Category: trees

Birches

Grove Cemetery, Holden MA

You Lucky Dog

Dogs (and their humans) immerse themselves in nature at the West Boyston Rail Trail near the Wachusett Reservoir in this peak foliage season.

Golden Holden

Sugar Maple reds and oranges aren’t the only iconic autumn foliage colors in Central Massachusetts.

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.

Winterwood

Lichen, Fog and Vines in my Backwoods.

Glistening

A combination of ice, sleet and snow created a shimmering yard this morning.

Mountain Laurel With Pines and Oaks in the Background

Frosty Finches

American Goldfinches, Holden, Massachusetts

Photographed through my window: American Goldfinches feasting on Birch tree catkins on a chilly, windy post snowstorm morning.

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

Through the Seasons

This beloved Northern Red Oak Tree at the Wachusett Meadow Audubon in Princeton, MA delights all year round.

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.

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 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.

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/

January Thaw, Inside and Out

It felt like early March today as a warm wind swirled around me. A perfect day for relaxing on the bench under one of my favorite trees.

Inside, my kalanchoe surely looks fired up for Spring!

Wolf Moon Through the Apple Tree

The first Full Moon of the year is named after the howling of the wolves. January is their mating season, so they can often be heard during this month.