FERTILIZING AN OLD RED OAK TRE

MASSIVE OLD RED OAK TREE ON S SECOND ST.

FERTILIZING WITH JOBES TREE FERTILIZER SPIKES

A FERTILIZER SPIKE

FERTILIZER SPIKE WITH PLASTIC CAP

DRIVING FERTILIZER STAKE INTO GROUND

Wednesday,  8:00 AM.  46 degrees F at the ferry dock, 39 degrees on the back porch. Wind WNW, calm with very light gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity 77%.  The barometer is rising, now at 30.38".  We have great fall weather for the week ahead, and it should be a fantastic Applefest.
   Yesterday evening's rising moon was awesome, hanging in the dark evening sky like a huge yellow  balloon.  Looked like one could reach up and grab it.
   Bayfield has some very old street trees, certainly more than a century old.  We are in the process of establishing a Heritage Tree program to recognize their importance, and more of that at a future post. These magnificent old trees deserve special care, and the massive red oak, Quercus rubra, pictured will be pruned this fall.  It has just had the sidewalk rerouted around it and given a wider grass boulevard in conjunction with reconstruction of South Second Street.
   As part of a special care regimen for this tree, members of the Tree Board fertilized it with Jobes Tree Fertilizer Spikes on Monday last.  These are slow release fertilizer spikes, driven into the ground around and under the drip-line of the tree.  They are driven in with a hammer, using a plastic cap for each spike to strike the hammer on so the rather fragile fertilizer spike does not crumble.  We applied the  spikes after a good rain so that the ground would be soft. When a stake has been hammered even with the grass the plastic cap should her removed and the spike driven down several more inches. Follow the directions for number of stakes to use on a particular tree.  It is difficult to use too many on a large tree.  We used thirty on this tree, but only used them in the grassy areas, one half the drip-line of the tree being over the road surface.
   This product is a 16-4-4, slow release fertilizer, with micronutrients,  that lasts at least a whole growth season.  It should be applied early spring or late fall, when trees are dormant or in the process of becoming so.

...WITH SPINNAKER UNFURLED, CATCHING A STIFF BREEZE

WHAT'S THIS, OUT IN THE CHANNEL?

A LITTLE SAILBOAT WITH A HUGE SPINNAKER SAIL UNFURLED 

Monday, 8:00 AM.  64 degrees F at the ferry dock, 61 on the back porch.  Wind NE, calm with light gusts.  The sky is overcast and it looks like it might rain.  The humidity is 77% and the barometer is beginning to rise, now reading 29.88"; we should have a week of good weather, and a spectacular Applefest.
   Yesterday was a pretty good day for sailing and a lot of sailboats were out in the afternoon, including this little boat with colorful spinnaker unfurled,  catching a stiff breeze.

WHERE'S DOROTHY?

FIRST SCARECROW OF THE SEASON, AT FOUNTAIN GARDEN PARK

7:00 AM: A SOFT DAWN

Sunday, 8:30 AM.  61 degrees F at the ferry dock, 55 on the back porch.  Wind WSW, calm with occasional light gusts.  The sky is dawning clear and soft, the fog that was heavy all day yesterday mostly lifted from the waters.  The humidity is 89%, and the grass and decks are dripping wet with dew and the last of the rain and fog.  The barometer is still sliding downward, now at 29.96".
   We will go to church this morning, very thankful for my good recovery thus far from bypass surgery.    Our little Christ Church Episcopal has guest pastors every Sunday. They receive free accommodations in return for a Sunday sermon, a fair arrangement for all concerned.  Gives them a vacation and us a nice variety of speakers.  It will end soon, however, and begin again next Labor Day.
   The scarecrow season, sponsored by the Chamber,  has begun, in conjunction with Applefest.  The Tin Man has appeared in Fountain Garden Park.  Now we need the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.
   And where's Dorothy?
 

SHOULD PUBLIC AGENCIES BE ABOVE THE LAW? I THINK NOT!

