Gobbly Gook

Gobbly gook translated: bad photos of wild turkeys at Grass Point State Park. I just happened across these wild turkeys yesterday. They were not cooperative, in fact, downright elusive, the moment I slowed down to take their photos - they "melted" into the woods - eerily stealth-like. We all know why - can't blame 'em.

"You turkey! Now all I have is bad photos!"

I think these guys will avoid the Thanksgiving dinner table.

On the "iridescent" side (as in very bright), I found a beautiful turkey feather! I added this to my little collection in my shed - feathers, cocoons, honeycomb, pine cones, etc. To my dismay, the next day my turkey feather was gone! I searched the shed and found the tip on the floor. Hmmmm, a squirrel (?), seems to have bit off the downy feathers - can't say I blame 'im - would make for a very warm winter nest. At least I was left the beautiful, iridescent finale which I have attempted to capture - not quite succefully - in these photos.

But just look at the detail - okay, maybe not so much (bad) detail - but how the color changes in the light. It is truly a gift from nature that I am thankful for - even if it's been bitten in half.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving - quaint, peaceful, quiet - in a sense of place close to your family and friends and among natures' gifts.

Going Native: Eastern White Pine

Last year in late Spring I chanced upon an Eastern White Pine, Pinus Strobus, at Lowe's wrapped in burlap. As I said, it was late Spring and not an ideal time for planting burlap-wrapped roots, but our Spring in 2009 was cold and behind schedule so I chanced it. For the sale price of $25 I brought home a beautiful, young Eastern White Pine. It was on my list of native plants to purchase and I could now check it off. Its tag even declared it a native.

Here it is in 2009 soon after planting.

Here it is this morning in Fall of 2010. As you can see it made it and has grown substantially in just one year's time. The Eastern White Pine adds one new row of growth each year. It is the tallest conifer in the Northeast - but I have made room for it on my small village lot.

Fall is the time when the Eastern White Pine sheds its old needles. You may see some of the needles turn yellow.

Buds for next year's growth all tucked in.

The Eastern White Pine dominates the views on the St. Lawrence River. The skyline is made of their wind sculptured forms. In the open landscape their tiered, whorling branches will spread horizontally. In dense, protected forests they grow tall and straight. During colonial times, their tall, straight trunks were sought after to use in building ship masts.

View from Grindstone Island looking towards Canada.

View of Goose Bay in the Fall.

The Eastern White Pine provides food and shelter for many forms of wildlife. According to Douglas Tallamy (author of Bringing Nature Home - an excellent book I own and recommend for anyone interested in habitat gardening), the Eastern White Pine is favored by 203 species of moths, butterflies and insects! All those insects mean food for birds. The cones are also eaten by many birds.

Young cones on Eastern White Pine at Wellesley Island Nature Center.

Many birds of prey will use the Eastern White Pine to build their nests. Here, that may include a Bald Eagle, Osprey or Great Horned Owl. I would be extremely thrilled if any of these magnificent birds chose my pine to nest in given a few years. Looking up the trunk of this local, mature White Pine, I can see the appeal.

I guess mine has a few more years to go. Utility poles and channel markers are modern substitutes. I wonder if this pole was made from the Eastern White Pine?

This osprey nests each year at my friend's family camp on Grindstone Island.

What's (Still) Growing

If only I had that hoop house up as planned! (Sigh.) It will have to be another day. Regardless, I am still harvesting from the garden. The swiss chard is just non-stop. Though slightly damaged by heavy frosts, the leaves underneath are still as crisp and tasty as ever.

Peek-a-boo carrots, I see you. Will still be using these for soups even if snow falls.

I still have several good dinners of brussel sprouts. I think I will be picking the remainder of these in the next few days, however, before the snow falls.

There may be a parsnip under here! The nasturtium-gone-wild sort of took over and shaded the parsnips. But after several heavy frosts, the nasturtium is now compost and a few parsnip surprises were uncovered.

I just love arugula. I wonder if this will survive the first few snows? I'll keep on eating it as long as it keeps on keeping on.

Hmmm, it might be nice to have some sunflower seeds for snacking. Did the birds leave me anything?

Luckily, I picked all my green tomatoes before the heavy frosts. I was going to keep them in paper bags or newspaper - something I read somewhere - to see if they'd ripen in the cellar. But they never quite got as far as a bowl on the counter. They began turning red anyway and I thought I should take a picture before I ate them all. They taste just as fresh as ever. Ah, there were more ... sort of reminds me of Christmas.

Can you believe my neighbor is already all lit up for Christmas? What happened to Thanksgiving?