The study of plant diseases made me terribly depressed in school, but also made me laugh on occasion. I imagined two plant pathologists walking around, looking at sick leaves. Of course, each of them wouldn’t admit to the other that they didn’t know or recognize some strange disease, so they’re making up names as they […]…Continue Reading Big Huge Icky Giant Tar Spot
Tag: Trees
The Plums are (nearly) ripe
I may be risking excommunication. The landscape department, probably like many others across campus, has its share of secrets, little things nobody else knows about. My inside mole at the Grille keeps me updated when the linzertorte cookies are around. The view from the Bi-Hall roof after a snowstorm is spectacular. And, there’s a pretty […]…Continue Reading The Plums are (nearly) ripe
Lightning Strike
Our wild and crazy summer weather here at Middlebury continues, this time with a tree being struck by lightning. (Side note to the faithful readers out there. I feel for you-has this blog been getting depressing lately? With vandalism, more vandalism, storms, more storms, even still more storms, and disease, it seems like the Middlebury Landscape […]…Continue Reading Lightning Strike
When Good Plants go Bad
My most depressing year at the University of Vermont would have been my junior year. All plant and soil science majors took Plant Pathology that year, two semesters worth. For all of you non-science plant geeks, plant pathology deals with diseases of plants-basically anything except insects. Virus, fungi, bacteria, even abiotic problems were addressed. After a […]…Continue Reading When Good Plants go Bad
Another Day, another storm
The storms certainly keep coming, and, worryingly, the trees keep succumbing. Today at 3:30 a very brief but intense cell blasted through campus. We’d lost power for a little bit, I don’t know why. The weather station recorded about 1/4″ of rain in 15 minutes, with a peak wind gust of 35 mph, from the north. […]…Continue Reading Another Day, another storm
If a Tree Falls…
I’m not much of a Twitterer, although I’ve been called a twit many times.I don’t want to get tweets on my cell-my phone vibrates so violently at the slightest ring or text message that while weeding I end up shrieking like my 10 year old thinking I just weeded a bee’s nest. But I do […]…Continue Reading If a Tree Falls…
Black Locust
There is an area of campus called Stewart Woods-it’s south of Stewart Hall, on the other side of the road, next to the graveyard. Our department mows underneath the trees, forming a beautiful little grove next to the road. The trees are black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia, and are in full bloom right now. A favorite […]…Continue Reading Black Locust