[Sca-cooks] It's quiet in here

[Sandra Kisner]

>Have you tried putting rubber snakes in the tree to scare off the birds?
>I did that to my mum's fig tree and it worked pretty well.  You may need to
>check the soil too.  Most centers will check it for free, around here at
>least.  Could be it needs a little perking up.

     Can't say I've tried rubber snakes (or AOL CDs  :-).  Lately I've been considering taking down everything but the old apple and the new (type unknown) cherry and starting over.  I could choose varieties myself.  But the new apple (also unknown) was girdled last year (I don't know if it was mice or deer), just as it was beginning to bear fruit, and I'm a bit leary of taking down poor but sort-of-bearing trees for young, healthy, eventually-bearing ones.  Especially since I have no idea what any of the varieties I have now are.  There's even a peach, but it has been gradually dying since I moved in.  The fruit tastes marvelous, if I'm lucky enough to get one (or enough of a few to cut the good bits from), but I have no idea what it is.

Sandra Kisner
sjk3 at cornell.edu