Comeback!
Some great news: Brook trout making comeback in Smokies.
Monday June 5, 2006 at 9:25am
Maple Rain
I live in a development in which many 30 to 40 year old maple trees grow. They are quite beautiful, particularly in the fall, with a wide range of colors. The maples are probably the most prevalent tree in our neighborhood, but oaks and pines are very common as well.
About a month ago, we had the greatest maple seed distribution I've seen in my 11 years of living in this development. Everyone's maple trees seeded and dropped at about the same time. For days the wind would blow and a rain of maple helicopters would gently rotate to the ground. It was impressive, and it stood out - many neighbors commented on the "helicopter crop" we were having.
A month later, the result of that crop is evident throughout out neighborhood and my yard. Sunday I mowed the lawn and a fledgling maple forest as well. I would not be surprised if there were more than two hundred tiny maple trees growing in the grass. I see the same in other yards as well. I'm sorry I had to cut them down, but it does make me wonder - is there a reason why the maple seed volume was so much higher this year for our area? Is this Mother Nature's way of saying we need more maples? Does she think we'll need considerably more wood in 30 years? Or is it just one of those harmonic convergence things for the maples...