The Visual Journey of a Conservation Farm

Seeds and Seed Pods

Seeds and Seed Pods

The Seed Project

Swamp Milkweed

Blue Vervain

Common Ironweed

Late-blooming Thoroughwort

Tickseed Sunflower

New England Aster

Straw-colored Flat Sedge

Ditch Stonecrop

Great Blue Lobelia

Slender False Foxglove

Rattlesnake Master

Prairie Blazing Star

Purple Coneflower

Foxglove Beardtongue

Queen Anne's Lace

False Blue Indigo

Wild Bergamot

Grey-headed Coneflower

Acorn-shaped Grey-headed Coneflower

Yellow Coneflower

White Vervain

Frost Aster

Slender Mountain Mint

Common Milkweed

Prairie Mimosa

The Seed Project

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Swamp Milkweed

The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch.

Close-up of a Swamp Milkweed seed.

Seed with remnant of tail.

Seeds with tails in the seed pod.

Side view of seeds in seed pod.

Late flower stage of developing seed pod. Aphids are present. (end of photo sequence)

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Blue Vervain

The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch. Seeds are present along with husks that enclose the seed. Some of the seeds are paired. The seeds actually develop as a group of four lobes known as nutlets.

The material seen here is unfiltered and includes seeds, husks and debris that separated during the seed removal process. Filtering produced the more refined mix seen in the previous slide.

These are seed pods of the Blue Vervain. The darker stem is more mature than the lighter stem. The darker stems appear down lower on the stalk.

This is a fuller view of the Blue Vervain. (end of photo sequence)

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Common Ironweed

The units of the ruler are 1mm.

A closer view of the seed. Note the extent of the deployment of the umbrella-like tail.

A clump of seeds. In this case, the bract has already fallen off.

An aphid is one of the insects that cause the bite-like damage to the ironweed seeds.

Another insect close to the ironweed seeds.

Larvae can also feed on the seed.

The seed pod.

This a fuller view of the Common Ironweed. (end of photo sequence)

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Late-blooming Thoroughwort

The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch. A lone Thoroughwort seed sits next to the ruler among numerous pieces of bract. One end of the bract is sucker-like and attaches to the seed. The other end is part of the flower which detaches from the plant. The seed and bract could detach at the same time. My own observations indicate that the seed detaches first and then the bract. I have seen in nature what appeared to be seed blowing off of a Thoroughwort flower. It turned out to be strickly bract. The seed was already gone.

Pods of the Thoroughwort next to the ruler. The billowing filaments are attached to the seed. Also visible are parts of the stem that connected to the rest of the plant.

Close up of Thoroughwort seeds.

The purity of the mix that I have to work with can vary. The coarseness of this mix, mingled with bract and other plant parts is due mostly to a grinding of the pods to release the seed.

This mix is much purer than what was pictured in the previous slide. It was collected by simple shaking. Ideally, shaking would be used but that can leave much seed that is still living but will not shake out. Also note the reduced amount of filaments. The filaments were removed by mild grinding against filters with filter openings larger than the seed. This can remove the filaments but not harm the seed. This is done to make broadcasting the seed for planting easier.

A stem of the Thoroughwort with the pods.

This a fuller view of the Late-blooming Thoroughwort. (end of photo sequence)

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Tickseed Sunflower

Tickseed Sunflowers and bract next to ruler. The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch.

Close-up of seeds.

Broad, papery and stubier bract with suckers are visible. The attachment points for the suckers are visible on the seeds.

The Tickseed Sunflower seed pod.

The seed pod in flower stage.

Maturing pods.

This a fuller view of the Tickseed Sunflower. (end of photo sequence)

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New England Aster

The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch. The New England Aster is present both empty of bract and with bract attached. Separate bract visible as well.

Close-up of seed.

Seed that has detached from tail is present, as well as detached tails.

The New England Aster seed pod.

Broken seed pod with seeds.

Stages of flower pod.

This a fuller view of the New England Aster. (end of photo sequence)

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Straw-colored Flat Sedge

This view of the Straw-colored Flat Sedge shows the sheaths that encase the seed and the seeds.

