Hemlocks.

I have posted a few times about the title of my blog. No, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the poison known as "hemlock" and famous in history as the concoction Socrates was forced to ingest as his capital punishment.

The hemlock of my title refers to our native Eastern and Carolina hemlock species of evergreen tree. As I have explained before, they are in danger of extinction from an introduced Asian insect. Yet another example of the harm created by invasive species.

In a nutshell, here is a brief video that shows some good folk treating these two species in a protected property and how they go about it. I have done as they do on my own--both to protect trees in my yard, and to try to save trees that I have found in some of my stomping grounds.

Listen and be educated.

Helping to Save the Hemlocks in the Box Creek Wilderness from Unique Places on Vimeo.

Hemlock tree that has been treated in Linville Gorge.

Hemlock tree that has been treated in my back yard.

Lazy Day

I took it easy yesterday. I bought a plastic strainer so that I can search for minerals and fossils in local creeks. Just a simple plastic colander. Yesterday was the first time I've tried using this method to look for stuff, and I didn't spend a lot of time messing around with it. But I did find a nice piece of white quartz. If I can find enough decent stones I may drag out my father-in-law's old tumbler and lapidary stuff and polish them up.

Spent a little time there on Gar Creek. The most interesting things I saw were animal tracks. Some were quite fresh. In fact, I think the deer had just passed by before I got there. I saw some fox tracks, but they were so faint that I couldn't get good images of them with the camera.

Since the creek was near my wife's family church I drove over to clean up the grave site where her father and brother are buried. There wasn't much to do beyond pulling up some stray tufts of grass and brushing off the headstone.

Then I headed back where I checked on the backyard hemlocks and am very pleased to see that there has been no new sign of the wooly adelgid infestation. The insecticide I treated them with last year seems to have completely killed off the hwa. I used both a spray application and soil drench. I think I killed off the little scumbags for good. From what I understand, the hemlocks shouldn't need another treatment for a few years. I'll keep my eyes peeled to make sure.

Gar Creek. Didn't find much. I'll try again another day.

I think the deer had just passed by. (Water was slowly filling the tracks when I found them.)

Raccoon tracks. I also spotted some little gray fox tracks but they were too faint to photograph effectively.

One last look at Gar Creek before I walked back to the truck.

 

Cleaned off the Henderson family plot.

Checked on the back yard hemlocks. So far, they seem to be completely free of hemlock wooly adelgid.

Killing Bugs, Shopping Goats, Washing Trailer

Easter Sunday was spent with family, as always. Andy, Carole and I headed out to Carole's mom's place to eat dinner and take care of a few errands and go for a quick trip.

The dinner was also--as usual--satisfying and memorable. After that we drove over to one of Faye's friends who has a big farm with lots of animals, including a bunch of goats. One thing that Carole and I want to do when we retire is to adopt a pair of those miniature goats. So we decided to go look at the ones at the farm even though they're not the type we want to get in a few years.

The farm was a lot of fun. It's always interesting to be around domesticated animals. In this case we met two horses, a burro, a Labrador retriever, and a butt-load of goats.

After the trip to the farm, we headed back home where I treated the two hemlock trees with Imadacloprid, the best insecticide for getting rid of the Hemlock wooly adelgid. As I reported in an earlier post the horrid bugs finally found our pair of thriving hemlocks and have infested them. So I bought enough poison in solution to both drench the bottom branches and also to apply to the soil at the base of the trunks so that the roots can absorb the poison up into the tree to kill the little monsters when they begin to draw the sap from the hemlock needles.

I hope it works. I've been told it's quite effective.

With that done, I tackled washing the Casita travel trailer. We're going on a short jaunt with it into the mountains this coming weekend so I needed to get her into traveling shape for the journey.

Friendly horse. We fed her carrots.

They keep the burro in the paddock with the goats because they say it protects the flock from coyotes. We fed the tiny burro carrots, too.

Andy feeding carrots to the goats.

Can you say "pregnant"? This ewe looked ready to pop!

The boss billy goat. Two of the ewes were fighting and he got between them and broke it up.

The "wool" produced by the almost-invisible Hemlock wooly adelgid. These tiny insects have finally found my back yard hemlocks. But I treated them with a heavy dose of Imadacloprid. Hopefully, the treatment will kill the horrible invasive aphids in quick order.

Got the Casita cleaned up. I like to take a photo of her every Spring sitting under the blooming dogwood. I think the flowers should be all fully open by Thursday when I'll take another shot.

Birthday. Casita. Hemlock plague?!

Carole and I rode out to her mom's today to celebrate her birthday. Carole's actual birthday was a couple days back, but both of us were so sick with some kind of bug that we couldn't celebrate it. So, today we headed out. Her mom treated us to dinner out and then we went to the house for cake. Later, we messed about with the Casita trailer. Carole vacuumed and cleaned and restocked some of the shelves. I got out the generator to tune it up and get it running. Today, it ran great! That was a relief. It has not given us any trouble after almost ten years!

