Not to worry Kathy. We have many members in New York. Some flimsy containers might collapse under heavy snow, but milk jugs hold up very well. lblack's were buried under 7 ft. of the white stuff last winter. I'm sure she'll come along to reassure you. A picture of some of mine (milk jugs) under snow. Winter temperature doesn't matter- frozen is frozen no matter what the temp. You might have to give a little protection to tender things in late spring frosts, like throw a blanket over them. I do that here in Ohio, too. Welcome to the forum and wintersowing. We'll be happy to help you. Karen

Hi everyone What a great day for a swap. We really lucked out with the nice weather. Thanks for all the trades. I'll be trying some new things. Thanks Laurel for the fern leaf bleeding heart and the food. You may want to put the hosta and forsythia in some water until you get them planted just to keep them from wilting- they should be okay in water for a day. For those of you who are trying to remember what those things were in the styrofoam or paper cups- they were lobelia cardinalis-red, spikey, humming bird like them, they prefer a moister rather than drier area. Thanks for the plants everyone. Hope you enjoy the trades. Did some geocaching on the way home.

The answer to “Are there wolves in New York?” is both yes and no, and more complicated than either answer alone could explain. There are no known established packs of wolves, be it Eastern/Timber wolves, grey wolves or red wolves, in any portion of the northeastern US south of the Canadian border. However, there are most certainly wolves that have crossed into the US over the last 30-130 years, with documented instances. How established they really are is what remains to be seen. The last known “established” northeastern wolf pack was completely killed off in 1890. This pack has all places of the hierarchy filled. But the area they spanned covers tens if not hundred of millions of acres of dense forests here and in neighboring states (Adirondack Park alone is 6MM acres, over 9,000 square miles), with ample room for them to go undetected. And to be honest, they aren’t even undetected. While some of the stories mentioned above may sound unlikely, there have been 3 confirmed kills of wolves in New York and Vermont from 1998-2006. These are only the cases where the bodies were definitively tested (they were a 100% match as wild-raised, non-captive wolves, not coyotes, coy dogs or coyote-wolf cross breeds either, though their exact lineage and origin remains unclear). Again, these are just cases where someone bothered to have the body tested afterward, and it does not include sightings alone or kills which were unconfirmed. In 2 out of 3 of these instances, the wolves that were killed were spotted with other wolves and indicate the potential for the existence of presently establishing packs. Interior Alaskan “Yukon” wolves are not the same. The behavior of wolves in Alaska is very different from the documented behaviors of the wolves that have largely inhabited Canada and the lower 48. Stating that a wolf in Alaska is inquisitive and unafraid of humans is true but irrelevant in the present conversation. It’s a known behavior of that subspecies, but not necessarily of any of the subspecies of wolf that would potentially be spotted in the wild in the northeastern US. Alaskan wolves have come to live in significantly greater harmony with Alaskan hunters, as it’s a much smaller population of people trying to kill them, which has allowed the population of Yukon wolves to avoid decimation, unlike northeastern populations. Any wolves found in New York or similar locations would be more closely related to the Eastern Timber wolves and/or grey wolves found in southeastern Canada. When considering the known interaction levels of those wolves, we see that they commonly adopt an approach not dissimilar to coyotes; they do not consider humans to be prey, but do recognize their potential as a predator. They remain curious but cautious. They will not attack unless provoked, and will often remain just at tree lines, showing themselves while maintaining the opportunity to slip back into the forest. And when food is scarce, especially in times of drought or deep winter, they will approach areas with humans in search of food. With that said, their history with humans has understandably left them more skittish and less interested in our company than their Alaskan relatives. Are they here? Yes, we already know this. Are they thriving? Probably not. The 3 mentioned above were all killed by hunters aiming to find coyotes, which are legally hunted in the areas where these wolves would be attempting to reestablish populations. This is one of the same reasons the DEC hasn’t bothered to try relocating any individuals or even entire packs from the Canadian populations. Not only is there evidence that they are naturally relocating on their own, but additionally, no one knows how to create the right kind of laws and hunting regulations necessary to ensure coyote traps and hunters don’t once again decimate any new populations of wolves. And in New York in particular, we have hunted the large prey these animals require to get through long winters to near extinction, much like the wolves themselves. In those months, kills are scarce, even smaller prey such as beavers and hare are hard to come by. These predators used to rely on the occasional large game to sustain long periods without food. But these days, spotting a wolf in New York is more likely than spotting the elk, moose or caribou they would need to survive a long winter, all of which thrive north of the Canadian border. Caribou haven’t been here for hundreds of years, back when wolves heavily roamed the NY landscape. Elk are thought to be extinct here, rarely seen outside of Pennsylvania, which has successfully reintroduced them. A tiny population of moose exists in the Adirondacks, as do white-tailed deer, but both are susceptible to deer-borne illnesses, wasting disease and ticks, in addition to over-hunting, all of which have left them few and far between. The irony here is that the wolves helped keep these same diseases in check, which now instead spread freely amongst the remaining populations. For these reasons, it becomes MORE likely that any wolves spotted in New York State would NOT be in their usual large packs, instead struggling to regain a territory that no longer resembles the home their ancestors once knew. Litters would be smaller than average, with pups significantly less likely to survive their first winter than packs north of the border. If you see a wolf in New York, it’s entirely possible your eyes are not playing tricks on you. As anyone who frequently sees coyotes here can tell you, it’s quite easy to see the difference, even when they are dustier in coloring. Consider yourself lucky, snap a picture if you can, and hope that one day they return to the numbers they once were. Our state and its wildlife will be significantly healthier if they do.

Asparagus crowns go in as early in the spring as the ground can be worked. You don't want the ground boggy from snow melt though. I live in the very northern Catskills in zone 5 (we must not be as high up as you are) and planted mine 3 years ago in early April.