Close-up of the elongated sheaths and the seed are shown here.

This is a close-up of a pod of sedge seeds.

This a fuller view of the Straw-colored Flat Sedge. (end of photo sequence)

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Ditch Stonecrop

The units of the ruler are 1mm. The seeds of the Ditch Stonecrop are small, one of only three seeds studied here that pass through a .25mm filter. They do not pass through a .15mm filter. The coloration, size and shape are consistent with being seeds of this plant. The next slide is of another seed-like particle found in the same plant.

These particles pass through a .15mm filter. Their color and size is not consistent with the seed. They most likely represent embryonic seeds which did not develop. They are not live-seeds.

This picture also shows the live seeds. Compare the color with the next slide.

These particles are part of the same portion that passed through the .15mm filter. The color difference with the previous slide is distinct.

The Ditch Stonecrop seed pod.

The pod here has been crushed with seeds present that came out of the pod. Note the presence of the yellow embryonic seeds.

The seed pods are shown here.

This a fuller view of the Ditch Stonecrop. (end of photo sequence)

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Great Blue Lobelia

The units of the ruler are 1mm. The seeds of the Great Blue Lobelia are typically reddish with a well-defined spherical shape. They are between .25mm and .52mm in size.

These are Great Blue Lobelia seeds shown here.

This shows a mix of seeds with ground-up parts of the seed pod and stem.

The seed pod of the Great Blue Lobelia.

Some immature seeds can be seen in this pod that has been opened.

This a fuller view of the Great Blue Lobelia.

This is another view of the Great Blue Lobelia. (end of photo sequence)

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Slender False Foxglove

The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch. An unfiltered sample is shown here with chaff coming from a crushed seed pod.

Slender False Foxglove seeds are pictured here. They represent the material that passed through a .52mm filter meaning the seeds are smaller than that size of filter opening.

The Slender False Foxglove seed pod.

This is a picture of the seed pod that was crushed by the use of pliers.

This shows debris and seeds from crushing the seed pod.

A flower and buds of the plant growing outdoors is pictured here.

This is a fuller view of the Slender False Foxglove.

This is a picture of the same plant taken on the same day in late September. It is reddish in color. This can be due to either being further along in its seasonal cycle or a response to drought. The reserve where these plants are found is low-lying and near a creek. It is mostly moist so the plant color is probably due to seasonal changes. (end of photo sequence)

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Rattlesnake Master

The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch. The "fins" of the seed resembling a fish is bract, the sections of tubing referenced before.

Most of these seeds have shed their bract.

The bite taken out of the middle seed is the result of insect damage.

This is the seed pod. It is still green and not ready to produce seeds.

This a fuller view of the Rattlesnake Master. (end of photo sequence)

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Prairie Blazing Star

The units of the ruler are 1mm. The seed of the prairie Blazing Star is actually enclosed in an outer husk which is what is visible on this slide.

Close-up of the seeds with the outer husks shed. One seed is still enclosed in the sheath.

Seed pods of the prairie Blazing Star.

Flowering stage of the developing seed pods.

This is a fuller view of the prairie Blazing Star. (end of photo sequence)

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Purple Coneflower

The units of the ruler are 1mm. The seeds of the Purple Coneflower are grey or tan colored, with an arrowhead appearance. One end has a circular row of points, resembling a crown. The long particle that rests up against the ruler in the center of the picture does not appear to be one of the seeds. The particle resting against it, however, is a Purple Coneflower seed. The points of the crown are visible on it.

An original, unfiltered mix is pictured here. Just below and to the left of center is a slightly yellowish Purple Coneflower seed that displays a wedge-like or even pyramidal structure, which is not uncommon.

Seed pod ready to shed seeds.

A group of Purple Coneflower plants in flowering stage. (end of photo sequence)

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Foxglove Beardtongue

The Foxglove Beardtongue seed actually consists of an outer sheath and inner seed. The sheath is reddish-tan in color with edged facets. The seed inside is black and spherical. Seeds are present in this picture. Some are even visible inside broken sheaths.

Close-up of the sheaths, some broken with seeds visible.

Close-up of the seed pod.