The last thing I did was go check on the backyard hemlock trees. I examine them every time I'm there and up until now they have been free of the Hemlock wooly adelgid plague that is driving the species to extinction. But today...looks like one of the trees is stricken! Just a few days ago there was no sign at all. And today several of the branches had what looks like adelgid infestation.

However, there was something about the hemlock wool that did not look right. I took some of the wool off the tree and examined it. A kind of brown residue was left on my fingers which was something I'd never witnessed when examining adelgid wool in the past. Is it something else? If it is hwa, then I will of course treat both trees against it with one of the nicotinoid insecticides that are proven to kill hwa.

The cake.

The birthday girl!

Getting stuff ready in the Casita. First trip is still some weeks away.

I powered up the Honda generator and plugged in the trailer.

Has Hemlock wooly adelgid finally located our hemlock trees?!

Backyard Hemlocks

The two hemlock trees that were transplanted in the back yard of my in-laws' home are doing well. These two were brought from the Mills Creek area of North Carolina where there are pretty much no living hemlocks, at all. So my late father-in-law managed to save a tiny portion of those groves when he grabbed those saplings from the forest and brought them back for his yard.

At one time there were three, but the center tree didn't make it. The two others, however, are still thriving. I'm lucky never to have forgotten what it's like to see healthy hemlock trees, because I can go see this pair just about any time I wish.

Every time I visit them I check to see if there is any sign of hemlock wooly adelgid. So far, none have shown. If they ever do, I'll immediately treat the trees with the appropriate insecticide.

Good, lush, green growth.

Under the hemlock canopy. In some places, black bears would den under the overhanging branches of hemlock trees. As the snow would collect on the needles, the area around the trunks would become sheltered, like small rooms.

Easter Sunday

Carole and I went to her mom's place for Easter dinner today. We always have a restful visit when we go there and today was nice and relaxing. Carole had stayed up the previous night cooking most of the stuff for the meal, so all she and her mom had to do was heat things up.

After dinner I spent a little of time out in the yard working a bit with the Casita trailer and trying to take some macro photos with my SLR camera. I have never had any luck taking good macro shots with the new camera and lenses. I recently ordered a macro lens which hasn't arrived yet. As usual, I was very disappointed in the shots I got in my attempts to take closeups of blossoms and such. My older cameras were actually better at macro than this new, expensive one. I hope the new lens enables me to take some good closeup shots.

Faye and Carole as we got ready for Easter dinner. We brought over a bottle of wine to add to the celebration.

Most of the azalea blossoms had already faded. But these lavender azaleas were in full bloom. We need to plant more of this type to give the yard some variety.

The hemlock trees in the back yard were putting out tiny cones. In all the years I have never seen these trees spawn any saplings. But every year they produce these tiny cones.

This is something most southerners don't get to see any longer: a view under the canopy of a healthy Eastern hemlock tree. I keep a close watch on the pair in Faye's back yard. At the first sign of hemlock wooly adelgid, I will begin a vigorous treatment with imadacloprid insecticide.

Washin' Our Little House:

Sunday was spent writing a short story for an anthology invitation and going to Carole's mom's place where I washed our Casita. I was really surprised at how much dirt and grime had accumulated on the fiberglass shell. The dirt just rolled off like mud, but underneath that fiberglass body was shining like new. That's what I love about molded fiberglass trailers like Casita, Scamp, Trillium, Escape, etc. Those bodies don't leak and since they're not stick-built, they hold up. It's no wonder they tend to hold their value over the years. Easiest trailers in the world to resell.

Now I have another anthology invitation so I have to brainstorm on a short story again. It's been nice to do that after avoiding the short story format for so long.

The backyard hemlocks are bearing cones again. Thousands of them. But no matter how many it bears, I never see any new hemlocks sprouting. One arborist told me that they'll never produce seedlings while others have told me that there's no real reason I won't someday see some pop up. I've tossed down a couple of nursery logs as someone suggested. Maybe we'll get some baby hemlocks.

Grandmaw's place. She still has that Mitsubishi console tube TV that won't die. Almost thirty years old and still working like new. No computers in that house, either. No WiFi. She doesn't even know what WiFi is, bless her.

Spring Wash!

It's Spring!

Time to get the Casita ready for the first big vacation of the year! 2010 was not a great year for our Casita travel trailer. Because we spent so much time and effort (and money!) traveling to see Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park, we couldn't go anywhere in our normally good old trailer. But this year will be much different.

The first thing that I had to do was give the trailer a good wash. I wish I'd taken a "before" photo, but I was too focused on getting the job done. I got out the washing materials, the wax, the ladder, the hose, etc., and got right down to work. It's amazing how dirty she'd gotten over the winter months. The grime just poured off of the fiberglass shell. But in a couple of hours I had the trailer all but shining.

Then Carole went in and started stocking the cupboard with non-perishable items, canned goods, new dishes and such. In just a few short weeks we'll be heading out for our first big trip of the year, so we always get started early with the small stuff. On the list now are two new tires, a new onboard battery, and refueling the gas tanks. After that, the trailer will be pretty much roadworthy. I do want to take it to a nearby service center and have the awning removed and repaired. It popped a couple of rivets and I want to get that fixed before we head out. This first trip is to Florida, and the awning is much needed when we're down there in the Sunshine State.


