Arboreality - Tree Blogging

Moving Time: Arboreality Now Lives at www.brainripples.com

2010-06-01T03:57:00.000-07:00

Arboreality - Tree Blogging has moved! Please update your links:

http://brainripples.com/category/forest/

I am excited to announce that Arboreality now has a new, permanent home at www.brainripples.com.

My blogs Brainripples, Arboreality, and AppleJade will all live together under one domain. For those who prefer the original channels, my blog will be simply categorized by Studio, Forest, and Garden respectively. You can read more details here.

All Arboreality content published at arboreality.blogspot.com will remain as-is for the time being, so that no active links will be broken. In coming months I hope to republish the best content at my own website including interviews, articles, features, and other goodies.

I wish to extend my thanks to Google/Blogger for the free hosting enjoyed by Arboreality, and for giving me the chance to cut my teeth in the blogosphere.

Onward!

Pacific Coast Rhododendrons in Bloom

2010-05-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

The rhododendrons are in bloom in the Pacific Northwest, a soothing tonic for this rumpled lady. I’ve been ill, which has resulted in a few unintended benefits for us Arboreality.

The fenced vegetable garden on the south side of the house went untouched this month as I prepared for a trip which I was unable to take. While ill, I spent a lot of time looking out windows, a wonderful low-impact activity. That’s when I noticed a particular pair of birds which seemed to spend all of their time in the garden, at the exclusion of any other birds.

The result? My garden neglect was two junco birds’ paradise. In the quiet protection of the vegetable garden, nestled in the comfort of strawberries and thyme, a pair of juncos reared two chicks.

This afternoon I’m writing up my notes and photos to share for the Festival of the Trees 48, to be hosted by Casey Harn at the Wandering Owl Outside blog.

With three days left to submit, there’s still plenty of time to blog about trees and participate! Here are the details so you can join the fun:

Host: Wandering Owl Outside

Deadline: May 30

Email to: cjharn [at] gmail [dot] com — or use the contact form

Themes: The relationship between trees and game animals/birds, or any environmental benefits of trees

Important! Put “Festival of the Trees” in the subject line of your email

Also be sure to stop by Nature’s Whispers to enjoy the May Day Festival of the Trees 47 hosted generously by Jasmine.

Forest, Overcast

2010-04-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Here in the Pacific Northwest we enjoy many days with overcast skies. Cloudy, grey, and gorgeous, overcast days are my favorites second only to rainy days, or maybe snowy days.

I live just a hop across the Hood Canal, east of the Olympic Peninsula. Our local forests may not be quite as luscious as the Hoh Rainforest out near the Pacific Ocean, but we nonetheless enjoy the many benefits of hugging the Olympic foothills. We receive morning Hood Canal mist in summer, rogue snowstorms rolling off the mountains in winter, and righteous rainfalls throughout the seasons which transform all surfaces into a sort of omnitransversant riverscape.

Last week we had a lovely visit from a spring snowstorm which unloaded five inches of snow in five hours. If I hadn’t been so busy having fun and attending to the usual shoveling and wood prep, I would have grabbed some pictures to share.

Instead I offer these images from this evening’s overcast skies. Notice the Black cottonwood quietly leafing out in yellow-green (close-ups to follow). It’s been a bright day in western Washington – too bright for shade-lovers like me. I give thanks to the clouds that rolled in at sunset. Tonight’s clouds allow us to glimpse a cross-section of the local colors I cherish: silver-grey, chalk-white, black-evergreen, periwinkle, gold, dusty lavender and rose.

Our blushing flower guest today is Purple dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum), a member of the mint family which is introduced in this region. According to Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast (one of the best books ever), the name "dead-nettle" refers to its quality of not stinging like other nettles. I encourage Purple dead-nettle and Self-Heal (Prunella vulgaris), both members of the Lamiaceae family, to grow along pathways, driveways, and places where nothing else wants to grow.

I’d say it’s among favorite flowers, but then I’d be leaving out hundreds of others, many whose names I do not yet know (and some whom I probably have not yet met). This evening I invite you to carefully inspect the ground: look at sidewalk cracks, park paths, and “weeds” in the lawn. Take notice of the tiny flowers, some smaller than the nail on your pinky finger. These flowers serve an important purpose (more than one, I might argue), and if you listen quietly, you might hear it.

* * * * *

Festival of the Trees updates:

The Festival of the Trees 46 is now online at Vanessa's Trees and Shrubs Blog on About.com. Enjoy her fruitful collection of trees both humorous and serious all month long.

