The End is Near....Hopefully

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The first day of spring, March 20 was blustery and snowy. The following day, Friday, was sunny and in the forties but that's about to change for the next several days. More cold air is expected to drop over the Great Lakes region along with some snow.
However, some of the long range forecasts are predicting a warming trend in early April. Some days in early April are expected to reach into the sixties (hopefully, the end is near for winter 2013-2014, a Polar Vortex Nightmare

 Since no gardening can be done outside, well, except for pruning work, attention has been on a few houseplants and some seedlings for the vegetable garden. The Aloe plant pictured above is a useful plant for many reasons.
It is also called the medicine plant and the burn plant. The gooey gel inside the leaves relieves many problems such as minor burns, skin irritations (like poison ivy). The medicinal qualities of the Aloe has been known by man ever since time began.
More recently, it has been discovered that the Aloe plant also helps to purify the air inside the home. For more information and details, From an Ancient Past. A New Beginning.

The First Harvest - Although it has been impossible to do much yard or garden work outside, despite what the calendar claims, there's been some pretty busy folks out in the woods. The sap began to flow the second week in March and the maple producers in the region were a busy bunch gathering buckets and boiling.
The sap began just a week or less before the Open House Taste and Tour Weekend, March 15 and 16 at many local Sugar Houses. during the Taste and Tour weekend, Sponsored by the Northwestern Maple Producers Association, everyone is welcome to visit a Sugar House, watch a variety of demonstrations, sample maple products.. Each Sugar House had different activities for people of all ages such as free wagon rides through the woods.
According to many of the producers, the crowds were large this year throughout the weekend and there were many people asking for information about backyard sugaring.
All the Sugar Houses will be selling maple products throughout the year, for more information on the Sugar Houses, contact information and what they are selling, Maple Products.
Hurry Hill Farm Museum will have the museum open every Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m..until the end of May. It's a fascinating place and if your considering making your own backyard maple syrup this year, this is a great place to start your adventure. For more information, Hurry Hill.

Leeks - Mayapples and Trout Lily - Coming soon to your nearest woodland.soon after winter departs.
Healthy leeks, pictured above, will soon rise once the temperatures rise in April, followed quickly by the pre-historic Mayapples and the colorful Trout Lily. Both can be used in landscaping very effectively. There will be plenty of other wildflowers blooming as well including one with a horrible and undeserved reputation, the dandelion.
The dandelion has a colorful history and many uses besides being a very important plant for the bees. For more information and details on this useful plant, Dandelion.

Ice fishing, despite the still winter like weather is rapidly drawing to a close. It's been a great season for those who like to get out n the ice and fish. Read the fishing report by Darl Black, click on fishing report at FISH

For more information on what is happening in Northwestern Pennsylvania, GOCtawford

Spring will be Here...Whenever

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The winter of 2013-2014 has been harsh and relentless for millions of people throughout the United States and Canada. Just about everyone is at wit's end for springs arrival. In this region, in addition to being one of the snowiest places in North America, the temperatures have been consistently below zero and at times as low as minus 24 degrees.

March began with much the same, bitter cold and snow, although areas south and east of this region are having a much worse storm today, March 2.
 “In like a lion, out like a lamb”?

Being an optimist, I'm sure spring will get here sooner or later. Back in February, I  decided to plant four tomato seeds, all of which sprouted and are growing nicely in a south facing window.

They are the seeds from a volunteer plant which appeared in last years garden. It was dug up and placed in a pot. It started bearing cherry, roma shaped tomatoes very early and produced heavily until it had a fatal encounter with the late tomato blight.

The tomatoes were really tasty so some seeds were saved. Hopefully, the seeds remain true to the mother plant. These were just tasty tomatoes, great for snacking or in a salad.

Throughout the winter, thoughts have been on getting a couple bee hives; which led to thoughts about a bee food plot next to the backyard vegetable garden. If the bees can be afforded this spring, they'll be happy, if not the wild honey bees, hummingbirds and butterflies will enjoy a feast.

The seeds for the bee plot, Lemon Mint, Bee Balm, White Sage and Borage, all arrived in the mail last week. These bee plants will all reseed themselves so once the plot is done it should bloom for a long time to come.

For many years, Borage (pictured above) has always been planted in the vegetable garden. It attracts literally thousands of feral honeybee and native bees. Borage easily reseeds itself. Discover more about theis useful herb at Borage. It is also known as the bee plant and like the other herbs mentioned has some culinary uses..

