First tree planted in 2023
First legacy tree of 2023
This one is kind of special. Planted for someone who came into our lives a short time ago and this little Norway Spruce will grow in the family reserve above the pond.
He may be small but he's growing...
Cold winter, still it lingered well into April with its frequent rains, ice, and frosts. May warmed but the rains would not allow the ground to dry out long enough for planting of market crops. But the weeds grew. Thick grasses, thorns, and well-rooted wild parsnip (a plant that is best to avoid.)
The season seems to be running 4 to 6 weeks later than usual. Trees woke up late from winter’s hibernation cycle and in some cases, not at all which happens sometimes.
As Wee Sprout budded and dissuaded our worries, it’s grown to a “mighty” little seedling. The largest of the sugar maples planted three years ago, it’s nestled between a much taller walnut tree to the east and paired to another maple to the west. It has a way to go before it truly reaches the sky, being only about a foot tall.
Filtered sunlight leeches though a black cherry tree in the row to the south which protects Sprout from the harshest sun and heat that seemed to be most of our June as the season jumped forward. An abundance of overgrown soft maples blocks Sprout’s view to the southern hay field. I have been thinning these soft maples to use as mulch for the best and most important trees, protection from winter’s cold and summer weeds.
I cleaned up a bit around Wee Sprout this past week and noticed its little lean is growing away and becoming straighter. The pair of wrens that claimed a bluebird house this year chattered and scolded me the whole time. I’m used to them and they can squat again in any of the houses next year even if the bluebirds object.
As for today, the needed rain is falling, the weeds will wait another day, and I’ll have to wait to cultivate beans. If Wee Sprout had one desire (besides being the tallest sugar maple at the farm) it would want everyone to know how well it is growing.
Cheers to you all!
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| On May 5th |
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| Exploding leaves on May 20th |
In June of 2020, this Iowa farmer dedicated a sugar (aka hard) maple tree seedling to Poets and Storytellers United. When Rommy correction - Magaly (sorry) commented
about this “wee sprout” the name stuck and Wee Sprout became an official Legacy
Tree™ on the Stranded Tree Farm.
A legacy tree is planted as a visual representation of those who have significantly impacted us at the farm and go through a rigorous nominating process. Family, friends, and loved ones who have passed on have a tree designated for them. We spend a little more time to fertilize, weed and protect them from the evils of predators like cute fuzzy rabbits that take one bite from each seedling and move on to the next. Sadistic deer enjoy taking their bites as well while the aggressive bucks rub on the younger trees to shed their antlers (nature doesn’t always cooperate with us.)
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| Wee Sprout - caged, June 2021 |
Wee Sprout is the only tree dedicated to a group, a community of free writers, poets, and maybe a few lyricists in the corner, all of us sharing our words. I thought the idea of a living symbol, growing along with the community, might one day shade a gathering of the members.
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| Wee Sprout - free, June 2021 |
To the east is a 30-foot black walnut producing a quantity of nuts this year and to the west is the sugar maple planted at the same time. Its northern neighbor is a Kentucky coffeetree and to the south is a black cherry and a hickory. Further away are more walnut, red maples, white and black oaks, ash and elm trees. A growing variety of native trees.
Wee Sprout is in good company and more trees will follow as we continue to reforest a small acreage in Iowa where no tree grows alone.
Posted to Poets and Storytellers United - Writers’ Pantry #90: Why Do You Write and Share?
We planted catalpa seeds eight years ago and had about 100 seedlings but our local rabbits took care of almost all of them. What remains are just two with one slightly bigger than the other.
The seeds came from good friends of ours from a tree on their property and unfortunately, both he and his wife passed away.
It seems fitting that the two remaining catalpa trees should be in their honor.
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| Seedling from 2013 |
From that seedling we now have a tree measuring 10 1/2 feet tall and 3 1/2 inches diameter (March 2021).
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| Catalpa, June 2021 |
It has hundreds of flowers this year which may produce their seed pods with thousands of seeds. If so, this would be our first legacy tree that carries on to the next generations.
Catalpa trees are not native to Iowa but at one time the state was encouraging the planting for their use for fence posts. Publication from 1910: The hardy Catalpa in Iowa
My father was able to get a few hundred board feet of its hardy dark wood before he passed away. My brother bought it from the estate but I'm sure I could get a few boards from him, if he still has any left.
For a little more information and a few more pictures
A brief update for a few of our legacy trees.
I took measurements in March while the trees were still dormant (no real good quality pictures - I'll return later with some spring growth) and here's an update:
The pride of the farm, David's Kentucky coffeetree: - 11 feet tall, 2 and 1/2 inches in diameter. Grown from a nut planted on our second summer. David is our advisor-at-large for all manners concerning trees. For contrast, a second coffeetree planted at the same time is only 42 inches tall. I cannot explain the difference but we're working on it.
Jason's pin oak has a way to go but has an excuse of only growing from an acorn for 2 years now. It stands at 21 inches. It could end up being our tallest tree someday (in about 60 years, so be patient, Jason)
In our surprise category, a red buckeye to honor our border collie mix, Buckeye (Buck). Planted 5 years ago from a seedling we got from a vendor in Missouri, it was standing at only 16 inches in March and added 5 and a half inches by April 11th. With frost settling in, I didn't want to risk this new growth and I wrapped it in clear plastic until the dangers of frost ended about a week later. I kept it in this mini greenhouse until last Saturday, the 24th, when I cut the top open to find it was now at 30 inches tall.
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| Buck's buckeye (I've got some cleanup to do) |
There's always something different, something new to learn at the farm.
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| Wee Sprout - July 2020 |
Nine years ago we started this small endeavor by purchasing an acreage that gently slopes east to a creek on our neighbor’s land. Nearly 2500 black walnut trees were planted by the seller along with red cedars and a few species of oaks.
The idea of planting additional trees took root before we had possession of the land. Native Iowa trees from family and friends have been planted each year as well as hundreds of acorns from neighborhood oak trees. We have planted nearly 3000 trees with varying success. Rabbits and deer find young seedlings satisfying, much to our frustration.
Early on, we noted a Kentucky coffeetree as our first “Legacy Tree.” The nut came from our good friend and advisor, David, a state forester. As it now stands over ten feet tall, it has become an important showcase tree at the farm. A pair of catalpas grow next to each other to remind us of departed friends while a pin oak grows nearby for a coworker. Other trees remind us of our friends who are near and far, still with us or gone on.
Reasons may vary for each Legacy Tree that now number about 20 and they can bring a smile or a bit of melancholy as the memories of our friends come to us. I share pictures of the trees from time to time so that the growth can be celebrated by all.
This year we add a new sugar maple in honor of our growing community of wordsmiths at Poets and Storytellers United. A place that has welcomed me and my words and allowed me to share that small corner of our world along with a few odd stories along the way. 😉
This maple could reach 60 feet or more, sheltering nesting birds among its branches and giving people the opportunity to rest under the shade of its broad leaves. This tree is in appreciation for all the writers of the community who are spread across the world as maybe someday, we could sit under the shade and share a verse or two.
It may be small but it can grow along with our words.
Thank you all.
