Woolly Bullies

This is the magic time...when every day is sunny and the temperature is in the 70s, when the trees are leafing out and the azaleas are all ablaze, when we have birds and butterflies but no mosquitoes yet.  Todd and I sit by the pond after supper and watch for frogs.  Windows are open and bouquets grace every available surface.

Azaleas!!

Squirrels are sunning themselves on branches...

Birds are singing...

Our woodchuck, Irving, is frolicking at the edge of the woods in the late afternoon sun...

Turtles are getting every bit of warmth possible...

Cats are sniffing the breeze at every chance.

In short...magic!

Progress is being made on the fence...

...and even though I'm running behind on many things and was unable to pull together an Easter craft in time to mail out, I did manage a pretty Easter cake.

One item of interest:  when walking around the property last week, I noticed these fuzzy things on one of our hemlock trees.

 

I'd remembered reading about woolly something-or-other in my Master Gardener class, and when I looked it up, sure enough:  we have woolly adelgids.  They're an invasive pest that feeds on the starch reserves of trees.  They'll kill all of our hemlocks in a few years if we don't take action now.  Spraying horticultural soap or insecticidal oils on the branches will smother the adelgids without killing any other insect that might be living there.  We also need to treat the soil around the trees.  Hopefully we've caught them in time and our beautiful hemlocks will continue to thrive.

Have a great week!