Thursday, 8:30 AM. 11 degrees, wind SW, calm. The sky is clear but hazy, and the barometer predicts snow. The white pine, Pinus strobus, is native to the north woods of Wisconsin. It was and remains a valuable lumber tree, almost logged off in the Nineteenth Century. It is not really a climax species, but rather a disclimax species, in nature springing up after fires and blow downs, but these trees can remain dominant for hundreds of years if undisturbed, because they are very long lived. The photos show the growth progression of white pines, the smaller trees being maybe eight to ten years old, the large tree by the road perhaps sixty or seventy years old, and the open-topped, picturesque tree in the distance being an old timer, certainly a hundred fifty and more years old. Such ancient trees define the vistas and should be protected at all costs.
In the man-made landscape white pines must be used with caution because over the years they will dominate everything. If planted, they may have to be removed when they become too large, or the entire landscape will have to be adjusted to them, which is possible if that is the desired effect. At all stages they provide superior bird cover (the tree by the road I call “the mother of birds”) and with age can produce a lot of shade, which can be both good and bad.
The pine siskins have been mobbing the feeder again. They are feisty little things and don’t seem intimidated by the larger birds.
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