This is a fuller view of the Foxglove Beardtongue in flowering stage of seed development. (end of photo sequence)

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Queen Anne's Lace

The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch. The seeds of Queen Anne's Lace are inside the husks, or sheaths that are seen here. There are two seeds within each sheath and the sheaths themselves split into halves when they open to release the seed.

The splitting of the sheath is seen here.

The large structure here contains numerous seed pods which are seen as stems growing out from a central point. The pods at this point have released the sheaths which contain the seeds.

Two stages of seed pod development are pictured here. One shows the numerous smaller seed pods inside another basket-like structure which, in turn, developed from the flower of Queen Anne's Lace. The other stage is the flowering stage of seed pod development which precedes the basket-like structure. (end of photo sequence)

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False Blue Indigo

These are seeds of the False Blue Indigo. The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch.

This selection of seeds has been picked over by hand to remove clearly bad seed.

These seed pods were gathered late in the year, in November.

This picture of the False Blue Indigo was taken in late August. It shows the stalk of seed pods surrounded by the plant. (end of photo sequence)

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Wild Bergamot

The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch. The amount of Wild Bergamot seeds collected is the smallest of all 25 seeds in the project, less than a single gram. In fact, the next smallest is about three times as much. The most collected, by comparison, is over five ounces of Rattlesnake Master seed and the average collected per seed is a little less than an ounce.

The Wild Bergamot resembles the Grey-headed Coneflower, in size and appearence, but that particular coneflower is relatively abundant and produced 36 grams of seed. This sample of Wild Bergamot is unfiltered and shows an average amount of non-seed material.

This sample was handpicked of unwanted material.

The Wild Bergamot seed pod.

A picture of the Wild Bergamot taken in early November. (end of photo sequence)

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Grey-headed Coneflower

The units of the ruler are 1mm. The Grey-headed Coneflower seeds are black and wedge-shaped. The brown material is bract.

Removing the seeds from the seed pods causes abrasion which can cut the bract off from the seed. This could kill the seed. The use of filters with larger openings during the grinding process was found to reduce the number of cut-offs. A seed is pointed out where the bract fell off naturally from the seed causing it no harm.

A single seed-pod is pictured

A group of the seed pods. (end of photo sequence)

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Acorn Grey-headed Coneflower

The acorn-shaped Grey-headed Coneflower seeds next to a dime.

The seed pod of the acorn-shaped Grey-headed Coneflower is on the right. On the left is the seed pod of the Grey-headed Coneflower. Acorn-shaped was added by myself. The seeds of these two plants appear identical and the photos I submitted online return Grey-headed Coneflower as its identity. But on my own table, the seed pods were quite distinct. The acorn-shape is somewhat obscured here due to the mantle that encircles the bottom of the pod. The mantle itself is another distinguishing feature between these two plants.

This mix was the result of scraping the seed pod with my fingers while wearing gloves.

This picture is used to determine how much of the collected seed mix is live seed and how much is unwanted particles. The straight lines are marking live seed and the circles unwanted particles. The information is used to determinge coverage of the collected seeds of a particular seed-type in square feet. Knowing the percent live seed and the weight of the sample plus seeds per ounce and seeds needed for planting per square foot, I can carry-out planting by spreading the seeds within a known area that has been walked-off. (end of photo sequence)

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Yellow Coneflower

The seeds of the Yellow Coneflower are wedge-shaped, cylindrical and black with one end pointed and the other broad with crown-like points. The other particles present are remnants of bract that connected the seeds to the flower. Also note that what I call a seed is actually a sheath that tightly surrounds the actual seed. Unlike other sheaths, this one does not break apart. The surrounding sheath and interior seed function together as a single unit.

This is a picture of the Yellow Coneflower seed pod.

The Yellow Coneflower (end of photo sequence)

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White Vervain

The seeds of the White Vervain are cylindrical and dark colored. Their ends are mostly rounded but some can be broken. Much of the material here is remnants of sheaths, non-functioning husks surrounding the seeds.

White Vervain seed pods which are broken. A stem is also present.

This material was stopped by a 2mm filter. All of the seeds passed leaving mostly the large pieces of sheaths. Note a little left of center is a sheath that is open, revealing the interior seed. Also note the bare stem also pictured in the previous slide.

