Thursday, 7:30 AM. 58 degrees, wind NW, moderate with heavier gusts. The channel is crawling. The skies are nearly clear, and the barometer predicts mostly sunny skies. A strong high is coming in. We had a quick storm yesterday afternoon that resulted in one-tenth of an inch of rain.I have seldom seen the white pine, Pinus strobus, bear seed cones so heavily. Both male and female cones occur on the same tree, the former, producing pollen, grow on the lower branches, the female on the upper, where the can most efficiently catch the wind blown pollen. The seed cones take two years to ripen, the cones then opening to disperse the small triangular seeds, which are an important wildlife food (these “pine nuts” are also good people food if anyone has the patience to collect them). The tall, beautiful, long-lived white pine is a major timber species here along the big lake.
In nature, they become dominant after a fire or blow down, and can persist over huge areas for hundreds of years if undisturbed.
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