Finding the Witch Hazel Tree

I am surrounded by trees. There are pines, oaks, maples, honey locust tree, and dead ash trees. I have a few favorite types of trees.

I love the wild apple trees in the meadow, especially in the spring. Their blossoms and fill the air with a heavenly scent.

The Hawthorne tree is still one of my favorites. Yes, it has thorns, and in the spring, it has the most interesting flowers. In the fall, the leaves can be all hues of orange, brown, and rust colors.

Most noticeable are the maples and the oaks of course. 

Most of these trees are very easy to identify.

This spring I started to PAY attention to some of the trees or very large shrubs that grow along our road. Last winter I found bittersweet fruit while taking photos of the incredible frost formations on the ridge.

I've cut twisted vines from this section of the woods to use in craft projects and decorations for my Christmas tree but I'd never give much thought to the plant itself.

I thought it would be fun to try and see if I could follow this bush through the year.

In May it blossomed, but I was not even sure if it was the bittersweet.

[I finally got it ID'd just a week or so ago as a bittersweet blossom.]

There is no denying the ID of the plant once it starts to develop its telltale orange fruit.

Here is a tree/bush that I didn't even know we had. I was at my son's in Kenosha in June and fell in love with a couple of beautiful bushes he had. 

So I have been watching this bush/tree all summer. Here is what it looked like in May----->

I labeled this photo. I don't know.

Sunday morning I took this photo and decided to try identifying this. It was so pretty!

Yes! A Dogwood! Identified as probably a Grey Dogwood. I did a bit of a happy dance when I figured it out. The berries will disappear quickly I guess as the birds love it.
About a mile down the gravel road there are about 10 to 15 of these! 

We all know what an oak looks like but here is a spring photo of the leaves coming out.

I included the next photo because of the beautiful Monarch that was resting in the cool air of the morning. I was so please to have the super duper long lens with me, I didn't have to disturb the Monarch.

I understand that there are 12 different species of Dogwood trees. Some have red fruit and some have purple fruit.
I will be keeping an eye on this hedgerow of trees and bushes. 

The one below is a chokecherry tree, this was full of Orioles during their nesting time.
We used to make chokecherry jelly and grandma used to use chokecherry juice with gelatin to make her own home made jello. 

This is an Elderberry tree. They are hard to control when they grow in pastures. Though apparently you can make jelly out of the berries and they have some sort of medicinal properties too.

Hickory Bitternut. I think. I have a Shagbark Hickory in our yard. 

I was really searching high and low for Witch Hazel. I was sure some were growing around this area. After 3 days of looking, I grabbed this cell phone photo of what could be a Witch Hazel. 
Time will tell because this tree flowers in November!

I am going to go back and see if I can find it again. I certainly would not want to miss the interesting flowers this tree puts out so late in the year. I'd post a photo of the bright interesting flowers, but I don't want to 'grab' and use someone else's photo. 

You can see Witch Hazel flowers here:

US Forestry site

Trees other than the common ones have always been a mystery to me. So this is one more item I am trying to learn about.

Not that newsworthy...

I live in a mini house. It is a cottage. The top photo is Charlie on our love seat recliner that we inherited nearly 20 years ago. His toys are strewn in that little hallway that leads into the other 'half' of the house. That is the kitchen/dining area that actually has a nice plank floor on it. 

The living area has old carpeting in it. It is nasty, dusty, and of course it has been through more than one puppy if you get my drift. When we remodeled, it was supposed to be pulled out and replaced. Hubby said he'd do it.

The photo with my feet in it is a sample of the new flooring I am finally winning approval for. I brought home samples of linoleum flooring that looks like wood planking. Frankly, I do like the planking on the kitchen floor but this cushy flooring I have as a sample is the same as what is in my bathroom. It is CUSHY! There is a huge difference in the feel of it when I walk across the planking vs the bathroom floor.

Personally I found some awesome 'rock' looking flooring but hubby wanted something that looked like wood.

I had several samples and he picked the old reddish barnwood flooring look. I agree, it is the better choice.

I was told that I didn't want sheet flooring, it would look stupid. But I expect since I will hire an expert to put it in, it will look nice. Bonus points for the fact that the flooring people will remove and dispose of the old rug and underlayment. Sure it will cost me, but I've been saving for it. 

Once that dusty old carpet is removed, I will be very happy. A stick vacuum and a mop will be easier.. well, I think.

AND!

He agreed to go with me to look at a replacement for the loveseat. Yep, my house is too tiny to have a full couch. At once time I wished to have a day bed. But I like putting my feet up at the end of the day. Plus it can only measure something like 67 inches to fit where I want it.

The very last project I want to do internally is put up floorboard trim. However that is not a hot issue. 

My outdoor work is continuing.

Pulling Burdock and chopping down Elderberry bushes that have taken over like crazy.

These nasty yet tasty things grow everywhere and by midsummer completely shade the grass out.

The shoots look harmless enough, but they grow by seed and extend by root shoots. They are less harmful than the Buckthorn but just as hard to get rid of.

So I work with a reciprocating saw and pull the shoots as they appear all year long.

It is a constant battle and eventually I will give up when I am older or no longer have equine.

In the photo below there is an Elderberry shoot with its LONG root extended next to a regular sized rake. Just wow....

And here is a section I have worked on now for almost two years to keep clear.

And this is why I do it.

Lazy bums!

The elder mule Fred with Mica who has breathing and heart issues. They are so happy to be with the others right now.

So there it is. 

Not very news worthy, but my week so far.

I will take the rest of the week off from hacking, chopping, piling, and burning.

There is a trail calling my name in KVR.

One of those days

Here is the crockpot soup pot. I'm leaning towards a potato soup. I started the morning by looking up recipes. And then decided to follow one sort of and add my own touches.

Shredded fresh carrots, shredded onions, and celery. Chicken stock, whole mini tators...cook all day with seasons. Add milk, cream of mushroom soup, and shredded cheese later. It was good!

I was waiting on a delivery that needs a signature. FedEx. I don't know if they can find my house. 

Through the Red Cross I signed up for Facebook Portal and they were going to deliver today.

That meant I had to stay near the house all day watching for the truck.

So I decided to try out the new fangled tool and go at the Elderberry trees that are crowding the wooded pasture west of the house.

First I picked up dead stuff. Then I went after the elderberry trees. Some people love them. Mules don't eat them so it is not pasture friendly to me. They grow and kill the grasses, they spread by seed and root. What a pain. Lovely to look at the flowers, but a pain.

The pile kept growing! I added boxelder shoots and dead branches. I even added a couple of busted up logs that I could pick up. This area of the pasture never got cleaned up after the 2007 storm. 

I hope I can burn small piles next to the large old logs this winter and burn up the old logs.

We shall see.

It is close enough to the house that hubby can open a window and holler at me if he needs my help.

That was fun! There was only 30 minutes between the first photo and the second one!

Love this tool!

I wore the battery out and decided that I'd better go ahead and burn a little pile before I let the mules back in this section. They would just re-arrange my burn piles for fun. Those mischievous long ears!

Both of those piles are gone this evening. There will be winds the next few days. So no brush burning for a bit.

It is a handy tool.

Friday is a day off I think. My friend Bill is doing much better from his hip and sciatica problems and we are going to meet up at the Reserve. I'm going to show him the trails to the Ice Caves.

Time for a break from all the work in the woods.

Oh.

The soup was great! We have enough so I won't have to cook Friday and we will have some to freeze too.

The warm homemade bread was a bonus also.

It was one of those days where I won all the way around.

The FedEx guy did show up after supper. 

He was a bit hesitant about coming down to our place, but I'd left lots of lights on so he could find us.