A picture of the White Vervain with seed pods taken in early November. (end of photo sequence)

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Frost Aster

The units of the ruler are 1mm. The tails on the Frost Aster seeds prevented the seed from passing through a .8mm filter.

The seeds seem to lose their tails frequently. The seeds pictured here are without tails. They are off-white to tan in color and are cylindrical in shape. One end is pointed and the other has a rounded opening where the bract connects. The bract is plentiful and passes through the .8mm filter along with the seeds that have shed the tails.

This picture of the seeds with tails shows the separation created by the presence of the tails. The bract is lower in number in this picture. This is due to the sample which was filterd repeatedly to help purify the seeds for counting.

A picture of the plant with seed pods.

Another picture of the plant with seed pods.

A picture of Frost Aster in the flower stage of seed pod development. (end of photo sequence)

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Slender Mountain Mint

The units of the ruler are 1mm. The Mountain Mint seeds are quite small, passing through filters of .52mm. They are mostly trapped by the .25mm filter but some even pass through openings of that size. Seeds are largely present here with bracht mostly absent, having been trapped by filters with larger openings.

This material was trapped by a .52mm filter. The seeds have all passed through this filter leaving only this mix. It resulted from crushing seed pods and consists of bracht, sheaths which enclosed the seeds and structural fibers which were broken out during crushing.

The seed pod of the Mountain Mint.

A picture of Mountain Mint showing the seed pods. (end of photo sequence)

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Common Milkweed

The units of the ruler are one-tenth of an inch. Note the similarity of the seeds to the Swamp Milkweed described above.

More seeds on view.

Close-up of seed.

Seed pod showing pouch of seeds removed to better enable their separation.

Seeds are harder to work with once their cottony tails deploy.

Views of two stages of flower development in the Common Milkweed. The foreground buds are the first stage and behind these buds are flowers which developed out of the buds. The flowers eventually develop into the seed pods. (end of photo sequence)

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Prairie Mimosa

The seeds of the Prairie Mimosa. They were removed from the seed pod looking like this with no filtering. They are about 2-3 tenths of an inch in length.

Two stages of seed pod development are on display in this picture. The green ball at top is the bud cluster, each ball will open into a flower. The white, round structure on display below the cluster consists of flowers which emerged from the balls.

The flat, curved structures shown in this ball will develop into seed pods.

This is the mature seed pod of the praire mimosa.

The Prairie Mimosa (end of photo sequence)

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Bird and Insect Videos

Mockingbird

Purple Martin

Song Sparrow

Mockingbird

Downy Woodpecker

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Blue Heron

Mourning Dove

Brown Thrasher

Red-headed Woodpecker

Woodpecker Grooming

Dickcissel

Grasshopper

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Ebony Jewelwings Damselfly

Common Whitetail Dragonfly

Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly

Mockingbird, May 2026

Purple Martin, May 2026

Song Sparrow, June 2023

Mockingbird, May 2023

Downy Woodpecker, April 2023

Blue-Gray Gnatchatcher, April 2023

Blue Heron, April 2023

Mourning Dove, April 2023

Brown Thrasher, March 2023

Red-headed Woodpecker, March 2023

Woodpecker, July 2022

Dickcissel, June 2022

Grasshopper, October 2026

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, July 2022

Black Swallowtail, July 2022

Ebony Jewelwings Damselfly, July 2022

Common Whitetail Dragonfly, March 2022

Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly, June 2022

Bird Photos

Bird and Insect Photos

Eastern Phoebe

Northern Cardinal

Sparrow

Indigo Bunting

Blackbird

Warbler

Gnatcatcher

Heron

Eastern Bluebird

Mourning Dove

Tufted Titmouse

Turkey Vulture

Cowbird

Dark-eyed Junco

White-breasted Nuthatch

Thrasher

Woodpecker

Blue Grosbeak

American Goldfinch

Barn Swallow

Dickcissel

Canadian Goose

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebe - side view

Eastern Phoebe - rear view

Eastern Phoebe - side view (end of photo sequence)

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Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal - side view

