Why I Oughta...

It seems like we're getting BOTH a slightly delayed Fall color cycle and it is also amp'd-up on some things a bit more this season, too.  One of them that's 'amp'd-up' is the tree swing tree:  A mature Northern Red Oak tree.  This large tree has historically behaved in different ways each season.  Some years, it holds its leaves through the Winter, while other years it drops everything quickly.  But, most seasons we get a very limited 'fall show' with muted browns. This year, things are a little different.  The tree is bright like a flame with orange leaves blazing against the blue sky.  See the photo below: A few things to note in this photo: 1. There are still a bunch of green trees around. 2. There are also some yellow trees (The Black Walnut trees). 3. The other large mature Red Oak tree is way more green than this one. Compare the state of this tree (orange leaves) to the same tree on November 9th, 2021 (4 years ago) when it was full of GREEN l...

2024 is one of the years where our large, mature Red Oak trees aren't holding their leaves late into Winter.  This year, they've dropped MOST of them already - by December 1st.  I've posted about these two backyard Oak trees - the Tree Swing Oak and the southside Oak - over the years - documenting how much foliar marcescence takes places.   This year - here are a couple of photos showing the canopy of these trees on December 1st:  mostly bare. Here is December 6, 2019 - when the Oaks were holding TONS of leaves .   Here is November 23, 2020 - when the trees (both of them) had dropped all their leaves . Here is December 2, 2021 - when the tree swing tree was holding leaves .   Here is November 22, 2023 - when they were FULL of brown leaves .  

This week, when I came home from work one evening, I noticed a particular active squirrel trying to gnaw-off a bunch of small branches near the bottom of the big crotche(s) on our large Northern Red Oak tree in the back that has our tree swing on it.  I observed him/her for a minute, then quickly saw them scurry back to what appeared to be an emerging/being-established nest.  It was located a couple feet-up from the crotch.  I thought about what to do.  And, decided it was best to remove the nest.  My thinking was that it IS NOT baby season.  This nest is NOT occupied - yet.  It is just being built.  My preference is for him to build it much higher in this tree or...in a different tree further back from the patio/tree swing.  So...I hauled out my ladder (a platform ladder) and used an extension pole that is supposed to be used to hang Christmas lights in high places and knocked the little nest down.  My emotions are still mixed and I'm s...

Just a few days ago, I posted some photos showing a large amount (at least...it FEELS like a large amount) of Northern Red Oak acorns that are coming down in late July/early August this season.   In that post, I mentioned that it was time to document in the [garden diary] an inventory of what the canopy of the tree-swing tree (Northern Red Oak) looks like in early August. This tree was (I think) troubled and as a result, we started it on a course of treatment.  That included the application of a three-year growth regulator.  And, annual applications of a deep-root fertilizer and of some Two-Lined Chestnut borer treatment .   We've now done three-years of treatments on the tree. The growth regulator appeared to help and the tree seemed to have a different outlook after just one year .   I've been trying to document the canopy of the tree over the years - the last time was in Fall of 2022 when it was turning orange and brown .   The tree...

On Tuesday, I posted a photo of our Northern Red Oak tree turning yellow and putting on a nice bit of a [Fall Show] and today the tree is a striking orange and maroon that warrants a second photo/post in the same week.  The photos in this post (landscape at top, portrait on bottom) barely do this justice.  The reds are dark maroon and are coupled with a Frankfort Tiger-ish yellow/orange combination.  As I said earlier this week, this tree has been different every.single.season - sometimes going brown, sometimes keeping leaves, sometimes dropping.   But the color of the tree right now?  I don't think it has ever done this before.  Maybe it is the most striking tree in our whole neighborhood right now.  

The second step in our process with the arborist from Davey is feeding the trees.  We started with applying growth regulator to the two most vulnerable trees (Norway Maple in Front and Red Oak in back) in late September .   Recently the guys came back out for step two:  applying fertilizer. In Davey's case, it is called Arbor Green Pro - a one year application that they fed to both large Oaks in back and the Maple up front.  Here's the Davey team applying the fert - around the area of the tree canopy.  It was raining, but he still went ahead with injecting it right into the ground.  What is Arbor Green Pro?  From their site :   The description says that it can last 'up to 2 years'.  But, what the guy told me was: every year. We have one more application to just the Oaks before Winter that I'll post about when it occurs.