Category: trees

Edible Petals

The Baldwin apple tree in my yard is teeming with blossoms this week. This classic heirloom apple was discovered around 1740 in Massachusetts. It became the most popular and commercially successful variety in New England right up until 1934, when a deep freeze killed millions of the trees, nearly wiping out the variety.

Baldwin blossoms are part of the rose family, and the petals are edible. They are noted for being highly fragrant and sweeter tasting than modern apple varieties. They can be used as a garnish for salads or desserts, in herbal teas, infused in liqueur or even made into apple bossom jelly.

Holden, MA

Laurel is Hardy

The nearly 100 year old Mountain Laurel in my yard is still going strong.

Mountain Laurel is a common hardy evergreen in Central Massachusetts. It can withstand quite cold and snowy winters in the north of the United States.

The evergreen leaves of the Mountain Laurel offer excellent winter protection for birds. They give crucial shelter from wind and cold.
Diverse, abundant and large lichens are excellent natural indicators of clean air. They are effective because they absorb nutrients and pollutants directly from the air. Birds find insects and spiders hiding under tree lichens. These provide them with energy when other sources of food are scarce.
Mountain Laurel berries are not a favorite food of birds. However, they can provide nourishment when food supplies are limited, especially at the end of winter.

Birdbaths underneath the laurel are covered in black tarps. In the spring, they will be filled again. Fresh water will be offered under the laurel, in addition to the food and protection to be found there .

Click on post title to view comments and related posts if they are not visible below.

How Sweet (And Colorful) It Is

Princeton, Massachusetts

Maple sugaring continues in Massachusetts.
Sugarmakers often use eye-catching plastic sap buckets in lieu of the traditional galvanized metal type. There is some controversy surrounding them, as plastic may only last a few years. However, plastic is light weight, and will not rust. Additionally, you can see the sap through them.

An Ancient Companion

The Great White Oak at the Wachusett Meadow Audubon Sanctuary stands in a clearing on a popular forest hiking trail. It is considered a “near champion” at over fifteen feet in girth and over 250 years old. The nearby bench lends a quiet place to view it more closely.

Summit Trail, Wachusett Meadow Audubon Sanctuary, Princeton, Masachusetts

A “Sweet” Protest

In New England, mid to late February is the start of the maple syrup making season.

Up until the Civil War, using maple sugar was an act of political protest for many northern abolitionists, who refused to use cane sugar produced by slave colonies in the Caribbean. New England forests had been over logged to build ships for the slave trade of the era. Abolitionists attempted to reseed decimated areas with maple trees, and use maple sugar rather than cane for their needs.

The “Sap Castle” in Rutland, MA welcomes visitors to view the sugaring process and learn about its history during February and March.

The family living in this house have been making maple syrup for three generations.
Two kinds of taps: traditional metal and modern plastic.
The sap castle in operation, with smoke from the wood-fired stove billowing out of the chimney.
The sap boiler, also called the sap evaporator.
The wood fire is kept roaring!
Final filtering.
Testing the sugar content of the syrup.
This simple window display shows the grades of syrup.
The 24/7 self service maple syrup box. It runs on the honor system.
Choose your syrup, and slide your payment through a nearby slot.
A rock “maple leaf” guards the castle.

A Tree for All Seasons

This was originally posted in February of 2018.

The Baldwin apple tree in my yard is an old American variety and provides large greenish-red apples every other year.

But that’s only a start. Because it is larger than most apple trees, it is also a center for shade on a hot summer day, a hide for the the birds, an elegant statuesque centerpiece for the yard, and a winter frame to view the yard from a different perspective.

apple snow use

appleclose

long view apple

apple blossoms

Winter Wolf Tree

This singular tree overlooking the wetlands at Wachusett Meadow Audubon Sanctuary in Princeton, MA is delightful in any season, but especially distinctive in Winter, when the details of its shape and the complex structure of its branches are on full display. I’m pleased that this photo was chosen as the current cover photo for Wachusett Meadow Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/MassAudubonWachusettMeadow/