2020, the year of COVID19 and LAUGH/SOB

It's July 2020, and here in Massachusetts we've hit the dog days of summer. I'll start with my weather and tree report, and then go from there.
Again, I forget this blog is here, but when I do remember it's fun to catch up on years past.

Last spring we had a rash of squirrel damage where the little tree rats were eating the bark off the old maple trees in the canyon. They've done this in past years and I don't understand why, because it's often a year where there have been plenty of nuts and it was mild. It destroys whole branches on the tree, and these trees, many being 200 years old, can ill afford the damage. Thankfully this year they seemed to leave the trees along. A happy reprieve.
The winter was mild, the spring was wet, and now it's dry dry dry. But for the occasional soaking of a thunderstorm. Just enough water to revive the grass and feed the weeds.
Another year without the dreaded inch worms, or canker works, ie the winter moths. There were a few, and a few is fine, but nothing like the destructive force they were. Hopefully this is the permanent trend. I know the birds miss them to feed their babies, but the trees don't need that added stress.

So on to COVID 19. What will go down in history as one of the worst pandemics as we now measure things, not so much with the loss of life but as a destroyer of economies as this generations tries to keep the virus from spreading. The comparison to the 1918 Flu pandemic is obvious. Though back then, that flu was such a fast acting disease that you could be walking to work and die by the time you got there, this disease is insipid in its invisibility. You can carry it and share it without ever feeling sick or getting sick, and that make it all the harder to get people to take it seriously, or to deal with it seriously. Add to that the lack of leadership in dealing with it, it looks to take a very similar course as the 1918 flu.. though again, hopefully not as deadly, but with  132,000 dead in 4 months in America, what happens in the fall is anyone's guess.
I can say that we have had a share of Covid burials, about 4, and all elderly people.. But the story that all deaths are being listed as Covid is not true, I can attest to that.
The restrictions of the pandemic lockdown has really changed the funeral industry in the last 3 months. Limited or no wakes, limited people at the burials, people choosing cremation so they can hopefully have a service later in the year when things calm down.. it's all very new. And masks, everyone wearing masks to try to stop the spread of the virus. If I were to make a time casual for this year, I would put an array of masks in it to represent the year.

On new news, the cemetery is considering erecting a columbarium in the Beal St. Section. Actually we are thinking of three, but one to start. As the cemetery runs out of room and cremation becomes ever more popular, it seems the way to go. But again, Covid has kind of put a damper on that for the moment.

Have I mentioned the turkey's and the chipmunks? When I (your author) first started at the cemetery, you would NEVER see either. Once in a rare while you might  catch a glimpse of a chipmunk or a turkey. Now they are common. Chips live all around the chapel building and at least once every few weeks try to run into the garage. Turkey moms have their families in the woods around the cemetery and their broods of 10-12  chicks blend right into the grass. And while last year we had a number of fox sightings, we haven't seen any this year..but they are out there, the fox, coyotes, and deer, and even Bald Eagles are not occasionally seen in Weymouth near the water.

Forgotten Blogs and Weather Posts.

It's been 2 years since the last post.. mostly because I forgot this blog even existed. Only because of a reminder notice asking me if I still want notifications about comments am I even here.

But since I am, lets catch up on things. 2017 was ages ago... but I recall we had an early fall as far as leaves go, mostly because of yet another dry summer that caused the stressed trees to start dropping leaves early, but for some reason the oaks seemed to keep their leaves forever.... extending fall clean up quite a bit. Although it did give us extended time to mulch the leaves as they came down, so there were significantly smaller piles to pick up.
Due to the droughts though, many of the regrown elm trees are now dying... trees that might be 25 years old are just dropping all their leaves and turning stone cold dead. Other trees seem to also be taking a hit from the lack of water, though there seems to be enough to keep the crab grass happy this year.

Last year we had an uptick of gypsy moths, due also to the lack of rain (they are kept in check by a fungus that needs spring rains to be effective). We did not have noticeable damage, but some areas of MA really took a hit... It was predicted to be another bad year this year, with a spring that started out pretty dry but then turned to two months of rain in April and May? Then it dried out again and while we have had bouts of heavy rains and the flowers have really seemed to last a long time this year, it's now getting rather dry again. Two digs tomorrow will tell us how much moisture is or isnt in the ground. I'm thinking it's going to be pretty dry.

