2026 Walkabout

Last week I made my annual inspection of trees, bushes, and plants growing on our property. The large ones continue to deteriorate after the 2020 derecho damage. My rule is as long as they leaf out, I will leave them for another year. There will be an all-day project of cutting dead branches and making firewood from them.

The Pin Oak is in the best shape of the old ones, and the two new apple trees are coming right along. After cutting lilacs back dramatically, they are almost fully recovered. The legacy apple trees continue to die out, with only three of six left. The Red Delicious tree lost major branches during the derecho, and another large branch died over winter. There may be a harvest next year if it makes it that long.

I like the open spaces I created in the yard. The main pathway from the 25-acre woods to points west of our home is frequently used by deer. They leave their footprints all along the way. There don’t seem to be as many nesting songbirds in the row of trees with apple, pear, spruce, and mulberry. They seem to have moved across the yard to the neighbor’s patch of scrub growth. Maybe the nestlings are better shielded from predators there.

Due to moles and voles, our yard looks pretty disreputable. I have never been one to invest time or money in maintaining a lawn. Maybe it’s time to turn everything into an edible garden if I have the energy for that scale of work. In the meanwhile, the first mowing will reveal if there is anything positive about the lawn.

The next part of walkabout is climbing on the roof to inspect the shingles. I’ll wait until the maple tree begins to distribute seeds and clean the gutters at the same time.

This spring ritual has become a part of me. Here are a few photos from walkabout.