PHRAGMITES NEAR THE LAKE THAT HAVE BEEN SPRAYED WITH HERBICIDE photo 9/25/15

SAME AREA, END OF FRIENDLY VALLEY ROAD,  photo 8/20/15

Saturday, 8:45 AM. 58 degrees F at the ferry dock, 55 on the back porch.  Wind light and variable.  There is dense fog everywhere and the fog horns are moaning.  The humidity is 98% and the barometer  is plummeting, now at 30.31".  The fog should lift by afternoon and tomorrow be a sunny day.
   Five weeks ago, before I went into the hospital, I took a photo of a row of Phragmites reed growing along the parking area of the beach, at the end of Friendly Valley Road, which I thought had been sprayed.  I took another look yesterday and another photo, and that is definitely the case.
   I reiterate now what I alluded to then;  public agencies and their volunteers should be under the same restrictions and follow the same rules that are demanded of the general public.  Public meetings should be held on each major initiative; signs indicating the spray material used, precautions to be met (such as using Roundup near water) and date applied should be posted at obvious intervals, and the need for controls should be made known and obvious to the public (here there is only a narrow band of Phragmites near the road, probably planted years ago to reinforce the roadside ditch.  Is eradication really necessary?).
  In this case, little or none of that has been done.  Should public agencies be above the law?  I think not!

FALL COLOR AT LEAST A WEEK LATER THAN USUAL

SUMACS ARE TURNING...

AS ARE RED MAPLES IN THE SWAMPS...

AND SOME SUGAR MAPLES HERE AND THERE...

BUT THE COLOR PALETTE IS STILL MOSTLY GREEN

Friday, 8:00 AM.  57 degrees F, wind NE.  Mostly calm, with light to moderate gusts.  It  is overcast and foggy, but the rain has stopped.  The humidity is 97% and the barometer is steady, now standing at 30.36".  Sunshine is predicted for the weekend.
   I have checked my photos for the past several years, and this is definitely a later-than-usual fall, color-wise.  Trees and shrubs in the wild are changing, but mostly too subtly to see in a photo.  Ash trees are a tiny bit yellow, and sugar maples are starting to turn, but almost imperceptibly.  A few swamp red maples are brilliant scarlet, but not many.  Sumacs are about half colored, but none are brilliantly scarlet and orange as they will be before long.
   With the ample rainfall we have had, leaves will stay greener a little longer, but I am certain everything will change in a hurry and fall color will arrive in a few days.
   Distant views from the golf course are still all green and blue.  All things considered, I estimate the color season is at least a week later than the last several years, and perhaps quite late overall.

GO FIGURE

GOOSE HUNT...BILL, ART AND ZODIE 

CRY OF THE OLD WILD GOOSE


My heart knows what the wild goose knows,
I must go where the wild goose goes.
Wild goose, brother goose, which is best?
A wanderin' foot or a heart at rest?

Tonight I heard the wild goose cry,
Wingin' north in the lonely sky.
Tried to sleep, it weren't no use,
'Cause I am a brother to the old wild goose,


   Thursday, 7:30 AM.  56 degrees F both thermometers.  Wind ENE, calm with light gusts.  The sky has a high overcast and it is very damp with occasional light rain, of which we have had a total of .5'.  The humidity is 94% and the barometer is pretty steady, currently at 30.29".
   I have missed this year's opening goose hunt, that once-a-year experience with Bill Peebles, one of my oldest friends, with whom I spent six years in the Army Reserve back in the late '50's and early '60's.  We have hunted geese and pheasants ever since (now only geese, there aren't many Wisconsin pheasants these days).  Bill, a farm boy turned realtor, is the best naturalist (graduated from UW, Madison) that I know.  His bird calls have won contests, and his knowledge of prairie plants equals, at least, my own.  He knows at a glance every duck that flies.
   I can't say I will miss the goose hunting per se, as geese are difficult to clean and the meat is tough and not to my liking.  But, I will miss the camaraderie of the goose blind, calling in the geese, and watching the wary sandhill cranes that see us long before we see them.  This will be a permanent loss, since I now have a pacemaker on my right side and I shoot right handed.  But, I shall look forward to helping Bill burn his prairie, and we can watch wildlife together anytime.
   Bill says there aren't that many geese this year, the local populations having been decimated purposely by nearby communities that have adopted a no-tolerance stance towards Canada geese, which  have become so numerous that they foul ponds, parklands and golf courses.  Wouldn't it be more sensible to just reduce the population somewhat, and let the bulk of the geese be harvested (hunted) for sport and food?
   When wild things are rare we can't get enough of them; when they become plentiful they are unwelcome.
    Go figure.
 
