Monday, October 7

This one was marked by the electric company to come down more than a year ago. Since they were doing it for free, we just waited. 🙂

I was actually glad to see this one come down because it was totally dead – meaning no leaves this summer – and it was right along the road. I was impressed at how neatly the workers laid out the branches for the wood chipper – which came a bit later.

Cerwin called the electric company the other week, and the person he talked too was surprised that it was still standing. Apparently it had been marked incorrectly – that it was already down. A representative came within the next few hours and these guys came two weeks later.

The large and small trunk and branches were also placed neatly in our yard for Travis (our grand-nephew) to cut up and take to the farm for his “firewood for sale” business.

I hope we don’t have any other bugs or beetles come into our area to destroy another brand of tree. A few weeks ago we found Spotted Lanternflys on our maple trees.

From the Internet: The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper that is indigenous to parts of China, India, Vietnam, and eastern Asia. Although it has two pairs of wings, it jumps more than it flies. Its host plants include grapes, stone fruits, and Malus species, though its preferred host is Ailanthus altissima. In its native habitat it is kept in check by natural predators or pathogens. It was accidentally introduced in Korea in 2006 and has since been considered a pest. In September 2014, it was first recorded in the United States, and it is now an invasive species in eastern Pennsylvania, southwestern New Jersey, northern Delaware as well as northern Virginia.

We talked to Greg at our local ag store. He told Cerwin what spray to us now to kill those and what spray to use in spring so they won’t like the taste of the maple trees.