Daily Archives: October 7, 2009

Saturday, October 17, 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – Chainsaws: Use, Safety, and Maintenance

October 7, 2009 by Boston Flora

Are you the new owner of a chainsaw or a weekend woodcutter? If so, are you using your chainsaw safely? If you’re at all in doubt, please put the saw down now and register for this class on Saturday, October 17, beginning at 9:30 a.m.,Â at the Arnold Arboretum. In this lecture and demonstration by ISA-certified arborist John DelRosso, Head Arborist of the Arboretum, you will learn the basics of chainsaw use. John will talk about essential safety equipment and maintenance requirements. He will demonstrate sharpening and bar tensioning and discuss limbing and felling techniques, including tension cuts. Bring your saw, along with ear protection, for the maintenance discussion. Bring a lunch, too, and dress for the outdoors.Â C’mon, haven’t you all secretly longed to work with a big, loud power tool? Fee $60 Arboretum member, $75 nonmember.Â To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu. The awesome photo below was taken by Jason Levesque, and can be viewed, along with other fabulous and quirky shots, on xstuntkidx’s photostream on Flickr.com.

sarax chainsaw massacre by xstuntkidx.

Saturday, October 17, 10 am – 1:30 pm – Fall in the Bog

October 7, 2009 by Boston Flora

A thick, floating mass of sphagnum moss, oxygen-poor water, and plants adapted to very low nutrient conditions characterize quaking bogs. The Philbrick-Cricenti Quaking Bog, one of the best examples of these unique peatlands, offers a chance to explore a trail about a mile in length, while staying high and dry atop a boardwalk. A host of bog plants are to be discovered as you transition from a red maple-sphagnum swamp, through a black spruce-larch swamp, to the Tundra Garden Loop where you find vegetation similar to that in more northern areas where boreal forest meets the open Arctic tundra. The walk will be led by Roland “Boot” Boutwell, and is sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society. Bring a bag lunch, water, and a hand lens if you have one.Â Cost for NEWFS members is $28, $32 for nonmembers.Â Limit 10 participants.Â To register, and for directions, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

Saturday, October 17, 1:00 – 3:00 pm – Backyard Beekeeping

October 7, 2009 by Boston Flora

Consider keeping a beehive in your backyard for pollination in addition to collecting and harvesting your own honey supply. This discussion at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on Saturday, October 17 from 1 – 3, will cover the basics of bees and beekeeping for the homeowner. Learn about the equipment, site selection, how to start a hive, maintenance, collection and storage of honey. Topics including bee diseases, health care and protection from predators will be covered. This class gives a realistic perspective for beginner and novice beekeepers. Learn how you can help save the bees! Dominic Palumbo owns Moon in the Pond Farm, a NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers Association) certified organic farm in Sheffield, Mass. He produces organic eggs, meat, wool, yarn and honey. He teaches regularly for Berkshire Botanical Garden on topics related to family farming.Â BBG members $16, non members $21.Â For more information, log on to www.berkshirebotanical.org.