Final Field Mowing of the Season

This field was on the schedule to be mowed in November, but the mowing was postponed until I could remove the small army of tiny cedars that had sprung up in the tall grass.  Cedar removal was completed on January 31, just ahead of an approaching storm front.  Four days later, the temperatures climbed above 40F and the last trace of snow melted away.  I hurried out to mow the field before the next storm, forecast for that night, could recover the field with snow.

I had several reasons for wanting to mow the field this year.  One reason was to knock back several small stands of sumac.  These are Winged Sumac, Rhus copallinum, and may get as tall as 20 feet if left to grow.  I maintain a couple of stands of the tall specimens, but most of the sumac is periodically cut to maintain it in a younger growth stage.  Two or three years after being cut, the plants flower profusely and develop a generous load of fruit.  The fruit remains uneaten during most winters, but during severe weather the fruit stands high above the snow and becomes an excellent survival food for the birds.  These plants have not yet reached that stage, but I’m trying to set up a rotation where there are always a few stands of sumac bearing fruit during the years when other sumacs are recovering from being cut.  Maintaining the sumac in an early stage of growth also allows them to grow as part of the open field environment without negatively impacting the tall grasses.

Several clumps of invasive Johnson Grass in this field were treated with herbicide last spring.  Having the field mowed will allow me to identify any other Johnson Grass infestations and treat them early next year.

This shallow four foot diameter crater was once the site of a thriving ant colony.  The mound peaked at 18 inches until Wild Turkeys selected it as a prime dust bath site.  During the course of three summer months, the turkeys turned the mound into a pit and then stopped using the site.  That was two years ago and vegetation has yet to reclaim the bare ground.

The site after mowing.  Mowing with JR is easiest when you are dealing with long, relatively straight runs.  Under those conditions you can shift into high speed and move along at a fast walk.  Unfortunately, this field doesn’t have any straight sections.  Most of the time I was weaving in and out of small corners and pockets or slowing down to maneuver around large cedars, small trees, ant hills and a number of other obstacles to my progress.  This will be the last mowing I do this year.  Besides having already mowed everything that was planned for this winter, I always stop mowing when the Woodcocks begin calling in the field.  I’m betting that will be in the next couple of days.

There is no shortage of ant mounds in this field.  In the acre and a half that I mowed, there were close to 20 large mounds.

The tall grass tends to shade the lower branches of the Eastern Red Cedars and those branches die.  This allows enough sunlight to get beneath the tree to maintain the grass that grows there.  If excess shade threatens the survival of the grass beneath the trees, manually trimming the lower branches should open things up enough for the grass to survive right up to the base of the tree.

There were only a few unwelcome woody invaders that had to be marked for cutting and herbicide treatment in the spring.  Most were Tuliptree seedlings, a species that is easily killed by a cut stump treatment of glyphosate.

A half dozen large Flowering Dogwoods survive along the lower slope of this field.  The trees thrive in this open, but sheltered area.

It appears that the dogwoods are set to put on a magnificent flower show this spring.  Each one of those large buds will open to produce a flower cluster surrounded by four brilliant white bracts.  Severe winter weather conditions commonly damage those buds and diminish the quality of the spring show.  Hopefully, this will be a year where each bud flowers to its full potential.

Things not to Mow Over

The most frequent comment I get from people seeing my newly mowed fields is “Hey, you missed something.”  My conversational skills are almost nonexistent, so I’m never quite sure how to respond to that kind of comment.  Since it’s not a question, I don’t think I’m obligated to respond.  I usually just acknowledge the accuracy of their statement and stare at them until they walk away.  Do they honestly believe that I’m unaware of the fact that there are things in the field left unmowed?  Of course I missed something.  I meant to.

If I intended mow everything in the field, I could just grind it all down with a ten foot Bush Hog.  My primary objective is to remove unwanted features from the field and I do all that is necessary to achieve that objective.  Beyond that, I also wish certain features to remain untouched, so the mower is carefully guided to avoid key items.  I made earlier mention of my desire to avoid destruction of the ant mounds, but there are many other things that I hope to keep intact.  I doubt that anyone would question why I failed to mow down the bird boxes.

Flowering Dogwoods are thriving in the field.  About 20 years ago, disease eliminated the Flowering Dogwoods from my woodland understory.  That left a few young sprouts in the old crop fields as the only living dogwoods on the property.  I selected about 25 sprouts and allowed them to grow to maturity.  They now flower heavily and provide an abundance of fruit each year.  I keep hoping to find some young dogwoods recolonizing the woods, but that has yet to happen.

