Spring arrival – Page 2

Sprouting Chinese Chestnut Seeds to Produce Seedling Trees

Last October I collected some Chinese chestnuts from the Chestnut Charlie Orchard in Lawrence. After placing them in plastic bags with enough moist moss to cover them I stored them in the refrigerator at a temperature of about 35 degrees F. A note about the plastic bags: I poke a few tiny air holes near the top of the plastic bag after enclosing the nuts. One year I double bagged the nuts before placing them in the refrigerator, and, when I opened up the bags in April there was a strong aroma of alcohol and the nuts had spoiled.

In February the nuts started sprouting. By mid April most of the nuts had a single small white root growing out of them. I then placed each sprouted seed nut in a one gallon plastic pot and put the pot in a wire cage box to keep away the mice and squirrels. Although it would have been better to put them in pots earlier, they should still produce small trees this summer. The following two pictures show the box with the pots inside.

The following two pictures show a pretty flower that has popped up in road side ditches during the last couple of weeks. I need to do some research to figure out what it is.

Crab Apples & Dandelions

The crab apple tree is showing its bright red blossoms again.

And that beautiful yard flower is popping up all over the place.

There should be a law against spraying herbicides on plants with such beautiful yellow blooms!

On April 6 there was a chicken snake crossing the road over to a neighbor’s property, but, I never figured out why the chicken snake crossed the road.

Early Birds of Spring

The first buzzard of 2016 was sighted as it soared/floated around on the strong and gusty March winds on March 15. The winds were so strong that it was doing acrobatics and never even flapped its wings.

This past week I cleaned out the bluebird houses installed in previous years – six had nests from last year, one had fallen down, and the entry hole of one had been redesigned by woodpeckers making it inhospitable.

After making two more houses I put them up out in the field by attaching them to t-posts and placing a piece of metal pipe on the post between the ground and the house. The pictures below show one of them.

One of these days I hope to put up a martin house and also construct a small shed for barn swallows to build their mud nests in and poop all over any equipment stored inside it.

Cherry Blossoms

This is the first year the Nanking Cherry bushes have bloomed. After transplanting two bushes from pots in 2013 one bush has grown quite well but the other plant had some die-back last Summer. But, this Spring both bushes are covered in pretty white blooms. The pictures below illustrate the beauty that Lee Reich describes in his books.

Early Spring Flowers

The same bunch of Easter flowers that bloomed weeks before their neighbors last year have bloomed early(March 7) again this year.

And, the elderberry buds are popping out new leaves.

Time Again for Ticks and Buzzards

====== This post was composed in early April, 2015

In both 2013 and 2014 the first ticks of the year tasted by blood during the first week of April. They seem to be a little early this year – I saw the first tick on my coat sleeve on March 25.

Although I have tried various methods to discourage the ticks from being so friendly…., they still manage to defy all defensive measures. Perhaps sprays, lotions, and consumption of garlic have some effect, but, as in previous years I expect to find ticks every time I take a shower after being out on the farm from now until late August or early September.

But not all is so droll. Among the various plants that are waking up in the warmer weather the elderberry bushes are reaching for the sky. They have leaves about and inch long – see the two pictures. Although I am learning how to prune pecan and chestnut trees, I need to read up on pruning elderberry bushes too.

After the cold days of Winter the buzzards(turkey vultures) also appeared last week. They should have a plentiful food supply as the deer, rabbits, and squirrels continue to loose their game of dodge against the automobiles.