Take Advantage of Winter

You may have noticed that trees around the edge of your yard often grow leaning inward, towards the light and open space.  Trees along the roadways also tend to grow leaning inward, toward the street, causing poor visibility and safety hazards.  Later, when the tree dies, it naturally falls toward the street or open space.  In the summer, tree limbs, weighted down with heavy leaves, can hide street signs and block visibility.  In winter, trees and limbs, weighted down with heavy ice & snow can hang down into the travel lane, slapping school busses and plow trucks as they pass…
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Winter: Are Your Trees Ready?

Wintertime poses some unique challenges for trees.  Wood freezes, loses its flexibility and becomes brittle.  These days, we seem to see snow mixed with ice more often than in the past.  Ice, especially, will weigh a tree’s branches down, sometimes to the breaking point.  Pine branches, in particular, are susceptible to breaking under heavy ice and snow.  Murphy’s Law says that any pine branch that hangs over the roof of a house has a much higher likelihood of snapping under heavy ice and falling than a tree branch in the forest.  Double topped trees are also at risk during the…
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BioBased Economy

I recently attended a meeting, locally, where a group of people were advocating for more BioBased Manufacturing in Maine (that's making products from wood).  I’ve been on that bandwagon for a while now, so anything I can do to help nudge the state in that direction, I am likely to do.  It seems a shame to me that we have this incredible forest resource, but we have struggled to innovate our way to creating new uses for it. Take heat for example.  Heat is a big deal in Maine for a good 6 months of the year.  We have enough…
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Trees and Weather

Trees and Weather Weather effects our trees in many ways.  Some good, some not so good.  Consider the types of weather conditions a tree must endure. Wind, rain, flood, frost, snow, sleet, hail, ice, freezing temperatures, heat, sun, lightning, and drought, to name a few. Not only does the weather effect trees directly, but also indirectly by effecting factors such as invasive insects, populations and types of browsing animals and even human behaviors such as logging practices and opportunities. Freeze and thaw temperature swings in February and March bring us maple syrup, but also have the ability to crack or…
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