Jack’s Walk

Is that snow smiling at me? ©voyager, all rights reserved

Today Jack and I went to the non-beaver side of the river. We haven’t come here very often this winter and I thought the change might help overcome the ennui that’s set in. Jack certainly enjoyed himself, but he didn’t want to go swimming. That’s probably a normal attitude for a dog in winter, but Jack has always loved cold water swimming. I’ve seen him floating down the river surrounded by ice with a look of pure bliss on his face. Not this year, though. Thinking back, he’s only gone in the water once or twice and not for very long. I’ve noticed changes at home, too. Jack sits by the fire more often and he’s started worming his way under the covers in bed. I know it’s his age. He’s 11 now and entering his senior years and like most old people he doesn’t run as hot. He still enjoys the snow, though, and I hope that never changes. It’s Jack who taught me to see the beauty of winter and the pleasure of snow and today his antics  helped me find something to smile about. Take that ennui!

Tree Tuesday

 

This graceful bonsai is the Yamaki Pine and it resides at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington D.C. The tree, a Japanese White Pine, was gifted to the U.S. by the family of bonsai master Masaru Yamaki  in 1976. The tree is close to 400 years old and had been kept in the Yamaki family for at least six generations. It isn’t its age or its looks that makes this tree special, though. This plucky little tree actually survived the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan in 1945.

On August 6, 1945, at a quarter-past 8 a.m., bonsai master Masaru Yamaki was inside his home when glass fragments hurtled past him, cutting his skin, after a strong force blew out the windows of the house. The U.S. B-29 bomber called the “Enola Gay” had just dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, at a site just two miles from the Yamaki home.

The bomb wiped out 90 percent of the city, killing 80,000 Japanese immediately and eventually contributing to the death of at least 100,000 more. But besides some minor glass-related injuries, Yamaki and his family survived the blast, as did their prized bonsai trees, which were protected by a tall wall surrounding the outdoor nursery.

After going through what the family had gone through, to even donate one was pretty special and to donate this one was even more special,” says Jack Sustic, curator of the Bonsai and Penjing museum. Yamaki’s donation of this tree, which had been in his family for at least six generations, is a symbol of the amicable relationship that emerged between the countries in the years following World War II.

The full story is at Smithsonian.com.

Harakka in Autumn: Chapter 16

It’s time to put away your worries for a while and take a walk with Ice Swimmer. Today we’re going up.

Chapter 16 – Top and Around

Odd Spruce Revisited ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved

The spruce is odd because it has an even number of crowns. The deciduous trees behind the spruce are hiding the wetland.

[Read more…]

Harakka in Autumn: Chapter 15

It’s time to join Ice Swimmer on his walk around Harakka.

Chapter 15 – East

Emerging from the Wetland ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved

The bird watching shelter we visited earlier is on the right. Sunday was definitely brighter than Saturday. Across the water are the island Särkkä and Suomenlinna Sea Fortress.

[Read more…]

Jack’s Walk

The shape of water on wood ©voyager, all rights reserved

Well, we have a fresh layer of snow again and, although it’s very pretty and it reflects a lot of light, I’m fed up with the stuff. I crave the changing shades of green things; the growing grass and leaves that burst into life. I crave the sound of songbirds through an open window and the earthy smell of fresh air blowing through the house. I am so ready to ditch my big coats and heavy boots. My feet want to go bare and feel the warmth of sunlight on the sidewalk and the cool of grass on the lawn. Come, Persephone. It’s time to send Boreas packing.

As a bonus today, this is an early animation produced by Disney studios in 1934. I’m hoping that Spring will see it as an invitation.

Harakka in Autumn: Chapter 14

We’re back on Harakka with Ice Swimmer, but we’re not on the top of the island as predicted in the previous post, Chapter 13 – Interlude III, Mystery Path. That chapter was mistakenly published out of order by this administrator. We’ll get to the top of the island on March 4/19 in Chapter 16 – Top and Around. My apologies to Ice Swimmer.