Jasmine will host The Festival of the Trees 47 at the Nature’s Whispers blog in celebration of May Day.

Deadline for submissions is April 28th.
Participation is easy: blog about trees, send us the link, spread the word!
Email submissions to: dream.lizard [at] googlemail [dot] com — or use The Festival of the Trees contact form at the coordinating blog.

Spring Greetings from Kitsap Forests

2010-03-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

Spring Salutations and Fall Felicitations to all!

Trees in the Pacific Northwest are blooming, and in the cold forests of Kitsap County our deciduous trees are slowly awakening.

Wild willow hybrids (Salix) are early with fuzzy pussywillow flowers. Today you can smell hints of the balsam perfume of the Black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera spp. trichocarpa) drifting through on the breeze. Evergreen huckleberries (Vaccinium ovatum), an important year-round food source for birds and beasts of all kinds, have already begun to blossom.

Red alder (Alnus rubra) trees are among the first to wiggle open here in the spring warmth. The “red” of their appellation is best revealed in spring when the twigs, buds, and catkin flowers all blush with the rise of sap and the stir of March storms. Alders are a hearty pioneering species which help establish good growing conditions for other plant species in the forest.

We have a healthy stand of young alders (10+ years) which grew over the part of the property which was originally clear-cut. Today they are home to birds, frogs, mice, snakes, bunnies, bees, and plenty of other critters (and there’s an awesome blackberry thicket producing in the middle).

Spring days are patchworks of rain, cloud, wind, thunder, and sudden, bright sunbreaks. It’s the right time of year for rainbow watching, so if you see sun, rain, and black clouds in the early morning or late afternoon, I highly recommend that you step away from your desk, go outside, and search the sky for fleeting arcs of color.

Want more spring trees and flowers? Take a look at spring blossoms in eastern Pennsylvania from March 2006 and March 2007.

* * *

REMINDER: The Festival of the Trees issue 46 is hosted at Vanessa’s Trees and Shrubs Blog on About.com.

Vanessa invites submissions of all kinds, and is especially interested in humorous trees in honor of April Fool's Day.

Deadline for submissions is March 29th.
Participation is easy: blog about trees, send us the link, spread the word!
Email submissions to: treesandshrubs.guide [at] about [dot] com — or use the contact form at The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 4

2010-02-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

If you’re just joining me, I invite you to go back and read the introduction.

Enjoy Part 4, the final segment of our snowy excursion, which begins on an extra-snowy morning and concludes our journey with late afternoon sun:

Wander the woods of a winter past (to be posted throughout the day today):

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Introduction

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 1

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 2

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 3

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 4

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 3

2010-02-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

If you’re just joining me, I invite you to go back and read the introduction.

Enjoy Part 3 of our snowy excursion, which begins in a waist-high snow drift:

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 4

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 2

2010-02-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

If you’re just joining me, I invite you to go back and read the introduction.

Enjoy Part 2 of our snowy excursion, which begins with dark evergreens at first light:

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 1

2010-02-26T10:03:00.001-08:00

If you’re just joining me, I invite you to go back and read the introduction.

Enjoy Part 1 of our snowy excursion, which begins with the waning moon among the alder branches:

Wander the woods of a winter past (to be posted throughout the day today):

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Introduction

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 1

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 2

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 3

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 4

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Introduction

2010-02-26T08:29:00.000-08:00

Spring feels near in the Pacific Northwest, so today in celebration of The Festival of the Trees 45, I’d like to look back at snowy December 2008 as a final farewell to this year’s mild winter. (I admit to a mild jealousy of my friends enjoying Pennsylvania’s snow this season, and scenes like this or this or this or this or this.)

In December 2008 we arrived in Kitsap County just in time to experience near non-stop snow over several weeks. In our quiet corner of the woods near the Hood Canal we had upwards of four feet of persistent snow. Most days were spent performing one of four tasks:

1) Clearing the same path we’d cleared the day before (to access firewood, compost piles, and other essentials)

2) Splitting firewood and occasionally firing up the generator (food was moved to a cooler on the porch in the absence of power)

3) Pulling snow off the roof (several people around Puget Sound had trouble with the weight of snow on their roofs)

4) Getting warm (before going back out to work on another chore)

Last winter was a good thinking winter: I find that manual labor and repetitive tasks help me process ideas. Most days the heavy snow cloud cover allowed us just about four hours of light between 8am and noon. Dawn was the best, if not the only time to take pictures, so when I sat down yesterday to review my photo folder from December 2008, I realized that it is essentially composed of a series of snowy sunrises.

