Ash Trees Dying.

4-3-23 SHORT HILLS: We came south on Saturday, escaping another snow storm in VT. Twenty miles down the highway there was much less snow, and after VT, it was progressively more springish.

In NJ, Frank’s Tree has been here taking down several huge, dying white ash trees. They have been afflicted with borers and slowly dying. They had some leaves last summer, but this winter there were a few episodes of dropped branches, big branches that could have killed anyone underneath when they fell. We decided that it was too dangerous to leave the trees standing. A dozen trees, all probably 100 years old, have come down. There are more that may need to go later. It’s very sad, and it’s very expensive.

Otherwise flowers are opening weeks ahead of their usual, expected times.

New blooms: pachysandra, spice bush, daffodil, pussy willow.  

This is what VT looked like when we left.

Here's what NJ looked like when we arrived.

Lots of yellow.

Pachysandra flower.

Purple lamium has taken advantage of the warm foundation to bloom in April.

The ash trees piled up, there's a larger pile in back.

The pile in back.

Big trees on the ground.