 

TRULY AMAZING

PLENTY OF FOOD LEFT ...

BUT IT WAS TIME TIME TO GO (Google photo)

Wednesday, 12:00 PM.  56 degrees F at the ferry dock, 52 on the back porch.  Wind NNE, very gusty. The sky has a high overcast and it is raining, more than a trace having fallen so far.  The humidity is 90% and the barometer is steady, at 30.32".  Looks like it will rain all day.
   The ruby-throated (our species) hummingbirds left for their annual epic migration across the Gulf of Mexico to South America while I was in the hospital.  They are usually gone from Bayfield by 15 September, the males leaving first.  It appears the females and immature males migrate after the mature males. Evidently the three or four week trip is taken individually, rather than in a flock. It is a daunting trip for these diminutive creatures,  who have to stop to rest and feed along the way.  The Gulf is 450 miles across, and they must fly it without stopping, often in horrible weather.  Many must indeed perish.
   I am not at all expert in these matters, so double-check anything I may allude to: but it seems hummingbirds and other creatures that migrate do so by the earth's magnetic field, in combination with orientation to the sun at different latitudes.  They will return to Bayfield next spring on or about 15 May.
  Truly amazing!
 

IT WILL BE A CHALLENGE

GIFT BONSAI

IT'S  A CAMELLIA

Tuesday, 10:00 AM.  63 degrees, both thermometers.  Wind NNW, quite strong.  The sky is clear, the humidity 69%. The barometer is rising fast, now at 30.9".  It is a very windy, clear day.  A joy to be out in, if one does not get blown away.
    I have received a number of cards and telephone calls to encourage my recovery, and a nice gift from relatives; a Camellia bonsai plant.  They have a rather great anticipation of my horticultural abilities, but I will try to live up to their expectations and keep it alive.
   Camellias are zone 7 plants, but aren't tropicals.  Bonsai are typically cold hardy plants that need to be overwintered naturally so that they go through a period of dormancy.  That would be their natural conditions of growth in Japan.
  I have seen elaborate wooden overwintering devices, half shelving and half shed, which catch the snow but provide some shelter from the wind.  Camellias are too tender for that, and this one will have to be kept in a cold garage or enclosed shed, and watered periodically during dormancy. True Bonsai fanatics may tend dozens or more of ancient plants, each a treasured old friend.  It is akin to keeping a herd of milk cows, which is the reason there are not more bonsai hobbyists or, for that matter, dairy farmers.
   It will be a challenge.
 

OK, WHERE'S THE FALL COLOR?

NEW ENGLAND ASTER

RED MAPLE JUST STARTING TO TURN COLORS

HINTS OF COLOR HERE AND THERE

Monday, 11:00 AM.  65 degrees F, wind SSW, gusty at times.  The sky is clear, the humidity 75%.  The barometer stands at 29.93" and is falling, predicting rain for Wednesday or Thursday.  But today is a beautiful fall day that started with a gorgeous sunrise.
   I am recuperating well and with some therapy and a few weeks of rest and activity I anticipate being fine again.  It hasn't been much fun, but it sure beats the alternative.
   Here it is, well after Labor Day and we don't have much in the way of fall color.  At this time last year it was already well begun.  Although fall color is mainly a function of day length, moisture and temperature help determine things.  Warm days, falling to cool nights, help hasten coloration, and moisture provides a lot of subtle differences, all to the end that each fall can be different and even each individual plant different in its color response. Pigments (anthocyanins, xanthophylls, carrotenoids and tannins)  trapped when the leaf petiole is occluded by an abscission layer that cuts off water and nutrients and stops the production of chlorophyll, are all a part of the plant becoming dormant.  The National Arboretum has a nice page on leaf coloration.
   New England aster , in the Sunflower Family (Compositae),  is a significant fall flower just now blooming.  It is also known as Michael mass daisy because it traditionally blooms in England on that saint's day, september 29.
   I don't have any New England asters in my garden this year because I rouged them all out, mistaking them for late blooming goldenrods.  That's OK though, because they were taking the garden over; but I should have recognized the difference.

