Spring has Sprung - Finally !

Today we enjoyed some warm and sunny weather. Finally !

Probably the best indicator that Spring has sprung is seeing the trees starting to bud.

When I relocated my shop to its current location in 2001 one of the first things I did was to plant some trees on the surrounding property. I opted to plant several lesser known and indigenous species of trees, including a few that are considered to be species at risk in this area.



This Shagbark Hickory is clearly wasting little time getting its buds out into the light of the Sun. Other species including Butternut, Swamp Oak, Pin Oak, Black Walnut and PawPaw remain mostly dormant.



This PawPaw is one of my favorite trees. Although not considered to be a particular species at risk, this tree is extremely rare in these parts since we are located more to the north of its usual climate zone.



I felt inspired to plant some of these trees, largely because the PawPaw is the only tree able to host the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly.

On so many levels it is essential to do what is possible to help sustain biodiversity.