Northern Cardinal - back view

Northern Cardinal - in flight

Northern Cardinal (end of photo sequence)

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Field Sparrow

Field Sparrow - side view

Chipping sparrow

Swamp sparrow

Swamp sparrow (end of photo sequence)

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Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting (end of photo sequence)

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Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird

Redwinged Blackbird

Redwinged Blackbird (end of photo sequence)

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Warbler

Yellowthroat Warbler

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler (end of photo sequence)

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Gnatcatcher

Gnatcatcher (end of photo sequence)

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Heron

Green Heron

Blue Heron

Great Egret (end of photo sequence)

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Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird (end of photo sequence)

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Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove (end of photo sequence)

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Tufted Titmouse

Tufted Titmouse (end of photo sequence)

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Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture (end of photo sequence)

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Cowbird

Cowbird (end of photo sequence)

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Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco (end of photo sequence)

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White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch (end of photo sequence)

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Thrasher

Thrasher (end of photo sequence)

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Red-headed Woodpecker

Whitebellied Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker (end of photo sequence)

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Blue Grosbeak

Blue Grosbeak (end of photo sequence)

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American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch (end of photo sequence)

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Barn Swallow

Juvenile Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow feeding its young

Barn Swallow feeding its young (end of photo sequence)

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Dickcissel

Dickcissel grooming

Dickcissel

Dickcissel (end of photo sequence)

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Canadian Goose

Canadian Goose (end of photo sequence)

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Insect and Wildlife Photos

Insect and Wildlife Photos

Dragonfly

Butterfly

Bee

Turtle

Racoon

Deer

Insect and Wildlife Photos

Ebony Jewelwing Dragonfly- Look at the wings in relation to the abdomen when distinguishing between dragonflies and butterflies. The dragonflies have their wings folded up above the abdomen when at rest; butterflies have their wings covering the abdomen when they are folded.

Common Whitetail Dragonfly

Twelve-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly

Eastern Amberwing Dragonfly (end of photo sequence)

Ebony Jewelwings Damselfly - The damselfly differs from the dragonfly in that the wings are folded up vertically with the damselfly and horizontally with the dragonfly. (end of photo sequence)

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Insect and Wildlife Photos

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly

Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Black Swallowtail Butterfly among Blazing Stars.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly resting in Mountain Mint.

Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly

Skipper Butterfly - This butterfly looks like a cross between a moth and a butterfly. It distinguishes itself from other butterflies in part by its antennae which are more like hooks than the clubs which are common among other butterflies. (end of photo sequence)

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Insect and Wildlife Photos

Bee landing

Bee taking flight

Bee taking flight (end of photo sequence)

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Insect and Wildlife Photos

Turtles

Turtles(end of photo sequence)

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Insect and Wildlife Photos

Racoon

Racoon (end of photo sequence)

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Insect and Wildlife Photos

Deer in wheat

Deer turning and running

Fawn (end of photo sequence)

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Plant Photos

Plant Photos

Pokeweed

Tick Trefoil

Wild Garlic

Ribbed Melilot

Fleabane

Hop Trefoil

Black Locust

Dogwood

Tower Mustard

Crowfoot

Pennycress

Buttercup

Autumn Olive

Trillium

Springbeauty

Prairieviolet

Mayapple

Dutchman's Breeches

Purple Deadnettle

Dock

Autumn Colors

Orchard

Sycamore Tree

Plants from May-July, 2023

Pokeweed

Pokeweed (end of photo sequence)

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Tick Trefoil

Tick Trefoil (end of photo sequence)

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Wild Garlic

Wild Garlic - bud stage, preceding flower

Wild Garlic, flower stage (end of photo sequence)

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Ribbed Melilot

Ribbed Melilot (end of photo sequence)

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Fleabane

Fleabane (end of photo sequence)

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Hop Trefoil

Hop Trefoil (end of photo sequence)

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Black Locust

Black Locust (end of photo sequence)

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Dogwood

Dogwood (end of photo sequence)

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Dogwood

Tower Mustard

Tower Mustard (end of photo sequence)

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Small-flower Crowfoot

Small-flower Crowfoot (end of photo sequence)