BEAUTIFUL DULUTH

LOOKING TOWARD THE SE, BAYFIELD PENINSULA IN THE FAR CENTER OF PHOTO

DULUTH INNER HARBOR LIFT BRIDGE, TRAFFIC MOVING ACROSS

CHANNEL TO INNER HARBOR, SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN IN THE DISTANCE 

A CITY BUILT ON THE LAKE BLUFFS

Friday (posted Thursday evening).  Tremendous thunder and rain storm Wednesday night and Thursday morning, clearing to cloudy later in the day.  Duluth weather often reflects its position at the SW end of Lake  Superior, that I believe creates a lot of its own weather patterns.
   Duluth, MN,  is a beautiful old city, built into steep lake bluffs, the newer areas spreading out to the west beyond the bluffs.  It is an old, old inner-sea port.  Superior, WI, lies across the inner harbor that it shares with Duluth.  It is flatter and I think somewhat newer.  The shared harbor is one of the best imaginable, offering docks to the largest ships, the harbor surrounded by grain, ore and coal elevators and all sorts of other shipping and dry-dock facilities. The lakers are huge boats that often can be seen outside the inner harbor, waiting to load or unload their cargo. Persons interested in shipping and maritime issues can follow all the action on Boatnerd.com.
  Duluth and Superior are both major road and railroad transfer points, located at the junction of US Hwy. 2 and I39.  Duluth is Minnesota's second largest metropolitan area after Minneapolis/ St. Paul. Major products of the Midwest reach the east of the US and across the Atlantic through this busy port and transportation complex.

PLAYING THE WAITING GAME

WAITING TO ENTER THE HARBOR

I WASN'T  DOIN' NUTTIN...JUST HANGIN' AROUND

Wednesday, 7:00 PM. I enjoy watching the big boats as they wait for an opportunity to enter the narrow cement channel that leads to Duluth's inner harbor.
   They wait, sometimes for days, and then when they are called rush to the channel.  Some need escort tugs.
   I play a waiting game as well, which hopefully will be over on Saturday when I am scheduled to be released.  Things are going well and that should be the case.
   So, we play the waiting game.

ROOM WITH A VIEW

LOOKING SOUTH TOWARD HARBOR BRIDGES FROM ROOM

Tuesday, 2:00 PM.  Another gorgeous fall day.  Very busy with therapy but still have time to watch the big boats.

THOUGHTS ON KEEPING THE AGING BRAIN PRODUCTIVE

Monday,  7:00 AM.  The sun is rising into a cloudless sky, a bit of haze left to be burned off.  Looks like it should get into the seventies.
   I am getting lonesome for Buddy, and hoping he is not confused by his banishment to the kennel, but dogs are very intuitive beings and he is pretty adaptable.  Hopefully he and I will both be back home in another week.  Daughter Eva is arriving from Denver on Friday, and as she leaves a week later her visit will overlap with that of daughter-in-law Leslie and granddaughter Allison.
  I have been wondering how to participate in the parade this year, and perhaps Leslie could decorate and drive the truck. She is strong and capable and has a fine esthetic sense.  Why not? With Allison and Buddy waving to the crowds.
   I have been considering how to publish some essays from the Almanac.  Such things are not presently popular.  I thought a full year of entries could serve as an introduction to Bayfield and have some utility, but with all this interruption it might have to bee 2014.  Don't know if that is a good, complete year either.
  Another project I have thought about would be a simple series of essays on the ongoing debate between science and religion; the necessity of comprehending the realm of nature's God and the truth of Christianity while maintaining  a clear scientific thought process.  Ah, healing the dichotomous mind and spirit. Chesterton and Lewis worked around the edgers of the problem. Probably too tough for me.
   Any thoughts on keeping the aging brain productive?

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!

Sunday, 7:00 PM. Another gorgeous Northland day.
  Being Sunday staff was short and I didn't get enough physical therapy but got in a couple of unassisted walks.  I find the psychological aspects of recovery as important as the physical.  I have given a lot of thought to the true meaning of Christianity and have gained considerable insight, although   probably none very unique.
   Grandson Nick?  A star is born!
   I also have watched a lot of sports, and gained some insight into football.  I have not had the same degree of success with European soccer.  Maybe it is mostly tipsy pageantry in the stands, and a lot of running around aimlessly on the field.  Sorry.  Somebody help me out with some of these questions.
  Regarding Syrian refugees, analyst Pat Caddell has the perfect answer: US take all the Christians.
  Sounds good to me!
 