Interested in the bees? Here's a few tips on how to help them, 10 Bee Actions

It's been a tough winter on wildlife and the opossums must be hungry. They have been out quite a bit during the daylight searching for food. They are normally nocturnal. They are ancient animals with a bad reputation for just being flat out ugly.

They are the only North American Marsupial (they carry their young in a second pouch) and are actually quite harmless unless aggressively provoked.

The opossum pictured above was released alive and well into a nearby woods.

A sure sign of spring is maple syrup. In this region, sponsored by the Northwestern PA Maple Association will be the 11 annual Open House Taste and Tour will be held March 15 and 16. It's really a fun time visiting the various Sugar Houses and watching the demonstrations and learning about the craft of making syrup.If one is lucky enough, the Sugar House will make some JackWax.

For more information on the Taste and Tour weekend, NW PA Maple.

On the subject/thought of spring weather and gardens...Pictured are some old ACME corn planting tools found in an old house in the Pleasantville, PA area. In the photo, the darker colored planter is a homemade one, while the other is from the Acme Company located in Traverse, Michigan. More on these tools shortly.

For more Northwestern Pennsylvania happenings: GOCRAWFORD

January Owls, Plans and Daydreams

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There have been numerous reports about snowy owls in the northwestern Pennsylvania area in recent weeks. The large owls are native to many arctic regions and they do periodically migrate southward to southern Canada and the northern parts of the United States.

Technically, the periodic migrations are called an “irruption.”. But exactly what triggers an irruption is not known, although there are several theories. One of those is climate change in the arctic regions. This years irruption is being called :historic” because of the large number of these snowy owls travelling south from the arctic.

Thanks to Shawn Collins of Meadville who shared this photo of a snowy owl at Pymatuning State Park the first few days of 2014.

More information and additional details about these magnificent birds can be found at Snowy Owl.

The first full week of January 2014 will feature some harsh weather. Some weather forecasters claim the first full week will see cold air not seen in decades as well as abundant snowfall. The owls will certainly feel right at home.Discover the Snowy Owl

January Plans

There usually isn't much to do outside during the month of January in the yard or garden except to spread wood ashes in the veggie plot or flower garden. Wood ashes are valuable to both as well as bushes and trees.

January is also a good time to start to plan, particularly for the vegetable garden. It's been a few years since salsify was planted in the vegetable garden here. But salisify seed will be in the ground as early as possible in spring 2014.. It's an old time root crop, healthy and flavorful. The long growing root crop can be used to make Mock Oyster Soup. Learn more about this often forgotten veggie at Discover Salsify.

The January To Do List:Seed  Order :

The Evergreen Herb - Rosemary - pictured above, flavorful and healthy, makes for a nice houseplant in the winter.

Lovage - the patch of this herb died off last year and it is a flavorful, hardy herb that tastes just like celery.

               Discover Lovage

Borage - also known as the bee plant because it attracts bees by the thousands. Although there are plenty of spring volunteers (borage re-seed itself) a package is nice to have around just in case. Pictured abobe is a bee feasting on the blue borage flower. Discover Borage

Of course, there are plenty of winter activities such as snow shoeing - Discover the Green Sport - , ice fishing, sledding and shoveling. One can also view and check on brush piles or even begin to build one. January is also a good month to be awed at the under-the-snow world of subnivia. Discover the World of Subnivia

January Daydreams

A bright yellow dandelion would be a welcome sight in January! This important wildflower has a fascinating history and it is an important source of food for the bees.

Discover the Dandelion

November Trapping, Hunting, Lettuce and Garlic

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It has been a long time since anyone has trapped these woods, maybe even ten years or so. Raccoons have been a problem for the last five or so; you just can't leave any food item whatsoever outside without a mess the next morning.
Several years ago, a raccoon tested positive for rabies taken from the farm property next to me and the State dropped pellets to immunize the over-populated animals from the deadly disease. Then last summer, a raccoon killed one of my favorite Koi.
I got to know my neighbor, Kyle over the summer and he enjoys and is just starting out in the trapping profession. We agreed to trap in this neighborhood and , well, since October 27, it's been a learning experience, a lot of miles walked in all sorts of weather, and a lot of good conversations. One conversation, for example was about the number of furs taken ever since the early days of settlement in North America and shipped throughout the world. That is just amazing when one stops to think about it.
What I found amazing also was the number of animal trails which could be seen particularly in the golden rod fields. The trails appeared to be well used by a variety of animals.
This is the biggest raccoon we trapped (pictured above); 37 inches and about 24 pounds. We've also got an array of rabbits, possums, and a fox squirrel, but no wolverines, just yet!
We pulled all the coon traps within the last several days. Mink and muskrat season opened yesterday on November 23 but the weather has been snowy, windy and very cold. In a few days, the weather will get better and we will be able to get out again.

