My Trees

There aren't enough trees on this property. Not by a longshot. We are up on the top of a very windy ridge - and I mean VERY windy. It isn't unusual in the fall and winter to have sustained fifty mile an hour winds, and gusts of seventy. There are only a few large trees, and there certainly isn't anything like a stand of trees that could serve as a windbreak. I intend to plant one, most likely a row of poplars along the southern property line. The strongest winds come from the north, but those only blow a few times a year. The rest of the time the wind comes from the southwest. Besides, I can't plant a windbreak along the northern property line without destroying my best-in-the-county view. 

Of course, I've planted my little orchard. Originally, there were twelve trees. But the goats have killed three, and then I ran over the little cherry with the mower. I'm down to eight. I will replace the dead ones, next year. Eventually it will be a nice little orchard, but for now, it's simply a few straggly little trees that barely peek over the shoulder-high grass. 

I also want to plant a big giant weeping willow. Well, a little one that will someday be giant. I adore weeping willows, and there's a low boggy spot in the back pasture where I think one would thrive. If I can keep the goats away from it long enough. And we will most likely plant one native evergreen per year: our christmas trees.

   The pink dogwood in full bloom. The lady who built this house told me her children gave it to her for mother's day about twenty-five years ago. 
The antique pear. I don't know what kind of pears it gives, but maybe Bartlett. They are large, classically pear shaped, yellow with a red blush, and very smooth and delicious. 

Whoops, don't know what happened here. This is the biggest tree on the property. It's enormous, it towers over the house. It's a "golden cedar" according to the last owner. Bats live in it in the summertime.

Does anyone know what this tree is? It's pretty big, too. The leaves are small, ridged, spade shaped and dark red. Copper beech? This tree does the most amazing thing on sunny days in the late winter. It sings. After a hard frost on a wet night, it is lightly encased in ice all over. If the day is sunny, then at around eleven o'clock in the morning, all the ice begins to shatter. It makes the most amazing sound, like tiny wind chimes. The tree shivers and the ice just pops off of the twigs and showers to the ground. I heard the noise first and it took me several minutes to figure out where it was coming from and what was happening. I went and stood under the tree and listened as the ice came showering down on me. It was like a singing rainstorm! I would love this tree just for that alone, but it's also a very beautiful tree in all seasons. In fall, the leaves turn russet brown and stay very crisp and crunchy. Just the right kind for kicking and jumping in. It's a late-leafer in the spring, but when the leaves do begin to come out, they come out in the form of very light green needles, long and sharp. Then they unfurl and they are this bright red color! 

I didn't even know how much I liked this tree until I began to write about it.