WISH I WERE ON A TOUR

Saturday, Sep. 12, 3:45 PM. Beautiful Duluth sky, awesome clouds.  I've been very busy with therapy today, which is going very well.
   I spent a lot of time watching clouds, as we all did as children. A bear reaching for a bird.  A crocodile plowing through the water.  Also watched a regatta of at least a dozen sail boats in the inner harbor.  Things to see, things to do, regardless of where you are.
   Still haven't heard how grandson Nick did in his opening night performance in Oliver (as Fagan) at Denver's High School of the Arts annual play. He has his mother's talents.  Proud of them both.
   Got a long phone call from blog reader and friend Doug Peterson in South Carolina, thanks for the support Doug.  Haven't been able to telephone friend Curt Johnson.  Will do so tomorrow, Curt.  Thanks for your good wishes, Dave Sonstegaard.
   Duluth is a beautiful city. Got to take some window photos. Wish I were on a tour.

UPDATE

Duluth, 9/11/15, 3:00 PM.
    'well, here we are again,  stuck here along the end of 'Giche
Gume' due to quadruple bipass surgery.  No heart attack, that's good.  It will be at least a week before I am back home doing my usual blog.
   I have found out that I have progressed from "the young old" to the "old. old."  but I ain't "Old, dead" yet.
   Haven't checked my email yet.
   Emotional day, we should have squashed them like the sowbugs they are.  Still time to do that.

JACK IS BACK

SLIPPERY JACK MUSHROOMS

Saturday, posted Thursday evening.  The day started out cold, humid and foggy, but changed to warm and pleasant by afternoon.
   Slippery Jack mushrooms are a cosmopolitan species, growing almost everywhere that pines grow.  The roots of the pine trees and the underground mycelia of the fungus have a symbiotic relationship.  Slippery Jack, Suillus luteus, is a Basidiomycete fungi, its spores developing on the underside of the cap in pores, rather than in gills, as is the case with many other mushrooms.  The latin genus name refers to its being eaten by pigs, and the species name to the mushroom's  color when young.
   Slippery Jack is so called because it has a very distinctive, slimy coating on the cap.  When it first appears, usually after a fall rain, it is sulfur yellow, but in a few days turns brown. It is referred to as edible, but I would consider the slime off-putting.  It is a very distinctive mushroom, and once you are familiar with it you are not likely to confuse it with any other.
   It is fall, and Jack is back.

JAPANESE KNOTWEED IS BLOOMING

JAPANESE KNOTWEED; PRETTY, BUT VERY INVASIVE

Friday,  6:30 AM.  60 degrees F at the ferry dock, 56 on the back porch.  Wind N, calm.  The sky is partly cloudy with some haze.  The humidity is 97%, the barometer 30" and steady. Yesterday was cold and foggy in the morning, changing to warmer and mostly sunny later in the day.
   Japanese knotweed, Polygonum cuspidatum, in the Buckwheat (Polygonaceae)Family, is blooming in Bayfield.  It is actually quite beautiful in bloom, and has a number of admirable characteristics, including that of holding fragile soils on steep, eroding banks, which was the reason it was introduced to Bayfield after the great flood of 1942.  Unfortunately, it is also an obnoxiously invasive plant, as unwanted here as is Kudzu in the South.
    There have been some serious attempts to eradicate it Bayfield, where it grows in almost all the local ravines, the latest being by a DNR Invasive Plant group.  Eradicating it is fine with me, as I sure don't want it in my yard, but I would like to see a program to replace it and thereby keep steep slopes stabilized, and that is not happening.
   This is another example of a government spray program for noxious weeds that has no signage and has left citizens unaware of any hazards to pets and children, and uncertain of the toxic effects on wildlife, water and fish.

BREAKING THE ICE

MELTING GLACIER(Google photo)

USCG ICE BREAKER POLAR STAR (Google photo)

Thursday, 9:00 AM.  60 degrees F, wind ENE, calm with light gusts.  We are immersed in dense fog, the humidity 98%.  The barometer is steady, at 29.99".  The fog will burn off eventually as the sun rises higher, but I am glad we are not driving anywhere this morning.
   It is the political silly season again, and I just can't resist its charm.
   President Obama has been visiting Alaska.  In the process he changed the name of Alaska's Mount McKinley to Mount Denali.  President McKinley was one of the great presidents of the pre-WWI era, who was assassinated by an anarchist just days into his second term. The hemisphere's tallest peak was named in his memory. He just happened to be a Republican.  Hmmm.
   Next, as a flotilla of Chinese warships steamed past, the President declared Global Warming to be the nation's greatest threat.  In virtually the same breath, he decried our nation's lack of ice breaker ships, which Russia has a lot of, and ordered a crash program to build more.
   Will the Chinese and the Russians claim the North Pole, taking Santa Clause hostage? Will we have to hire Russian ice breakers to rescue our  frozen-in fishing boats, like we hire Russian rockets for our space program?
   Will the new ice breakers get there before all the ice melts?  Tune in to Silliness XM Radio to find out!
 