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Common Pennycress

Common Pennycress (end of photo sequence)

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Buttercup

Buttercup (end of photo sequence)

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Common Autumn Olive

Common Autumn Olive (end of photo sequence)

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Trillium

Trillium (end of photo sequence)

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Springbeauty buds

Springbeauty flowers

Springbeauty flowers (end of photo sequence)

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Prairie Violet

Prairie Violet (end of photo sequence)

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Mayapple

Mayapple (end of photo sequence)

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Dutchman's Breeches

Dutchman's Breeches (end of photo sequence)

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Purple Deadnettle

Purple Deadnettle (end of photo sequence)

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Dock

Dock (end of photo sequence)

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Autumn Colors

Sassafras

Black Walnut

View from bridge road

View from bridge conservation reserve road

Sassafras

Black Walnut

View from small pond

View from south perimeter road

View of pecan leaves from south perimeter road

Goldenrod

View of Goldenrod from horse farm reserve road

Nuthatch

Hairy Woodpecker

Cardinal

Sunburst in Red Maple

Flag and Red Maple (end of photo sequence)

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Orchard

Blackberry

East end of orchard with vine row on left.

Facing west part of orchard.

Central part of orchard.

Facing eastern part of orchard.

Apple Tree

Peach Tree

Apple Bud

Pear Bud

Peach Bud

Pear

Peaches

Plum blossoms

Plum blossoms (end of photo sequence)

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Sycamore Tree

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Flyover, Driveway and Structures Photos

Drone Flyover, Driveway and Structures Photos

Drone Flyover

Driveway

Farm House

Barn

Barn 360° View

Dams

Dock

Bridges

Stone Bench

Derelict Truck

Roads

Drone Flyover

Facing south-east. The barn and the large pond are present. The orchard reserve is light-green and borders the large pond. The small pond reserve, also light-green, is south of the driveway.

The driveway reserves are visible lining both sides of the driveway.

The orchard is clearly visible in this photo. A spur of the driveway is the original driveway to the farm house which was located in the copse of trees.

The small pond is visible in this view.

Facing east. The dock is visible along the east edge of the pond.

Between the small pond and the barn, the dome-shaped burnpile is visible.

Facing east. Between the barn and the dam of the large pond is a light-green field which is the barn reserve.

Facing south-west. The drone is over neighboring property.

Drone Flyover 9

The border with the neighboring property is clearly visible running south of the dam.

Drone Flyover 11

Facing mostly south. The full extent of the south cropland is visible. The UTV is parked to the north-west of the barn, the tractor to the south-west. The pickup truck and propane tank are also in view.

The small circular array of objects in the foreground of this picture is a Purple Martin feeder. The barn reserve is seen just to the east.

Drone Flyover 14

The large pond occupies the foreground of this picture. Note the proximity of the former house to the pond and orchard.

Facing north-east. The square angle of the wooded area in the background marks where the north woods separates from the neighboring property.

Facing west. The dam of the small pond is visible. The background of the picture consists of three strips. The first is the south extent of the small pond reserve. The next which is a darker green is cropland. The neighboring property consisting of woodland is the third.

Facing north-east. The rectangular block of trees is the north woods. The horsefarm reserve is a strip within that block located in the western part of the north end. Most of the north woods was pasture until the 1960's. Only the north-east corner, consisting of about five acres and blocked-off by two creeks that intersect at a right angle, is old growth. On the other side of the reserve is where the property of the horse-farm reserve begins. The neighbor's house is visible in the background.

Facing east. This is another view of the horsefarm reserve with the horsefarm on the left. The roads that encircle the reserve are visible.

Facing east. The bridge reserve. (end of photo sequence)

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Driveway

Old entrance

Old driveway

New Entrance

New driveway extending out to entrance

New driveway with conservation reserve strips on right and left

New driveway with orchard on right (end of photo sequence)

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Farm House

The farm house was torn down in September of 2022 owing to disrepair. It was built around 1935. This picture shows the main entrance which connected to the kitchen.

Farm house

Front of shed

Side of house

Porch

Rear of house

Front room of house

The floor of the front room was crafted from cherry wood harvested from the farm's woodland. Cherry trees appear in both old growth forest and the early successional, scrubby woodland that was pasture until the 1960's.