Chapter 14 – Wetland

Wetland ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved

There is a valley near the southeastern shore. In the valley, there are wetlands.

[Read more…]

Tree Tuesday

This week we’re looking at the Dragon’s Blood Tree, a very unique evergreen tree that grows in only one place, Socatra Island in the Arabian Sea and belonging to Yeman. The tree gets its name from the red resin that it secretes and this resin has been used for centuries for many different purposes.

According to legend, the first dragon blood tree was created from the blood of a dragon that was wounded when it fought an elephant. Like the unfortunate dragon, the tree secretes its resin when it’s injured. In ancient times the resin was believed to have magical and medicinal properties. People used it as a pigment for art, a dye, and a medicine. Dragon’s blood is still used for these purposes today.

The Dragon’s Blood Tree is absolutely unique in appearance.

The crown of the tree often looks like an umbrella that has been turned inside out. The fact that the branches are bare except at their tips adds to this illusion. The long and stiff leaves are born in bunches at the ends of the branches. Some trees have more rounded crowns than others and remind me of giant mushrooms instead of umbrellas.

The branches have a rippled appearance. They develop in a very regular pattern known as dichotomous branching. In this process, each branch produces two new branches arising from the same point. The process repeats to create the base of the tree’s crown.

Like the leaves, the flowers are borne at the tips of the branches. The flowers are small and greenish-white in colour. They are located in groups known as inflorescences. The fertilized flowers produce green berries that change to black as they ripen and then to orange when they are fully ripe.

The Dragon’s Blood Tree grows slowly and is very long-lived. According to Just Fun Facts,

…can live up to 650 years and reaches heights of around 10 to 12 meters (33 to 39 feet).

The tree grows slowly, about one meter (3 feet) every ten years.

The dragon blood tree is a succulent, very hardy and drought tolerant. It enjoys warm temperatures and
sub-tropical conditions.

Like other monocotyledons, such as palms, the dragon blood tree grows from the tip of the stem, with
the long, stiff leaves borne in dense rosettes at the end.

It branches at maturity to produce an umbrella-shaped crown, with leaves that measure up to 60 cm
(23.6 in) long and 3 cm (1.2 in) wide.

Leaves appear only on the ends of the youngest branches, last for 3 or 4 years, then fall off and are replaced by a new set.

The dragon blood tree flowers around February. The flowers tend to grow at the end of the branches. The flowers have inflorescences, and they bear small clusters of fragrant, white or green flowers.

The fruits take five months to completely mature. The fruits are described as a fleshy berry, which changes from green through black to orange-red when ripe. The fleshy berry fruit contains one to three
seeds. The berries are usually eaten and dispersed by birds and other animals.

Despite their hardiness the Dragon’s Blood Trees of Yeman are threatened by climate change and the encroachment of human populations.

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) classifies the population status of dragon blood trees as “vulnerable”. Although there may be several factors putting the population at risk, the major one is believed to be climate change. Grazing by domestic goats, extraction of the resin, and using the tree for firewood may play a smaller role in the tree’s problems. Other problems may be the increasing amount of development on the island, especially the creation of roads, as well as the increasing number of visitors.

Socotra Island has a generally dry climate but experiences periodic monsoons. The crown of the dragon blood tree channels rain and mist water to its roots very effectively. Unfortunately, the climate of Socotra Island is becoming drier and the monsoons less reliable.

For more photos and information I encourage you to read the whole story at Owlcation and Just Fun Facts.

Harakka in Autumn: Chapter 12

Ice Swimmer has more rocks to show us and they are full of colour and pattern. Let’s go….

Chapter 12 – Southwestern Rocks on Sunday, II

Details. ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved

This part of the rocks comes with stripey details.

Detailed Details. ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved

Here is a more detailed look on the details.

Decidous and Evergreen. ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved

Many of the broad-leaved trees were exhibiting their deciduousness while, the pines show their evergreenness all through the seasons.

Grain. ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved

The pattern is like figured woodgrain.