HYDRANGEAS: EASY FUN BUT HARD TO USE

"P.G." HYDRANGEA

A GREEN-FLOWERED HYDRANGEA

ANOTHER VARIATION OF THE "PG"

A TREE-LIKE HYDRANGEA

HYDRANGEA 'VANILLA STRAWBERRY"

Wednesday (posted Tuesday evening due to an early morning appointment).  The weather has been very warm and humid and it appears that will be the case most of Wednesday, with the possibility of a thunderstorm in the afternoon, which would clear the air.  The late evening ferry is blowing its fog horn as this is being written, so the channel must be foggy.
   Late summer and into fall is when Hydrangeas are most prominent in the landscape, most species and varieties having large panicles of colorful flowers, ranging from white to pink to blue and even green.  Hydrangeas can be so overwhelming in the landscape that they may be hard to use, but depending upon landscape design and personal tastes they can be a dramatic and beautiful addition.  I think of them mostly as accent plants, which must be used with care.  Most modern Hydrangeas are hybrids, and almost none are native.  Hydrangea arborescens is native to the lower Midwest and southern US, and H. quercifolia to the southern US.  Most other Hydrangea species, which are in the Saxifrage (Saxifragaceae) Family are native to Asia.  Modern hydrangeas are mostly hardy, and easy to grow.
   Hydrangeas are known for their ability to change flower color under different soil conditions, mainly by the control of pH and the presence or absence of aluminum in the soil.  In theory at least, pink blooms can be changed to blue with the application of aluminum sulphate (lowering pH), and blue blooms can be changed to pink by fertilizing with lime and phosphorous (raising pH).  In practice it is not so easy, unless the plants are grown in a greenhouse, in pots.
    Bottom line: Hydrangeas are easy fun, but can be hard to use.

HEDGE MAPLE, HUMMINGBIRDS, AND HINTS OF FALL

HEDGE MAPLE: SMALL ASIAN ORNAMENTAL TREE...

...VERY COLORFUL THIS FALL...

...WITH PINK WINGED SEEDS

THE HUMMINGBIRDS ARE FATTENING UP FOR THEIR FALL MIGRATION, DRINKING THE FEEDERS DRY

Tuesday, 9:00 AM.  68 degrees F on both thermometers.  Wind variable, calm.  The sky is partly cloudy and very hazy.  There is heavy fog over the channel and the ferry boats are sounding their fog horns. The dew point is 68, and condensation has been running off the roofs.  The barometer is fairly steady, currently at 29.86".  Today will be hot, humid and hazy.
   Fall is sneaking up on us.  It is just around the corner, but with only a few obvious signs apparent as yet.  One such sign is the thirsty hummingbirds, who have drunk a significant portion of the sugar water in the feeder that hangs on the back porch, in the past week.  They are seriously fattening up for their  annual epic migration to South America.  They typically leave Bayfield around September 15th.  At this rate, I may have to make another batch of nectar.
   Each fall is somewhat different from the standpoint of overall color intensity and palette, and on the basis of the coloration of individual species.  Some plants will stand out one year, others the next.  This year the hedge maples, a species of small Asian ornamental tree,  Acer campestre, in the Maple (Aceraceae) Family, have particularly colorful seeds.  There are a number of varieties of this small tree, and I couldn't say which the one photographed is of.  It will also have decent fall leaf color, but the main attraction is the unusual winged seeds, or samaras.
   The hedge maple can be a good small tree for various urban landscapes, but in general I would choose many other species before this one for general landscape use, although I do find the seeds very attractive this fall.  Full size for this small tree or very large shrub is 30' high by similar width.  It is generally too wide and low-branched to be used as a street tree, although it is sometimes so employed.