This is the time of year in New England and probably most of the USA that we should be harvesting all the free trees Mother Nature has given us. They are free for the picken. I’m no horticulturalist so don’t ask me the names of the weeds shown. I gather them while I’m photographing trains. Some of the best weeds grow along railroad tracks. I also use some of the flowers from the home landscape after they have dried up. A can of spray adhesive and some Woodland scenic foam can make some decent trees quickly. It took about two minutes to make the tree show.

This scene at the upper edge of Meek's Canyon on the Black n' Blue features a couple of Canyon Creek Scenics conifers. I usually make my own trees but I've got a ton of detailing to do and I thought this area deserved a little splurge. Shout out to Pete for the great trees he made me! My tree is the obvious one sandwiched between two of Pete's.

Hi Folks:  I'm Going to be modeling the area around Alamosa and walsenburg colorado, most of it is pretty scrubby and covered with sagebrush, which is known for a silver grey green appearance, what do you recommend using to reproduce that on my layout?

TIM

I'm getting ready to ballast a small (three-track) HO yard.  The prototype photos show black ballast, which I assume is mostly cinders.  I have a bag of Arizona Arizona Rock & Mineral SP black cinder that is the color I'm looking for but it's not cheap for such a small bag.  Are there any alternatives that look as good as ARM's product but is less expensive?  I'm not adverse to using grout if the color and texture are close.