The Border. ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved

Humans are not welcome on the other side. Gulls and geese will keep watch in spring and summer. The dinosaurs were absent in October, but no human was seen trespassing.

In the next installment, we will have walked the path towards east (to the left of the last picture) and we’ll see something completely different.

Harakka in Autumn: Chapter 11

Harakka in Autumn: Chapter 10

Ice Swimmer’s here and today he has rocks to show us. Be still my heart…..

Chapter 10 – Southwestern Rocks on Sunday, I

Shaped by Ice Age. ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved 

The rounded forms of the rocks come from the Ice Age. The bottom of the glacier was full of rocks embedded into the ice that was quite flexible under the huge pressure, grinding the rocks into rounded shapes. [Read more…]

Jack’s Walk

Big Bob, the largest tree in our small forest, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Conditions in town are still too dangerous for walking so Jack and I set out for the forest again and had a quiet, contemplative walk in the sunshine. I can finally see that the sun is climbing higher in the sky and even though it’s still cold the air carries a promise of spring. This is the time of year that I get the most frustrated with winter. I’m fed up with heavy socks and leggings and just plain tired of hats and scarves, mittens and boots. Why is it that the shortest month of the year always feels like it’s the longest?

Tree Tuesday

I’m a bit weary of big and old trees so this week I thought we’d take a look at something a bit different, the Rainbow Eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus deglupta) sometimes called the Mindanao Gum Tree

Painted Eucalyptus, photo credit Thomas

The Rainbow Eucalyptus is native to the Philippines and is the only species of Eucalyptus that’s native to the northern hemisphere. Like all eucalyptus trees it’s fast growing and it’s precisely all that growing that gives the tree its colour.

According to research by David Lee, professor at Florida International University and author of the book Nature’s Palette: The Science of Plant Color, the change takes place on the microscopic level. When the bark is stripped away, bright green chlorophyll is readily visible through a thin transparent surface layer that’s just one cell thick.

As time passes, reddish brown tannins build up in the surface layer, changing the apparent color. The chlorophyll beneath also dies down with time, creating the incredible fluorescent display that the tree is known for. The tree prefers wet, humid climates, and although the color can be observed anywhere, the display is brightest in the trees that grow in their native Mindanao.

What incredible trees. They can grow in excess of 60 meters and have been successfully introduced as decorative trees to many places including Hawaii and Florida. The trees like humid weather and do best when they’re their feet are wet. In their native Philippines the trees are used for pulp and paper making.

For more information and photos plus a short video I encourage you to check out the whole story at Treeographer.

 

Jack’s Walk

Sunshine! ©voyager, all rights reserved

It’s a bright sunny day around here, but the weather remains cold, -7º C which feels like -12º C. I don’t mind the cold as much when it’s sunny, but I do mind all the ice that’s sticking around. We’ve had 2 ice storms in the past 2 weeks with snow in-between. We were supposed to have a few days of warming last week, but we really only had about 1/2 day of above zero temps and all that did was weld all those layers together to make thick sheets of ice that coat the roads and sidewalks. My city has done a poor job this year of clearing ice and snow and our side streets are coated with a 5 – 10 cm. thick layer of ice with deep potholes and grooves where the slush of car tracks froze quickly. They’ve been like this for over a week and the city is doing nothing about it. Driving down these streets is perilous and could easily ruin a car. As for the sidewalks, they are full of thick, slick ice that makes you fall down and go boom. I have cleats for my boots, but they’re difficult to manage because you need to high-step and stomp your feet with every step which is not easy for an old gal like me.

Our river path is also too slick for walking so Jack and I decided to visit our little forest path in the country to check out the conditions and we got lucky. There was packed snow, but ice in only a few places that we could go around. Also, the path has been roughed up by the dozens of people who walk their dogs there and all in all we had a pleasant walk. Best of all we found only minor damage to the trees from the 2 recent ice storms with just a few small downed branches. All of the big grandmother trees fared well. Hooray! I guess this is where Jack and I will be walking for the next little while because ice, ice baby turns out to be dangerous.