The Second Annual
Clintonville Pawpaw Festival featuring
Local Art, Native Plants, and Pawpaws
Hosted by the
Saturday, September 21, 2013
10:00am to 4:00pm
Directly across the street from Indianola Informal K-8 School
251 East Weber Road
Columbus, Ohio 43202
Pete and I just came back from a long weekend in Northern Michigan where some friends have a house on a small lake. It was so wonderful to get away for a few days; work was getting to the point where I wished that my retirement was nine months away, not nine years!
Anyway, the house sits right on the lake. It was so peaceful and quiet, mostly because the land around is state park so there were plenty of trees to be found. We would sit out on the deck, drinking coffee and hoping to see a loon. Apparently, they are rather 
allusive, which we found to be true. We heard them each day but never saw a one. Pete and I also went out on a canoe, which was quite the experience. Our paddles were different sizes, and we ended up going in semi-circles. Of sorts. But it was a lot of fun. The lake is shallow and very clear, and we could see the bottom. There were bass (can’t remember if they were small or large mouth) and turtles. And a kingfisher, too. And one of the neighbors said a bald eagle lived in the area.
We also headed out to Hartwick Pines to see the old growth white pines there. I wasn’t sure what to expect as the only old growth trees that I’ve seen have been in Ohio and were hardwoods. These pines didn’t have the same circumference as those trees, but they 
were so tall and straight. The forest around has been logged in the late 1800s. They had a museum about what a logging camp would have looked like and how the trees were felled and sent to be milled. Then in the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked in the area to put back thousands of trees. A few of the trees had started to change into their fall colors, a hint of the beauty to come. There were lots of red maples, white and black pines, and paper birch. Just a few oaks here and there; they were more the exception than the rule. Very different from what we see in Ohio.
Only two weeks until to our Pawpaw Festival. It will be a good time, with wonderful vendors. September 21, 2013, 10am, at our kiosk on Weber Road.
Until next time!
Posted in General Information
Tagged black pines, civilian conservation corps, old growth forest, paper birch
Just got back from Michigan – will post about that trip soon (trees everywhere!), but until then, hope you can make it to the LOUA APPs Festival. It promises to be even better than last year’s!
The Second Annual
LOUA APPs Festival
featuring
Local Art, Native Plants, and Pawpaws
Hosted by the
There will be food, live music, and lots of fun!
Saturday, September 21, 2013
10:00am to 4:00pm
Directly across the street from Indianola Informal K-8 School
251 East Weber Road
Columbus, Ohio 43202
Posted in General Information
MARK YOUR
CALENDARS!
The Second Annual
LOUA APPs Festival
featuring
local Art, Native Plants, and Pawpaws
Hosted by the
There will be food, live music, and lots of fun!
Saturday, September 21, 2013
10:00am to 4:00pm
Directly across the street from Indianola Informal K-8 School
251 East Weber Road
Columbus, Ohio 43202
Posted in General Information
Well, it’s official. Summer is over. I know, I know, summer is supposed to last until September 21, 2013 (and my brother always contends that July 4th was the last day of summer). But as I wa
s walking from my car into our house, I saw it, that harbinger of fall, a tree that was changing color. Pete said it was probably stressed, but then I saw another one. Granted, both were maples, but there it was, atop of several branches, a hint of scarlet, a touch of yellow, a modicum of orange. The end of summer and the beginning of fall. Sort of…
Pete and I also saw our first monarch butterfly yesterday afternoon in our backyard. Pete was so happy that we finally had one show up after such a long time without seeing any. We’ve tried hard to put in plants that will attract birds and butterflies. It was strange; I hadn’t really noticed the lack of monarchs until someone mentioned that they hadn’t seen any this summer – which is now officially over. I remember about ten years ago, Pete and I went a little bit south of Columbus to visit a few Ohio prairie remnants. Usually, these remnants were associated with small cemeteries such as Smith Cemetery and Bigelow Cemetery. One of the cemeteries was literally out in the middle of endless fields of grains a small oasis of green. The plot of land, about 1/2 acre, had tombstones and some tall trees. There was a path that meandered around the edge of the remnant, and as I came closer, all I could see was monarchs. On the trees, on the ground, in the air. I could walk, very slowly, and hundreds of butterflies would gently lift up as I passed by. These must have been thousands of them.
Speaking of native plants, Pete and I went off to Lowe’s for some things needed for our various projects around the house. I always head to what I call the sad plants, those that have been reduced in price for many different reasons: pot-bound, leggy, or som
etime, for no reason that I can see except they have been sitting around for too long. I had bought a few plants for my front garden, and wanted to see if there was anything else good left. There wasn’t anything I saw, but I brought Pete over to see all of the native plants that were discounted: blazing star, nodding onion and blue flag irises. The containers extolled the benefits of natives plants, how they thrive in all the weather conditions that Ohio can throw their way. We have plenty of blazing star and nodding onion, but Pete was thrilled to bring home six iris plants for our water garden. He’s been working hard on rearranging the plants in a way that looks natural but good.
Until next time.
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I’m sorry for the paucity of posts the last few weeks, at least on my part. Pete and I found out a few weeks ago that his Aunt Rose was dying from cancer. That sort of took the wind out of our sails. We rushed to Connecticut to say goodbye, but Rose died a few hours before we landed. We wish we could have held her hand one more time, but it wasn’t to be. It was good to be surrounded by family and friends – when we weren’t crying we were laughing. Somehow, that made losing Rose a little easier to take.