Front room of house

Fireplace

Tools for fireplace

Front room grating

Lamp above fireplace

East bedroom

Wall hanging in east bedroom

West bedroom

Doorway from west bedroom

Hallway with west bedroom on right and bathroom on left

Hallway facing east bedroom

Bathroom tub

Bathroom sink

Kitchen

Fireplace behind house

Tearing down house

Tearing down house (end of photo sequence)

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Barn

Barn construction

Barn from distance

Kitchen in finished part of barn

Living room

Utility room

Work room

Unfinished area of barn

Golf cart

Barn exterior (end of photo sequence)

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Barn 360° View

View of west side

View of south-west corner

View of south side

View of south-east corner

View of east side

View of north-east corner

View of north side

View of north-west corner (end of photo sequence)

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Dams

Large pond

Large pond dam

Small pond dam

Small pond dam (end of photo sequence)

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Dock

Dock at small pond

Small pond near dock with autumn colors.

Dock during pond restoration (end of photo sequence)

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Bridges

North bridge

North bridge under construction

North bridge

South bridge

South bridge (end of photo sequence)

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Stone Bench

The stone used for this bench was used as the step for the back porch of the house.

Stone bench (end of photo sequence)

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Derelict Truck

A direlict Ford truck built circa 1950. (end of photo sequence)

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Roads

Many of the roads shown in these pictures service newly planted trees. One is shown here marked with a red flag.

Roads

Roads (end of photo sequence)

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Other Photos

CATS parked

Large pond prior to restoration

Rainbow over a CAT

Drilling for deep water

Effluent from deep water drilling

Pouring rock for new dam

Reflection on small pond

Reflection on small pond (end of photo sequence)

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Other Farm Photos

Heavy Machinery

Forest Debris Disposal

Surveillance Photos

Conservation Reserve Burns

Cropland

Winter Pictures

Reflections on Ponds

Heavy Machinery

CATS parked

Large pond prior to restoration

Rainbow over a CAT

Drilling for deep water

Effluent from deep water drilling

Pouring rock for new dam. (end of photo sequence)

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Forest Debris Disposal

Much debris can accumulate in forests from storm damage as pictured here. This debris blocks movement within the forest and can interfere with the removal of invasives.

Another source of debris is the cutting or uprooting of invasive plants. More debris is pictured here. How is this debris disposed of?

The debris is first removed from the forest. The debris can be burned. The burnpile being formed in the back is part of that procedure. The logs in the front, however, are lined up for a different disposal method.

The better trunks of trees can be milled into sections that are sold for lumber. The milling machine is shown here.

Burn being conducted at designated site shows the primary method of the disposal of forest debris. This pile is one of many that have been collected from wooded areas as a result of storms and removal of invasive plants.

The debris that is left improves the health of the ecosystem.

The remaining debris also contributes to the aesthetics of the forest floor.

Another view of the forest floor. (end of photo sequence)

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Invasives

Invasives can take over a forest. Seen here is honeysuckle that borders the neighboring property. Walking in this forest is difficult or impossible.

This is the border between one of the farm's cropland fields and the south forest. Here the honeysuckle has been cleared providing access to the forest interior, which has also been cleared.

This is a picture of Russian Olive also taken along the border with the neighboring property. It is invasive and is identified by the silvery-green, tangled foliage.

The vine growing in the center of the photo is Japanese Honeysuckle, identified by the twining growth and opposite leaf arrangement. It also can be seen smothering the understory foliage with its aggressive growth.

Japanese Honeysuckle

This vine is identified as Common Buckthorn. It differs from Japanese Honeysuckle with leaves that are more oval shaped.

This invasive and highly aggressive vine is also Common Buckthorn. Its leaves are broadly elliptical, with pointed leaf tips and serrated, toothed edges.

Common Buckthorn

The thick, spiral vine is an Oriental Bittersweet. The leaves are Japanese Honeysuckle. The bittersweet vine is using the honeysuckle as support.

The twining, woody vine wrapping itself tightly around the tree trunk is an Oriental Bittersweet.