I’m allowing a few Blackjack Oaks, Quercus marilandica, to grow near some of the ant mounds.  Where the Allegheny Mound Ants live in close proximity to the Blackjack Oaks, there is a chance of encountering the uncommon Edwards’ Hairstreak butterfly.  The butterflies lay their eggs on the oak and the ants provide protection to the butterfly during its early stages of life.  This wonderful association exists on other parts of the property and I am encouraging it to spread.

Small shrubs and trees growing in association with the tall prairie grasses provide ideal structure for the placement of bird nests.  Deerberry is an ideal species for this activity.  So far, Deerberry has been slow to establish in the fields and slow to expand its clumps.  If it becomes a problem in the future, it is easy to eliminate by cutting and stump spraying.

I’ve been watching this patch of native rose for several years.  It has been slowly spreading, but has not produced any blooms.

Native roses have thorns, but the thorns are generally less of a threat than those of the invasive Multiflora.  I like to think of the bite of native rose thorns as a nip from a playful puppy.  By comparison, the bite of the Multiflora Rose is more like a mauling by a mad dog.

I don’t plan to allow any of these White Pine seedlings to remain in the field.  My plan is to transplant a few of them as replacements for deer damaged trees planted in a double line beside my established White Pine windbreak along the side of the yard.  Those trees in the background are the seed source for the seedlings.  The fact that these little trees have been able to survive for two or three years in the field, suggests that they are ideally suited to grow in their planned location.

The field is full of these Cut-leaved Grape Ferns, Botrychium dissectum.  They are short enough that the mower blades do no more than shave a bit off the leaf.  I’m amazed at how well these plants do in association with the tall grasses.  Even though there is just the one species growing here, the natural variation in leaf shape makes for an unending variety.

Some things I avoid, not because they are to be saved, but because an encounter might damage both me and the mower.  Seasonal wet spots in the field still hold deep tire tracks made at the time the last crop was harvested.  Most ruts have mellowed down and filled in, but a few of the worst persist.

Another freshly dropped balloon.  This is number eight for the year, making this an above average year for balloon fallout.  It wouldn’t be tragic to mow over this bit of litter, but having the ribbon wrap around the mower shaft and wedge between the shaft and blade can create a mess that I’d rather not deal with.  I believe my 2014 mowing struck a good balance between cutting what needed to be cut and avoiding those things best left untouched.

Flowering Dogwood

I’m guessing that we’re just past the peak of the Flowering Dogwood blooms.  It’s odd that the dogwood buds all began to swell and open at the same time, but where some hurried ahead to full bloom; others lagged behind and bloomed at a more leisurely pace.  We’ve now reached the point where the final dogwoods are blooming and the early developers have just a trace of white left on their branches.

In a typical year, all of the trees tend to bloom together.  It seems odd that in a year where the weather hurried many spring species through their blooming period, the Flowering Dogwoods would display such a sporadic pattern.

The Flowering Dogwoods managed to synchronize their showy phase with a series of frosty mornings.  The result is a display that is slightly less than perfect.  The bright white bracts all show traces of brown where the light freeze caused damage.

The actual flowers, clustered at the base of the bracts, appear free of damage.  There may be two dozen flowers in a cluster, but I normally find clusters of only four fruits in the fall.

Leaves are developing rapidly and will soon displace the flowers.  The summer phase of the tree is also quite attractive.  Unfortunately, its greens blend with its neighbor’s and the beauty goes unnoticed by most.  I always take time in the summer to visit with these trees and enjoy their warm weather personality. 

More Blooming Shrubs

The shrubs at Blue Jay Barrens really took advantage of the week of warm weather we just had.  Redbud flower buds were just beginning to color and swell a week ago.  Now they’re in full bloom.

Redbuds are the most colorful of the spring blooming shrubs and are a valuable nectar source for some butterflies and larger bees.  The flower shape makes it difficult for many of the smaller insects to access the nectar.

Fragrant Sumac flowers are normally available at the same time as the Redbuds and are much more insect friendly.  I see a greater diversity of insects visiting these flowers than any other spring blooming plant.

Serviceberry is known for its early blooms, but it’s blooming a full month earlier than it did last year.  I’m wondering what will happen to some of these shrubs if we manage to get a hard freeze this spring.  Freeze warnings have been posted for Tuesday morning, so I guess we’ll be having the first test really soon.

These are Prickly Ash flowers in full bloom.  If you get close enough to the bush to see these flowers, you’ll most likely get snagged on one of the many thorns that give Prickly Ash its name.

Other shrubs are making rapid progress, but have not yet reached the bloom stage.  The bracts have folded away from the Flowering Dogwood flower buds.  These flowers should be blooming by next week.

The bracts will continue to enlarge and lighten in color until they create a brilliant white frame to the cluster of small flowers.  The showy bracts are what create the impressive display.

