82-Lancaster Firming. Saturday, May 7, 1994
On being -
a farm wife
-And other
hazards
Joyce Bupp
“You have a green thing in your
hair.l’
With that warning, a fourth
grader in the Sunday School class
I help teach reached up and
plucked the object off the back of
my head.
It wasn’t the piece of hay I
expected to see, though hay, straw
and sawdust bits are an everyday
part of my hairdo. Nor was it one
of those little green worms you
often find crawling somewhere on
your clothes after a springtime
walk through the woods.
No, this was maple tree residue,
one of those tiny, yellow-green
blossoms that dropped by the mil
lions around the area in recent
days. Seeing the unexpected hair
omamentbrought to mind a maga
zine article I’d read just days
before listing the positive and
negative characteristics of the
most popular trees grown around
here. After reading the list, with its
critique of diseases, pests and dirt
created by various shade and orna
mental trees, I wondered why any
one would bother planting a tree at
all.
Two of the worst offenders on
the list were maples and willows.
Maples have massive and inva
sive root systems, poking into
every bit of soil in their reach,
slurping up moisture, clogging
septic lines, preventing lawn
growth beneath. Messy trees, they
drop twigs, blossoms, seeds,
leaves something almost year
‘round.
Willows are almost as bad in
their usually short lifespans, with
lots of twig dropout and problem
root systems. As they get older,
the large roots of willows will sur
face above the ground near the
trunk, often gnarled and pictur
esque, but so shallow-rooted the
trees easily uproot with heavy
wind. And those protruding roots
chew up lawn mower blades like
crazy.
Guess what grows around our
farmhouse?
You guessed it Maples. And
willows.
Nine towering old maples sur
round the house, beloved old trees
with many decades of growing
under their bark. Four willows of
lesser age the oldest is over 20
also dot our landscape. A fifth
one planted the same time as the
oldest simply fell over last year,
on a warm May afternoon with no
breeze.
Everything the article says is
true about both species. They are
messy, depositing droppings on
the lawn that need to be cleaned
up on a regular basis. Both lose
branches in heavy winds. Both
create problems on the ground
beneath their canopies of leaves.
Still, we treasure each one and
feel that they’re a lot like having
children the rewards outweigh
the work that comes with them.
Just as the sun beings to season
ally heat up, the maples unfurl
shading leaves which help natural
ly cool our old stone and brick
farmhouse. Birds galore build
mBBI
nests in their wide-spreading
branches, robins, sparrows, black
birds, and an opportunist bluejay
couple that set up housekeeping
LONG WHEELBASE BOBCAT
SKID-STEER LOADER
Farmers Have Higher Expectations
directly above one maple’s
birdfeeder.
Our new squirrel family like
wise chose to nest in a large, arch
ing maple limb also near the
stash of sunflower seeds and com.
From the back porch and kitchen,
we can watch as the five half
grown babies romp up and down
the limbs, while mother stretches
out on an adjacent branch, looking
positively worn out
Cardinals, red-winged black
birds, song sparrows and an occa
sional sharp-shinned hawk hunt
ing dinner favor the weeping wil
low by the pond. Its tiptop branch
is often occupied by one of the
noisy mockingbirds, belting out
whatever song it fancies at the
moment. A pair of gentle, mourn
ing doves usually nests in the
backyard willow.
Dirty trees? Yep. Problem
trees? Yep. Beloved trees?
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Chambersbi
CLUGSTON
AG & TURF, INC.
717-263-4103
Af£T£JfOS. ,
W h#e JWJi
“bobcat
>*•> •.
Hanover. PA
FINCH SERVICES
717-632-2345
Towanda. PA
S.P.E. INC.
717-265-4440
Mill Hall. PA
DUNKLE & GRIEB
717-726-3115
Absolutdy. these green things off the kitcl
Pardon me while Igo sweep all floor.
County Plans
Extension Workshops
Chester
WEST CHESTER (Chester
Co.) Penn State Cooperative
Extension in Chester County
announces its spring schedule of
courses and workshops which
includes: Inspecting the Home
Electrical System on Tuesday,
May 17, 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Better
Kid Care for child care providers
on Tuesday, May 24, 7:00-9:00
p.m.; Residential Property Man
agement for Part-Time Landlords
on Tuesdays. June 7, 14 and 21,
7:00-9:30 p.m.; Train the Trainers
on Life Skills for agency person
nel and volunteers on Wednesday,
Quarrwilla.PA
GRUM ELK’S
FARM SERV.
717-786-7318
idvnsY. PA
BEST LINE Iteney s\m.£A
LEASING, INC. NORMAN D. CLARK
717-546-8422 4 SON INC.
800-321-2378 717-734-3682
Lebanon. PA
EVERGREEN
TRACTOR CO.
717-272-4641
1-800-441-4450
Milllmbura. PA
BS & B REPAIR
717-966-3756
June 8, 10-3; and three differeni
sessions of the Certified Food
Safety and Sanitation Course fo
those required to have a food sani
tation manager on site. Newslet
ters and leam-at-home publica
tions are also available through
the Cooperative Extension.
Registration is necessary foi
courses, workshops and newslet
ter subscriptions, and some of the
programs have registration fees.
For a copy of the spring schedule,
contact Becky Scotland at the
Extension office at (610)
696-3500.
Tunkhannock. PA
BARTON SUPPLY
INC.
717-836-4011
West Lawn. PA
CLARKUFT
SERVICES
215-670-2950
Bethlehem. PA
215-868-1481
Naodmora. PA
CLUGSTON
FARM EQUIPMENT
717-573-2250