After the calling hours, Pete and I were heading back to his sister’s. Off on the horizon was a beautiful thunderhead all illuminated by the sun, shining in glorious peach, sil
ver and pink. Pete said that it was Rose passing. I’ve found myself thinking these past few days about life and how it goes on, and what’s important is the legacy that one leaves behind. Rose left behind a lot of laughter and a selflessness that I’ve never seen in anyone else. She was always willing to do anything she could. That was what she left behind: wonderful memories. Of course, I wondered what I would leave behind – and thought of this Arboretum and all of the beautiful trees we’ve planted. Fifty years from now, the trees will have grown so much, providing shade and beauty to the neighborhood.
What do you think about this weather? All the rain that we got was so good for the trees we put in the ground this spring. I felt like I was living in Seattle! But I’ve always loved rainy weather, so I was very happy. I wasn’t so happy about the weeds, which loved all the water, too, especially what I call sour grass. It looks like clover with three leaves and yellow flower
s. It’s everywhere! I feel like I pull one plant and 25 more show up. And now it’s too hot to do much outside at all! I’ve been watering a few things here and there, but most plants are hanging in there pretty well. The native plants in the back yard are as vibrant and stunning as I’ve ever seen. But those plants tend to go with the flow as far as dealing with whatever weather Ohio send their way.
Until next time!
Posted in General Information
The Internal Partner Organizations (UCAN and GENCA representatives) of the Arboretum Board will be voting at our regularly scheduled Wednesday, August 14, 2013 meeting (7:00PM in the basement of the Crestview Presbyterian Church) on whether we will be expanding the Arboretum to include the Midgard-Woodbine area located north of East Weber Road.
In accordance with our Bylaws, this posting serves as official notice of our intent to modify our Bylaws to amend our geographic area.
If you have any comments about expansion, or anything Arboretum related in general, please do not hesitate to reach out. We can be reached at loua-board@googlegroups.com.
Last weekend, Pete and I took a trip to Clear Creek Metro Park. It’s south of Lancaster, so about an hour away. What a beautiful park! I felt like I was heading back to Connecticut with all the hills and rocky outcrops. But I think that no mere words can describe as well as photos. Enjoy!
Hemlocks
Native Yarrow
Mountain Laurel
Maidenhair Fern
This park used to be part of The Ohio State University. It was so lovely. On the way back, we stopped in Lancaster to eat, picking a restaurant from the Internet: Mediterranean on 33. Our waitress was so sweet, and the food was good. I had flaming cheese, something I last had in Chicago about 20 years ago. It was as delicious as I remembered!
Until next time!
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I was talking to my mom last night, our usual Sunday night conversation. We’ve been talking on Sunday nights since I left for college in the 1980s – I couldn’t make long distance phone calls from my dorm room, so we had to set a time when I would be in the room, and she could call. We picked Sunday nights and have been talking nearly every Sunday night since.
Anyway, we were talking about this and that when Mom told me that she had been asked about LOUA. Now my mom lives in Louisville, Ohio, about two hours north of Columbus, close to Akron, so I was a bit puzzled as to why someone would be asking her about our Arboretum. Apparently, my mom was wearing her LOUA t-shirt (given only to those who are members of LOUA!) when she went off to buy her strawberries in town. Some man saw the shirt and asked my mom what and where was LOUA. I must admit, I was a little worried about what Mom would be able to tell anyone about LOUA. But I should have never doubted her. She told him where LOUA was located (Clintonville) and that we were planting trees native to Franklin county. And if that wasn’t enough, Mom also informed the man that LOUA was removing invasive plants. Anyway, this guy was pretty impressed with what we were doing, adding that we should plant maple trees for syrup. Thankfully, Pete says sugar maples are okay in the ravine!
So word of our little Arboretum is spreading by word of mouth! And if you’d like to become a member and get a cool t-shirt like my mom’s (and be asked about LOUA wherever you go), click here.
Finch Update
Well, the first three house finch eggs didn’t make it. I checked on them after not seeing Mama Finch around the nest in the morning. Two eggs were cracked in the nest and the third was still intact. Pete thinks that the sparrows got to the nest. I am just so sad.
On a higher note, the blue-winged warbler is still around, which Pete believes is a sign that the bird is nesting. Not that I would recognize one, but I’ll keep an eye out for baby warblers!
Until next time!
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Well, Pete and I, along with my mom, just came back from Saginaw, Michigan and a visit with my brother, sister-in-law and their new dog, Winston. Other than gaining 20 pounds from all the food my brother cooked for us, we had a great time.
We travel up 23 North through Toledo. The trip up was rainy but very interesting. It’s a lot more flat there because the glacier came down and leveled the land. I have an app on my iPhone that shows the weather radar, so I could track the rain. The cells were very spotty, and we could see a thunderstorm a mile or two away where rain was just pouring down while we were dry…for the moment.
We took up some peonies and roses from our garden for MaryJo. She was so surprised that we had flowers because hers aren’t even close to opening. I always forget what a difference four hours can make! Pete says he likes going up north because it’s like he gets Spring all over again. The red buds were just ending, and the roses were barely pushing out of the ground.
We came back to find many of our flowers past. And the finches, who I had thought gave up on their nest, busy creating something that looked like an eagle could nest in it. One of the twigs was about the diameter of a pencil. How those little birds got it wedged into the Boston fern, I’ll never know. I’m not sure if they are finished with the nest as I don’t see too much activity around it although Mama and Papa Finch are always on the telephone line outside, singing. I don’t care that they aren’t native – they are one of my favorite birds! (Update – there are three blue eggs in the nest. Fingers crossed they make it.)
Also, we worked this morning on tree care. With the higher temperatures and lack of soaking rains, our trees are in need of some TCL. If you see a newly planted tree nearby, please keep an eye on it. Let us know if LOUA needs to step in to assure a healthy tree that survives!
Until next time!
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Lower Olentangy Urban Arboretum 