Cathy and Dorothy On Horse Rock
Cathy and I spent most of the day up in Pennsylvania today. I had 45 tree seedlings I wanted to plant and that took a good part of our time. I planted 25 Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) and 20 black gum (or tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica). I put six of the cedars in the picnic field with the hope that at least a few of them survive to maturity. I don’t expect them all to and honestly I might cut down all but three if more than that make it. The other were planted in the woods simply to add to the woodland environment. Both trees are native to the area, with the cedar being confined mostly to the states along the Atlantic and eastern gulf coast and the black gum more widespread as far west as Texas.
I planted about half of them in what we refer to as ‘the wet field’ but which is woods at this point. This large rock and a few others are along the edge of what was a field when my parents bought the property nearly 60 years ago.