Rifle Deer Season Opens December 2 in Pennsylvania

This year seems to be poised for good harvest for rifle deer season. Many archers were able to harvest some nice deer. And there are plenty more out there. There re plenty of nice buck rubs. The rut seems a tad late coming at the end of the archery season which is now closed.
A large snow storm could make the opening day on the second, well, interesting. A coastal storm is expected to bring up to a foot of snow to the local region beginning on Tuesday evening, November 26 and continue through the 27.

The Garden

Garlic should be in the ground for next year's harvest. Garlic enjoys the snow and the bitter cold and does just fine. November is also a good month to dig, divide and re-plant horseradish roots; it seems to do better after a few visits from Jack Frost; the same is true for sunchokes.
Planted some romaine lettuce plants about two weeks ago given to me by a neighbor. The plants will continue to grow and produce lettuce throughout the winter he told me. as long as they are protected from the heavy snow. Trying old window frames and see if that works. It's a little difficult to make out the dozen or so plants in the picture.

On the Wild Side

A few all  black wooly bear caterpillars have been seen all  November along with the wooolies with more common ones with the reddish tan stripes. According to folklore, the stripes on the caterpillar foretell the upcoming winter's mildness or severity. In the spring, the caterpillar wakes up hibernation, eats for a few weeks, spins a cocoon, eventually to break free as an Isabella Moth.

The woolies were more evident on the warmer days in November when even a few dandelions bloomed. Somewhat strange to see the common dandelion blooming a week or so before Thanksgiving.
A small creek we discovered one day trapping, just November Nice.

To everyone, have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!







Good Blogs to Read

Step by Step in the Kitchen

Corning, New York

Uncle Sam's History

Old Fashion Vegetable Salsify Mock Oyster Winter Vegetable Uncommon Vegetable by Greg Spinks | Living Space 360

Old Fashion Vegetable Salsify Mock Oyster Winter Vegetable Uncommon Vegetable by Greg Spinks | Living Space 360

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Winter Predictions, Fall Gardens, and 1859 Just Doesn't End

As September enters the calendar, thoughts turn to the upcoming winter. The Farmers Almanac is forecasting a particularly nasty winter season for most all regions in North America. For northwestern Pennsylvania, a good weather weather site to stay tuned into is CrawfordWeather on Facebook which published the above picture. It is a good site for southern Erie County and all of Crawford in the western Pennsylvania area with up to the minute weather updates (after all Mother Nature doesn't pay particular attention to political boundaries).

Other Forecasts:

In many regions in the western areas of Pennsylvania, there is an abundant apple crop, the oak trees are loaded with acorns (think about planting America's Tree), the wasp nests are high in the trees and there was plenty of fog during the month of August. According to weather folklore, all are signs of an impending snowy and cold winter.

Personally, I haven't seen a wooly bear caterpillar yet this year and the above picture is from last year. But they will make an appearance shortly and we'll see what they have to tell.

The Once Upon a Time Oil Capital of the World

The history of much of the western Pennsylvania region revolves around oil. It was on August 27, 1859 when the oil  began to flow at Drake's Well near Titusville. The success spurred developments in many communities besides Titusville. Oil City, Union City and Corry come quickly to mind as communities which thrived with the oil boom days following the American Civil War.
Pithole, a once thriving oil town, is almost legendary for it's rapid rise and fall. Pictured above is a coffee can filled with crude oil and set on fire for light (a primitive lantern of sorts), something I learned one day at the now famous ghost town.
For those readers not very familiar with the world's first commercial Oil Well and Pithole, Rock Oil.

Canadohta Lake initially received a tremendous boost from Drake's discovery and became something of a luxury resort community for many rich oil tycoons. The lake, once known as Washington Lake and then Oil Creek Lake was renamed Canadohta after a Seneca Chief, named Canadaughta.  The oil men formed their own club, the Canadohta Club and claimed the lake as their own.
Enter local resident, Ben Ruggles who took them to court after he was charged with trespassing. Ruggles won his case and the lake was deemed state or public property to be enjoyed by all citizens. On the downside, the legacy of the case remains even today with property disputes, paper roads, public and private road questions and countless disputes over docks, titles and ownership.
Throughout the upcoming winter, we'll take a look at Ben Ruggles (who was he) and the Canadohta Club (who really were they) .
Follow Koyote Hill or add as an RSS feed and stay up to date with some fascinating and informative series starting the next post. There is some intriguing little known information from Spartansburg and Riceville and all the way to Florida.Ben Ruggles: 1868 -1960.
 If you have something to contribute to this story, please contact. Thanks.