I took this one just after I'd finished washing and waxing our great Casita travel trailer. I can't say enough good things about these units. If you like having the luxury of a hard-sided trailer, but want one that's very light, can go into the smaller National Forest campgrounds, and is completely reliable, then I highly recommend this make.

The dogwoods and azalea beds in the yard and creeping toward full bloom. Just a few more days, I think.

The two hemlock trees in the back are beginning to form nascent cones.

Every year the hemlocks get a bit taller. This one is beginning to rival the pine that's growing beside it.

We arrived to discover that the tree man had talked Faye into felling one of the old oaks in the yard. He'd told her that it was rotten and ready to fall in the first big windstorm.

At first I thought that he'd been feeding her a line just to get the work. But he was on the level. The tree was eaten up with rot all the way down to the base.

We wanted some of the wood, but Faye had already promised it to a neighbor. Alas.

One last shot of the trailer, and then...

Time for a long nap in my tiny Casita trailer. I slept for a good two hours before Carole came out and woke me up.

Amazing Symmetry

As I always do when I'm at Carole's mom's place, I walked out into the huge back yard to visit the two big hemlock trees that Carole's dad planted as tiny saplings. These were little hemlock trees that he dug from the ground at the North Mills River Campground. These days, there are no living hemlocks at North Mills River. It is one of the places that has already been devastated by the adelgid infestations. So these trees are survivors of a lost group.

One thing that I miss about hiking in hemlock groves is stopping to stand under middle-aged hemlocks. Hemlocks of this age form gigantic umbrellas, their limbs sweeping down to the leaf cover, offering an amazing degree of protection and safety from the elements. When I was younger, I was actually able to stand under some hemlocks and remain dry as rain pelted out of the skies.

Looking up from the base of one of the two 40-year-old hemocks.

Every year the trees produce these dainty cones. But I've never seen a sapling emerge from the litter around them.

The amazing symmetry of hemlock needles. Say goodbye.

First Photographs

Learning to use the new SLR camera. Here are the first few photos.

This is the first photo I took with the new camera.

One of the the two hemlocks transplanted from North Mills River to my In-laws' back yard 30 years ago.

This is the first stitched photo. From two separate shots. It stitched more seamlessly than what I'm accustomed to seeing.

The storage sheds in the back yard. Our canoe on the left. The kennel on the far right. There have been no dogs in that kennel for years, now.

Took these on the Fourth, of course. The USA flag with our wonderful, precious Casita in the background. The green area beyond the Casita is where Frank used to grow his amazing vegetable gardens. If we ever move out there, Carole and I will re-start that tradition.

My Own Private Hemlock

My wife's dad dug up three hemlock trees along the North Mills River in the Pisgah National Forest some decades ago. He took them home where he planted them in his back yard, hoping to keep a little bit of the mountains close to home where he could look out his window and see them and, some day, walk beneath their branches. Frank's been gone since 1990, but the hemlocks are still there. One of the trio died, but the other two did extremely well in the moist, but well drained soil of his yard. Both trees are approaching fifty feet in height these days.

Ironically, they were very lucky to have been dug up as saplings and transported to Mecklenburg County by Mr. Henderson. If you go to North Mills River these days, all of the hemlock trees are dead. They all became victims of the sap-sucking little whores, the Hemlock wooly adelgid. So these could very well be the only hemlocks remaining on Earth who originated along that particular river.


I enjoy these trees. One thing about hemlocks is that they form a natural shelter. The limbs droop down and if you enter their reach, you can stand beside the trunk of the tree and find yourself in a kind of room. Above you and around you will be the sheltering green needles of the hemlock tree.

Alas, this is now a rarity here in the eastern USA. But I can still enjoy the experience beneath the pair of hemlock trees, saved from oblivion by an enterprising young man more than four decades ago.

A Rare Lazy Day

It was very hot today, but I had the day off and the wind was kicking up pretty good. Perhaps some residual effect from Tropical Depression Ike. Who knows?

We drove out to my wife's mom's place. She hasn't seen Carole since before Carole's recent surgery, and I wanted to muck about a bit with my Casita travel trailer. I installed the digital tuner on the flatscreen TV in the trailer, but pretty much took it easy just walking around the property and watching some football on the TV.

We figure that, eventually, we'll retire there. Carole grew up in the house, it's still basically out in the country (or at least at the edge of the Charlotte area urban sprawl). The lot's rather large, the house is nice, and we'd be comfortable out there. We'll see.

At any rate, I even took a day off from working on the new novel. It was that lazy a day. I need more of those.

The side yard, driveway, parking area. The huge grassy area was once the location of the vast gardens Carole's dad would plant and harvest every year. We'll do the same when (if) we move there one of these days.

The house from the front. Carole lived here from the age of 18 months until we married.

Part of the vast back yard which is quite striking in Spring when the azaleas and dogwoods are in full bloom.

This is one of the big hemlocks Carole's dad planted as a seedling. Now well over forty feet tall.