It’s all up and down the hollow. We’ve probably had it for a couple of years, but were too much in denial about the possibility to look for it closely. It’s easy to overlook in the early stages of an infestation, as you can see.
What does this mean for Plummer’s Hollow? Among other things, that some of the last really nice areas, spared from the tender mercies of loggers back in the late 70s, 80s and early 90s (before we consolidated ownership) will lose one of their main “climax” species. The deep hollow will no longer be as dark a place. And meanwhile, up on the drier slopes of Laurel Ridge, the mountain laurel is dying from a mysterious blight…
–Dave
UPDATE: Marcia wrote about her discovery here.
Posted by Stan Kotala on February 9, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Not necessarily. You could just treat those you’d like to save.
Posted by Dave Bonta on February 18, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Thanks for commenting, Stan. We certainly intend to explore all options.
Posted by Barred owl « Plummer’s Hollow, Pennsylvania on September 13, 2007 at 5:13 pm
[...] the fact that we have so few hemlocks. If so, we may see even fewer barred owls in the future: the hemlock woolly adelgid damage is now conspicuous on many of our [...]