There is still time to plant a Fall Garden. But you need to hurry it up now. Lettuce, swiss chard and kale can all be successfully harvested before the heavy snow and bitter cold arrives. Some varieties even enjoy and taste better after a light frost.
Peas and red beets are also a good choice for a Fall Garden but time is just about out for beans. The earliest bean varieties are about 55 days.
October is the month in our region to get the garlic in the ground. It laughs at winter.It is also time to bring in the herb Rosemary if you have it planted, it is a nice houseplant.
Or if your in a gambling mood, plant now and enjoy a spring harvest when the snow melts.
Sunchokes, or Jerusalem artichokes can also be harvested after a light frost. They can be planted in the fall or the spring in the garden, or harvested in the wild. For more on Sunchokes, Indian Potato.
You may also be interested in:

Sunflowers - These fascinating plants have a long history filled with symbolism.

Perennial Fruits and Vegetables

Build a Bat House this Winter 

Sun Medicine - some cool facts about Goldenrods


Good Blogs to Read -

Step by Step in the Kitchen - Kathleen has a great recipe for Butternut Squash

Uncle Sam's History - This is one of Sam Hossler's history blogs

Go Crawford - well, that's me and news and events in our region. Learn more about the mystery snails in Canadohta and Pymatuning.

    

August - Some Fall Projects and Winter Predictions

 

 

There are always some common comments and questions raised in August. One frequent refrain this month (besides when will the rain stop?): “Where did summer go?” For the most part, it has been rainy and cool; and now it's almost back to school time. The last week has even seen temperatures dip into the forties and wood stoves lit.

Another common question these last few weeks regards the upcoming winter and predictions. Granted, there are a lot of apples this year on the trees and the acorn crop is heavy. Both are viewed in weather folklore as signs of an upcoming harsh winter.

Another weather saying used in August regards fog. If there's a lot of heavy fog in August, it predicts a snowy, cold winter ahead. There has been plenty of fog around the first 15 days of August, although who really has kept track of the number of fogy weather days?

How high in the trees the wasps are making their nest is another indicator of the upcoming winter, but there's a lot of leaves on the trees and it's hard to see the wasp nests. And it's a tad to early to see how frantically the squirrels are gathering nuts.

Mid-August begins the weather lore and for gardeners begins a new planting season. It is time to plant more beans, peas, lettuce and some root crops such as red beets and turnips. Some vegetables just don't worry about and can handle a light frost. For some thoughts and ideas about what to plant, ExtraHarvest.

Returning back to the weather for a moment, no Wooly Bears have been seen yet, but it won't be long.

It's Almost Sunchoke Time

The native sunchokes will be ready soon after the first frost. Also called inaccurately, Jerusalem artichokes, these tasty and healthy tuber can be used like potatoes or eaten raw in salads.

The sunchokes, members of the sunflower family, are about ready to bloom. The flowers are attractive and enjoyed by many bees, yellow finches and hummingbirds.

For more details and information on these native plants and when and where to plant them.
GoldenSunchokes.

A Sunny Window to Keep the Mediterranean Diet for Winter

The healthy Mediterranean Herb, Rosemary, can be brought inside and placed in a sunny window when the weather gets colder. It really can't take our severe and cold winters. It does make for a nice houseplant and can be harvested all winter for kitchen uses. It is a no nonsense, healthy and flavorful plant which doesn't require a lot of upkeep.  Explore more about this Herb, Rosemary.

Some Fall Projects

If you don't plant healthy garlic, now is the time to consider and get a garden bed ready. Garlic is normally planted in late September or October in northwestern Pennsylvania. More details and information at, GARLIC

Bats are in trouble with White-nose syndrome, a deadly disease. Bats strike terror into nightime flying insects, mainly the pesky and disease carrying mosquito.  Build a bat house this fall or winter and help the bats. For more information, Batty for Bats

Getting firewood together for the upcoming winter is a typical past time in northwestern Pennsylvania. Consider building brush piles for wildlife when your cutting wood. Learn and see what animals come and go from pile and learn how to make it attractive year round. Brush Pile.

Good Blogs to Visit

Step by Step in the Kitchen 

Kathleen always makes me hungry when she publishes this blog.

Uncle Sams History

Sam is a great historian and writer; always a fascinating story about local northwestern Pennsylvania history. 

Go Crawford - features events in southern Erie County and Crawford County