Also of note is the incredible heat we've had this year, yet again breaking records. July and August have been just oppressive with weeks at a time of record heat. Its the payback for the beautiful weather we had in June I guess. But as we head into September having had a week of 95+ degree weather with heat indexes in the triple digits, and the first week looking the same, it's kind of depressing.

Also of note were last year's hurricanes that hit Huston, Florida and Puerto Rico and the Virgin Island chains... and this year we have fires burning most of the west sending smoke across the country and an unusual Pacific hurricane that sent feet of rain into Hawaii. This year seems quiet in the Atlantic... but it's still early.

I noticed the poison ivy vines are starting to drop leaves.. not turn, but drop.. Early sign of the stress or heat? Not sure.

Well, now that I've found this again, I'll have to try to figure out what it's attached to... I'm not sure anyone even sees this or can see it.

Worst Drought in 30 years. Maybe worst on record in this area.

We've had dry seasons before, and dry summers, and some summers that were crispy. This one takes the cake. The unseasonably warm winter led to a dry but pleasant spring, which we are now paying for.
The good news is that there were not as many inch worms as I expected this spring, the bad news is that due to the dry winter, there was an explosion of gypsy moth caterpillars, which apparently suffer from some kind of fungus in wet years, but this year they were free to proliferate. The cemetery didn't suffer much damage from them, though in other parts of the area they went to town on the trees.

The drought is taking a toll on the young trees, which we have tried to stave off by putting make shift watering bags on. (heavy duty trash bags with pin holes along the bottoms, tied up with zip ties) The larger trees are just hanging in there as best they can. I see many have dumped some of their leaves, some started to turn early.. We wont know the damage until later I think.
There has been a little rain in the last few weeks, very little but enough to bring the grass back from crunchy to crabgrass at least. The crabgrass and other usual weeds have been virtually nonexistent this year as well, which hasn't  been good for the birds and bees. Also missing are the bugs that the birds feed on. It's a mixed blessing when there are no mosquitoes.

As we head into late summer, the heat is still on outside, mid to high 80s. Some towns are down to a 30 day supply of water in their ponds and reserves. It's going to be interesting if we don't get some serious rain. Meanwhile in Louisiana they got 2 feet of rain in a day? And California burns. Last winter was an El-Nino winter, but supposedly that has gone by now.. So we'll see how this winter plays out.

The affects of the inch worms and the warm warm winter up until now

The spring inch worm infestation had a noticeable affect on the quantity of the leaves that we didn't have to rake this fall. Though there are still leaves to pick up, they are far fewer than in any other year I can recall. Also due to the dry summer and fall, we were able to mulch leaves a lot longer than in many years. 

The long warm winter was also conducive to the breeding winter moths, so I expect another heavy infestation in the spring. 

This was the warmest year on record, around the globe. For the third year in a row. Sad to say that inch worms may be the least of the worries of the trees in the cemetery. 

After the record breaking winter.

May 19, 2015. After one of the most nightmarish winters since the Blizzard of 78, we are fully a month behind in our work. With over 100 inches of snow this past winter, endless cold, and snow that really did not fully melt until April (and as of last week, piles could still be found hiding in shadowy places here and there, though not in the cemetery thankfully) work that would have been done in March and April is not complete. Also with the aligning of the stars and a landslide of burials since the thaw, it is with great displeasure that I concede that there is no way things will look right for Memorial Day. We will try as much as we are able, but with three more funerals in this last week, it's not looking good. Leaves that would have been picked up will have to stay put while we try desperately to get the grass under some kind of control. Trimming will likely be lacking.
If there is a consolation, it's that we don't give up after Memorial Day passes. We will continue to work at it until it's done.. and then it will all start up again, as it does every season. Wash, rinse, repeat.

A note on the trees, its a brutal year for the inch worms, who started slow as well but are eating the trees bare. They as always particularly like any ornamental tree, the oaks, and our ancient maples are taking yet another beating. They are horrible creatures.