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.

View us on Facebook, because this blog is dead.

2014 is hours away and the last blog post was sometime in 2012…. Yeah, this is pretty much a dead space. We do have a pretty active Facebook page if you are seeing this and want to check it out. Just google North Weymouth Cemetery and Facebook and I'm sure you'll find it. All the latests animal sightings, tree plantings and weather updates. Also anything I deem interesting related to cemeteries or history or Weymouth. You never know what you might find.

As a historical weather note, last winter (2012-13), did prove to be a whopper of a snowy winter, but rather a mild one temperature wise in our area. The ground never really got a chance to freeze before the near constant snow cover insulated it for the season.

This winter has started out very mild, with ice and rain and warmer than normal temperatures. Here we are at New Years eve, and just yesterday there was no frost in the ground, and today the temps have plummeted and we have firm ground under our feet. And in 2 days we will have a winter storm that may bring 6-12 inches of snow. So who knows.. but we are defiantly warmer for the season, though at least we are getting much needed moisture as the latter part of the summer of 2013 was very dry.

Happy New Year all…  till next time.