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trees

Super Wood: Coming To Space Near You

January 17, 2021 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

University of Maryland super woodAs a card-carrying, registered tree hugger, I have long touted the benefits of trees such as carbon storage, energy savings and improved mental health. And beyond the familiar tree-related blessings such as maple syrup, lumber and firewood, I’ve written about some obscure things like birch-based candy that fights tooth decay, and health-promoting chaga tea derived from a birch fungus. Then there’s basswood bark for fiber, elm bark for baskets, and pine bark for lunch.

That stuff is all pretty straightforward. More highly processed wood products, though, are a mystery to me. [Read more…] about Super Wood: Coming To Space Near You

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: astronomy, Forestry, nature, trees, Wildlife, wood products

Annual DEC Tree and Shrub Seedling Sale Underway

January 7, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Staff from DEC's Division of Lands and Forests sort bare-root seedlings at the Nursery during the annual spring saleThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery has kicked off its annual spring seedling sale, which is open to the public and runs until May 12th.

Each year, the tree nursery offers for sale dozens of low-cost, New York-grown tree and shrub species to help implement large-scale conservation plantings across the state. [Read more…] about Annual DEC Tree and Shrub Seedling Sale Underway

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Events, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: gardening, Saratoga Tree Nursery, trees

Keep Standing Dead Trees in your Woodlot

December 28, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

snag by Katherine YardSome of the most important trees in your woodlot are the ones that are no longer alive. Large, standing dead or dying trees are an important part of healthy forests and a critical habitat feature for wildlife. They provide places for many birds and mammals to forage, den, nest, perch, and roost. [Read more…] about Keep Standing Dead Trees in your Woodlot

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: birding, birds, nature, trees, Wildlife

Trees, Attitudes Surveyed In NYC Heat Vulnerable Neighborhoods

December 19, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York City Housing Authority tree surveyThis past fall, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) conducted a tree inventory and social assessment of green spaces for 18 campuses in three high heat vulnerability neighborhoods: Brownsville/East New York, East Harlem, and the South Bronx. [Read more…] about Trees, Attitudes Surveyed In NYC Heat Vulnerable Neighborhoods

Filed Under: Nature, New York City Tagged With: nature, New York City, trees, weather

An Arborist Considers Christmas Trees, Evergreen Traditions

December 12, 2020 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

Whitehouse Christmas TreeThe morning of December 25th this year will be a lot less cheery unless the World Health Organization gives Santa a free pass on COVID-19 restrictions so he can hand out presents to billions of kids on Christmas Eve night.

As it is, many people feel like cheer is at low ebb. Local authorities in my area strongly recommend we celebrate the holidays in our respective households; no visitors. Yikes! Looks like Christmas 2020 will have to run on memories – bad news for me, as I forget where I put the keys two minutes after setting them down. [Read more…] about An Arborist Considers Christmas Trees, Evergreen Traditions

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Christmas, Holidays, nature, trees

The Mighty Oak

November 29, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

TOS_Oak-acornsRat-a-tat-tat. Showers of acorns hit the ground and tapped our heads as my husband and I hiked the Appalachian Trail. Thousands of acorns strewn across the path atop multi-colored leaves made for treacherous passage. We were hiking a portion of the trail through the Berkshires, and the tall, straight red oaks that grow in these hillside forests had produced a bumper crop of mast. [Read more…] about The Mighty Oak

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: nature, trees, Wildlife

Trees, Knees, and Other Deep-Freeze Creaks

November 28, 2020 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

Conifers in winter courtesy Wikimedia user Olga ErnstWhen temperatures dip well below zero Fahrenheit, especially if they fall precipitously, things go bump in the night. Frozen lakes and ponds emit ominous groans, snaps and booms that reverberate through the ice. Wood siding and old knee joints might creak. And if soil moisture is high and snow cover sparse, the soil can freeze deeply, causing the earth to shift in a harmless, localized cryoseism, or “frost quake” that produces a nerve-rattling bang. [Read more…] about Trees, Knees, and Other Deep-Freeze Creaks

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: nature, trees, Wildlife, winter

The Hidden Life in Hollow Trees

November 22, 2020 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

TOS_HollowTreeI can’t seem to pass a hollow tree without stopping to snoop. If there is a cavity within reach, an investigation is in order. Wear and tear around a hole, evidence of food items on the ground, or simply sounds from within tell of the tenants inside. One of my favorite tricks is to power up my camera, flash on, and poke it inside a tree cavity for a quick snap. My most memorable and rewarding discovery came while lying on my stomach at the hollow base of a huge, dead maple. [Read more…] about The Hidden Life in Hollow Trees

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: birding, birds, nature, trees, Wildlife

Elms: The Giving Tree

November 14, 2020 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

American elm tree courtesy Wikimedia user MsactFor thousands of years, the American elm (Ulmus americana) was the go-to tree for building supplies and home furnishings, kind of a Home Depot of the forest.

For the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and other First Nations peoples, it provided roofing and walls for longhouses measuring over a hundred feet long, as well as for smaller dwellings and outbuildings.

Elm also furnished top-notch material to make items as diverse as ladles, canoes, trays, snow shovels, grain scoops, baskets, and containers of all sizes. [Read more…] about Elms: The Giving Tree

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Iroquois, Native American History, nature, trees, Wildlife

Science of Burning Fresh Firewood vs Dry

November 4, 2020 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

I’m told there is a Zen Buddhist saying that goes “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” The idea, I think, is to be mindful of the ordinary tasks which constitute one’s daily life, regardless of our spiritual state.

Unfortunately, many of us who heat with wood are not enlightened as to how much extra wood we carry because we’re needlessly boiling water inside our woodstoves all winter. In fact, if your firewood is not adequately dry, it could cost you $200 to $600 annually just to send steam up the chimney. [Read more…] about Science of Burning Fresh Firewood vs Dry

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Fires, Science, trees, winter

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