Honeysuckle with berries. This picture and the six that follow were taken in a sliver of the farm cut-off from the main body. Consisting of only a few thousand square feet, it has never been cleared of honeysuckle.

Medium size branch curving in center of picture is honeysuckle. Surrounding leaves are from honeysuckle.

Honeysuckle is present throughout picture.

The tree with its trunk encircled by a vine is honeysuckle. The vine is Oriental bittersweet, an aggressive invasive.

The foreground and midground of this picture is almost exclusively honeysuckle.

This picture is also dominated by honeysuckle.

Numerous honeysuckle are present here, too. The large tree in the center is an oak.

The neighbor's property on the left has not had honeysuckle removed. The farm borders on the right and has had honeysuckle removed.

The start of a trail that winds through a steep area of the south woods that has not had the honeysuckle cleared. Honeysuckle is seen growing from both sides of the trail forming an arch over the trail.

The south woods is an old growth oak-hickory forest. The two large trees in the foreground are oak, distinguished from hickory by the thick, ridging bark. Shagbark hickory trees are common in these woods. They have`loose, peeling bark with ends that curl outward. Honeysuckle is present along the sides of the trail.

Another oak tree.

The tree in the right-foreground is a young oak.

Three oak saplings are in the foreground.

Honeysuckles with berries are present in the center of the picture.

Another young oak.

Looking up the steep slope from the trail.

Another look up the slope. The large, whiteish tree in the right background is a sycamore.

Honeysuckle encloses the end of the trail as it did the start. (end of photo sequence)

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Surveillance Photos

Picture of deer taken overnight by surveillance camera located in front of the vines.

Picture of deer taken overnight by surveillance camera located on the large pond dam.

Picture of Blue Heron taken at dusk by surveillance camera located on large pond dam.

Picture of bluebird taken by a camera used to monitor a burnpile located behind the small pond dam. (end of photo sequence)

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Conservation Reserve Burns

Burn near dock.

Burn carried out at bridge reserve.

Burn carried out at barn reserve. (end of photo sequence)

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Cropland

Hay field north of entrance.

Soybean field south of driveway.

Soybean field south of driveway showing gully.

Double-cropped soybean field north of driveway.

Double-cropped soybean field north of driveway bordering north woods.

Soybean field on both sides of driveway looking south.

Soybean field looking east from driveway.

Soybean no-till field in the area of the barn. The no-till field retains residue from the previous growing season. This reduces erosion to one-sixth of a conventionally tilled soybean field.

Soybean no-till field in the area of the barn bordering a neighbors field.

Soybean no-till east field looking northwest from base of the large pond dam.

Soybean no-till east field looking west from border of neighbor's property.

Combine is harvesting the field that runs alongside the small pond reserve headed south.

Combine is harvesting the southern end of the field.

Combine is now harvesting the southern part of the field headed east. This field is the most southern field on the farm.

Combine is now positioned at the eastern border of the field.

Combine is now positioned at the southern border of the field heading west.

Combine is now turning at the western part of the field and is now headed east.

Combine is continuing east.

The border on the right is the southern edge of the old-growth south forest.

Close-up operation of the combine.

Combine passes heading east.

Tractor with tiller and flag (end of photo sequence)

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Winter Pictures

Photo of large pond area after snowfall taken from within barn.

Small pond prior to renovation.

Another view of the small pond.

Small pond with main inlet shoveled.

Small pond facing main inlet with conservation reserve visible in background.

Aluminum rowboat

Winter picture #7

Winter picture #8

Tracks of white tail deer crossing small pond.

These tracks crossing the small pond were most likely left by a coyote.

Whorled branching pattern of a pine tree.

The trees pictured here in the foreground and midground are primarily young oak and hickory. The picture was taken from the back of the old small pond dam looking south.

This picture was taken in the small pond conservation reserve.

A bounding rabbit left these tracks.

Winter picture #15

A bend in the small pond conservation reserve.

Winter picture #17

This woodpile consists of pulled honeysuckle and debris. Earlier, debris was left in piles rather than hauled to a clearing for burning. Over the past six years, this pile has decayed to about a third the size of what it was.