Black Haw is producing clusters of flower buds and won’t be far behind the dogwoods in blooming.  It seems that spring is rushing past too quickly to enjoy everything. Last year at this time we had only been snowless for a couple of weeks and were enjoying the arrival of more moderate temperatures.  This year it feels like we’re already pushing into summer. 

Blooming Shrubs

A look at some common Blue Jay Barrens shrubs showed only one species to be in full bloom.  The Hazelnut, Corylus americana, is covered with flowers, but the small size of the bloom makes it nearly impossible to notice.

Hazelnut is one of those plants that produces separate male and female flowers.  The long male flowers, called catkins, are produced in the fall, but don’t mature until early spring.  When the scales of the catkin pull back and the color lightens to a pale green, the female flowers should be present.

Like many of our native shrubs, Hazelnut grows in the forest understory and effectively blends with its surroundings.

Buds of the Fragrant Sumac, Rhus aromatica, have not yet begun to enlarge.  It would not be surprising to see some of these flowers emerge within the next week.

Fragrant Sumac commonly grows at the edges of small openings or fields.  The blooms produce an abundant supply of nectar and are visited by a wide variety of insects.

Buds of the Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida, are just beginning to swell.  The buds look to have suffered very little winter damage this year.  Hopefully, weather conditions will continue to support a good flower show.

All of the Flowering Dogwood branches are loaded with flower buds.  It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen such a good prelude to the flowering season.

Redbuds are pushing out from beneath their protective scales.  Blooming of the Redbuds coincides with the emergence of the Henry’s Elfin butterflies.  The tiny butterflies will mate and then lay their eggs on the young Redbud blooms.  The size of the Blue Jay Barrens population of this uncommon butterfly tends to fluctuate along with the success of the Redbud flowers.

Flowers of the Spicebush, Lindera benzoin, are not far from emergence.  That’s a leaf bud tucked in between the developing flowers.  I’ll be back later in the year to examine the leaves for larvae of the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly.

Dry Dogwoods

There’s a chance of rain today, but the effects of a ten week drought cannot be reversed. Blue Jay Barrens experienced excessive rainfall early in the year. It looked like plants might grow out of control, until the rain suddenly shut off in early July. During the past 6 weeks we have had only 0.15 inches of rain and that came in three separate showers. A drought becomes really serious when it begins to affect the shrubs and trees. The Flowering Dogwoods, Cornus florida, have become prime examples of drought stressed trees.

The bright red of the autumn dogwood leaves will be lost from the landscape this year. Many of the leaves are already brown and crisp. The others are too far gone to recover, even if we get abundant rainfall today.

The fruit seems to be alright. The seeds are fully developed and the red fruit should be attractive to the birds.

Most of these dogwoods were just recovering from the periodical cicada damage they suffered two years ago. This isn’t the first drought they’ve endured. I expect them to survive, but their start next year may be a little less vigorous than normal.

What happens to these buds will determine what things will be like next year. These enlarged terminal buds will be producing the flowers next spring. Continued dry weather could impair the development of the buds and cause a lack of flowers. No spring flowers means no fall fruit, so weather conditions during the next few weeks could have a major impact on fruit availability next year.

Flowering Dogwood

Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida, has put on a wonderful show this spring. The tree’s horizontal branching pattern produces layers of flower rafts. The white bracts surrounding the flower clusters glow in the sunlight.

From below, you can see the reddish-brown spot at the tip of each bract.

The flowers are found at the base of the four white bracts. Some of the flowers have not yet opened, while others have been pollinated and are beginning to develop fruit.

The native bees are busily pollinating the flowers. I have yet to spend any time identifying the various bees found at Blue Jay Barrens. I’m at that point where I can imagine thousands of species of bees, because I see thousands of bees and can’t identify more than a couple of them. With most groups of organisms, a little bit of study allows you to identify many of the common species or genera. Then your whole perspective changes as you are suddenly able to sort a mass of individuals into a few species or types. I’m fortunate that my lack of knowledge of so many things will provide me with unending opportunities to experience the joys of learning.

The dogwood has a simple leaf, but there is often great beauty in the simple things. The neat lines and graceful curves of the new leaves are just as attractive as the flowers.

Most of the Flowering Dogwoods at Blue Jay Barrens are found in the open fields, growing in the low pH shale soils. Twenty-five years ago, they were common understory trees in the woods. About 20 years ago the trees succumbed to Anthracnose Leaf Blight caused by the fungus Discula destructiva. The trees in cool shaded areas were most susceptible to the disease and were completely destroyed. A few small trees survived in fencerows and there were sprouts beginning in the fields. We went many years without any dogwood blooms. I began a policy of allowing Flowering Dogwoods to stay in the fields where they seem to be less susceptible to the disease. I’m looking forward to the day when they reach a size that approaches those that were lost.

It appears that Crab Spiders are going to be plentiful this year. I’ve been seeing many types in the different flowers.