cognizant of what is going-on and make an attempt to understand and learn from it. 

Some of you readers know that most of the forested cover here at The Platz was planted there by us.  Historically, we have a general idea of the pre-settlement forest cover from reading the surveyor field notes when the Government Land Office surveyors cruised thru here the winter of 1836.  The notes taken by Sylvestor Sibley indicated the presence of black ash, tamarack, cedar, hemlock, sugar maple, elm and other species.  Of course, with the arrival of European settlers the land was cleared for agriculture and the wildness tamed.  By the time it fell into our hands there wasn't a tamarack to be found.  They'd all be transformed into fence posts and shingles. 

We planted a large number of tamaracks because our soil types are well-suited to the species.  And both the tamarack and northern spruce  have since been repopulating other areas in the forest as the parent trees matured and produced seed.  This seed is subsequently spread by critters and seasonal weather events and we're experiencing natural forest regeneration.  If the deer numbers could be reduced the regeneration would be wildly successful.  I digress. 

In any event, among the trees we planted were thousands of oaks - white, bur, red and swamp white oaks.  Oaks are a valuable tree when you consider their wildlife benefits and future commercial use.  And while once in the past two-and-a-half decades I observed acorns on the bur oaks I haven't observed any since.  Then this happened this spring.  These have been showing-up. 

click on the tiny tree for a closer look

 

Swamp oak seedlings! 

Well, I'll be switched.  Those trees have been producing some acorns and I never took notice. 

Acorns

One of the things I've endeavored to do in retirement is to pay closer attention to what's going on in the natural world around me. 

At the end of May I published a post about the large numbers of catkins hanging from the white oak tree in our yard.  As it turns out these are one of the flowers that are produced by the tree – the male flower to be certain. 

This species is monoecious – meaning that it produces both male and female flowers. Each male flower typically has six stamens (ranges from two to twelve) which have long spreading white filaments when the flower fully opens.  The female flowers are more reddish-green and appear as small slender spikes in the axils of new growth.   

My sources suggest that white oaks mature sufficiently at twenty or more years of age before they are capable of producing acorns.  Large numbers of acorns won't materialize until the tree is fifty years of age. 



This oak was planted 15 years-ago as a one or two year-old bare root seeding.  A mere fifteen inch stick. 

Looky what we got growing....

click on image to enlarge

 

Fungus Among Us

The other day Jill brought this to my attention.       

Black spots on the leaves of a soft maple tree. 

I did a bit of interweb self-diagnosis and learned that there are a multiple number of causes of black spots forming on the leaves of any number of tree species.  And while most are caused by fungi they all had different names, were caused by different fungi and some were benign and a few were bad news.    

So I send a couple of photos along with a description to a retired forester pal of mine and he confirmed that as I suspected it was a consequence of the very wet spring we had. It is called Anthracnose.  (Nice word of the day). 

Anthracnose is a common fungal disease that affects shade trees and results in leaf spots, cupping or curling of leaves and early leaf drop.  As a general rule it is more common in cool, wet spring weather.  It is largely a cosmetic affliction and not a significant threat to the health of the tree.  Moreover, I don’t have to treat it as the tree is otherwise perfectly healthy.  

You can learn more about anthracnose here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Horticultural Extension.