If a Tree Falls in the Woods...

Last year several dead sumac trees fell over in what I view as our woodland. As I posted about in "Planting Dead Trees" I tried to put them back up to add vertical structure to keep the area looking like a potential woodland and to provide the familiar perches that birds have been using. Most of them fell over anyway.

More fell over and blocked my paths. I decided today to finally pile them up in what will be a large brush pile which will be of use to wildlife. This will allow me to utilize the paths again and to, hopefully, smother invasive weeds and eventually break down into woodsy soil which will benefit future plantings of wildflowers and trees.



...But, I couldn't help but "plant" one of the dead ones that fell over. The soil was loose and the trunk went down fairly far--which made me realize that it is likely the groundhog burrow that is near there. I'm hoping it doesn't block the groundhog...or if it does it isn't too much trouble to dig around it! :)



I had to add some of the Japanese honeysuckles to the brush pile. I'll pile on other brush too to help smother weeds and provide more hiding places for wildlife.



The path--actually the path back into the woods toward the house--looks much more inviting now.

Planting Dead Trees

In my attempt to catch up on posting, here is what I was doing some time in March:

If my imagined battles with Hydra-like rose bushes and honeysuckles were not enough to make one question my sanity, perhaps the fact that I was planting dead trees might. (By the way, the battles were real, just the enemies' form was imagined.)

Now, why would I be planting dead trees?

(Yes, I knew they were dead while I was doing it.)

Several reasons: One a dead tree is called a snag (while it is still standing) and it provides food (in the form of insects in the dead wood), a place to perch with no obstructed view from leaves, and in some cases, a cavity in which to nest.

Now the trees I was attempting to upright were old sumacs that had been standing until this winter. They provided structure; their trunks giving the feel of a woodland that is rather sparse in the way of trees. Their diameter is too small to be much good for cavities--and I've seen no holes as of yet, but they did provide perching and aside from that, the look I was going for as I wait for the seedlings I've added to grow and take their place as much needed vertical structure for our woodland.