Mornings are a nice time to wander through the woods. The play of light and shadow makes for interesting photos.
We have a lot of Cotoneaster bushes in the woods and their fresh new leaves pick up the sunlight and make them shine. Cotoneaster. It is an interesting word. Pronounced Ko-tony-aster, it just seems like it should be cotton easter.
Not long after the new green leaves unfold on the deciduous trees, a new crop of bugs emerge looking for breakfast. And lunch, dinner, bedtime snack and midnight munchies. Which brings me to my last photo:
The Aspen leaves – they are not very happy looking. A quick email to Hole’s Greenhouses and I had a diagnosis: “… these bumps (galls) are likely being formed by Eriophyes mites.”
Apparently their microscopic size makes their identification difficult. Most eriophyid mites are not considered to be serious pests because the damage is generally only aesthetic and rarely kills the plant.
That’s good. I’m not about to start pouring insecticide on acres of trees. I’ll just ‘Leaf Them Alone.’
Hi,
Lovely photo’s, when you look at pictures like these they do tend to make you relaxed, a feeling of peace and tranquility is what comes to mind.
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Hi Magsx2 – I can certainly see why many gardeners create lovely leafy gardens that are almost entirely shades of green. Japanese gardens come to mind – very calming.
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Lovely photos. I’d never heard of Cotoneaster. I’m gong to search it out further and see if we have any growing around here.
Your mite photos look familiar. Recently we had an outbreak just like them on the leaves of several different trees and bushes. I thought sure that we had a dreadful infestation of something awful. I did a search on the internet and found out much the same info as you. I was relieved to know that the trees and bushes couldn’t;t be harmed too badly and would get well again.
I enjoyed your Fred and Barney post and I agree with you. I am an omnivore and proud of it. 🙂
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Hi E.C. – Cotoneaster is a common plant for hedges in our part of Canada. It is very shade tolerant, doesn’t mind being trimmed, and the leaves turn a nice red color in the fall. Here at the Red House, all the Cotoneaster grow wild in the woods. The birds eat the Cotoneaster berries then poop out the seeds, thus spreading the bush to new locations!
The Aspen are quite susceptible to lots of different things, and for many years they suffered from leaf roller bugs. The deer, of course, keep the foliage trimmed to a certain height!
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Thanks for the hike in the woods and the description of Cotoneasters. I bet the deer to have a hearty breakfast on them.
The woods are tranquil.
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Hi Amanda – I don’t find that much evidence of deer browsing the Cotoneasters, they seem to enjoy the surrounding Aspens better! And my flowers and garden, of course.
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