Wild Cherry Tree

Found something new in the Henry Field's seed and plant catalog.  It is a wild black cherry tree.  I have never seen one for sale before.  

Grandma Great had one in her front yard and used to make jam with the cherries.  She said she watched birds come eat them, then fall out of the tree onto the ground like they were drunk.

I found a wild cherry tree by the lake once.  It was very gnarled and old, but had a few cherries still attached.  The aroma of wild cherry was something I'll never forget.  So strong and wonderful.  I can't wait to get mine.  I'll just have to be careful where I plant it because these trees can reach 80 feet tall.  I am excited about this tree. I'm going to make jams, liqueurs, tarts, syrups... The juice has been used for ages as a cough remedy and the bark can be used too.  I will have to read up on why the birds get drunk from eating the cherries.  Don't want druggy birds flying around the farm.

Japanese Maples

Just a pic to share the last Weeping Japanese Maple leaves of 2009. If you want the biggest bang for your buck where color is concerned, Japanese maples give all that and more. This tree is planted next to my goldfish pond and in fact hangs over it now. I think this is an acer palmatum but these maples come in many forms and sizes such as the weeping and upright and have quite different shaped leaves. The leaves changes many different colors from spring to fall.

The Iceman Cometh

Looks like the geese are stuck in the center of the pond. They have kept a circle of water clear of ice, but would not walk on the ice to come for food. The wild ducks walked around on the icy surface of the pond without fear, but my geese are really chickens.


I counted 31 deer this morning, waiting for me to feed them corn. They wait for me in the morning and evening. I cannot fail them. The little yearlings just stare. My son says I am mother nature, but I am much kinder; I think I have to try and save the world. Up on our rooftop, it sounds like the deer are jumping around with all the ice melting and falling off.

Looks like fun? Not for me and the other states that are suffering from an ice storm. This is one of our Aristocrat Pear trees. Luckily, we received about 3/4 of an inch of ice and thankfully, did not lose our electricity. Last ice storm, it was out for 8 days. No heat, no TV or internet, the list is too long to write here. It is a nightmare, not to mention the millions of trees and branches that were down. To all those suffering with outages, I feel your pain.