I reduced the following four-part selection of photos from about 75 of the original 850 images taken last winter. If you aren’t familiar with the Pacific Northwest forests, you can imagine some of the following as you wander:

Mornings in Kitsap forests are quiet, and snow days are even quieter. If it’s snowed the night before, and the hemlocks are already heavy with snow, the first thing you might notice would be the soft, cold breeze which gathers with the sunrise. It whips low clouds across tree tops, and tickles branches in rhythmic undulations. The sound of breeze is joined by whispers of snow shaking off in delicate curtains.

If it isn’t snowing at dawn, a few birds might be out to call the sun up. Brown squirrels chitter and nitter to remind the neighbors of their claims. Breakfast in the cast iron skillet on the woodstove stirs the dog. You hear his rapid, crunching footsteps along the trails through the woods. Progress is slow going on the trails the after a heavy snow, which weights down branches of rhododendron, black huckleberry, and salal into an impassible thicket. Usually the best progress is made on hands and knees using the tunnels already created by smaller animals.

Half a mile off you hear kids yelping in early morning snow-play. Snow slows but does not stop traffic in the remote parts of Kitsap. Occasional truck engines approach and fade on the ice-and-snow-packed dirt road, and you can hear a few generators humming within a mile or two. Chain saws start and stop during the daylight hours to clear roads, or grab some standing dead timber for the fire.

The air smells sweet – sharp clean snow marked with the fragrance of cold pine, fir, hemlock oils, and morning chimney smoke. Trees hold fluffy handfuls of snow. On the days of deepest snow drifts, the youngest trees are bent completely to the ground and hidden under heavy white blankets which reach up the trunks of larger trees and fold the whole winter world in around you.

Wander the woods of a winter past (to be posted throughout the day today):

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 1

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 2

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 3

In Praise of Winter: Snowy Evergreen Sunrises Part 4

________________________________

--> Click here to learn how to participate in The Festival of the Trees

Festival of the Trees 44 Now Online at Treeblog

2010-02-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

The Festival of the Trees 44 is now up at treeblog, compliments of our UK host Ash. He’s discovered new paths for us to explore and provides a personal tour through the woods! Try not to get lost.... you may want to pack a pocketful of breadcrumbs!

Our next hosts for Festival 45 will be Jeremy and Heather at The Voltage Gate.

To participate:

1) Blog about trees
2) Email a link to: thevoltagegate[at]gmail[dot]com
3) Wait for March 1st to read, share, and enjoy!

Would you like to host The Festival of the Trees? We are always seeking volunteers for future Festivals. Visit The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog to learn how to submit, volunteer, and help us spread the word.

Looking for more plant carnival fun? Berry-Go-Round Issue #24 is now online at The Phytophactor. Now your only real dilemma is: where do you start?

Have fun!

Festival of the Trees Interview at The Nature Blog Network

2010-01-25T02:16:00.000-08:00

Stop by The Nature Blog Network for an interview discussing The Festival of the Trees blog carnival with Pablo, Dave Bonta, and me. Learn about how The Festival of the Trees got its start, and how you can participate in future issues.

Many thanks to our interviewer Wren and the rest of the team at The Nature Blog Network for inviting us to share our passion, and for helping to share the community of nature bloggers with the world wide web.

To read past issues, volunteer to host, and learn more about The Festival of the Trees, we invite you to visit The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

Learn more about Wren's work at her blog Wrenaissance Reflections.

Waking Up with the Trees at Goleta Beach

2010-01-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

In 2008 I spent several months in Santa Barbara, California during which time I made new friends, discovered new flora, and learned what it’s like to live within walking distance of a warm, sandy beach.

I’m a forest-dweller at heart, so learning to live among the Santa Barbarians took a little getting used to. To find balance I sought out the Manzanita (Arctostaphylos), the Guava (Acca sellowiana), the Fig (Ficus macrophylla), the Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globules), and of course, the ever-present Palm (Arecales). Unfortunately I didn’t grab enough pictures of the Oak trees (Quercus), Pepper trees (Schinus molle) , Sweet gum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua), Citrus, and countless other species planted in the area, to say nothing of the ever-popular succulents and other flora which would never survive outdoors at my northern latitude in Kitsap County, Washington.

Most palms are not native to southern California (which is true of many plants now growing in SoCal), but I don’t discriminate. Every morning during my stay I trucked myself up to Goleta Beach Park to enjoy the friendly waves of palms, the familiar tinkle-knocking of the wind sculpture, and the warm-cold water and squishy sand on my bare feet (and usually well up my legs). Fortunately, clothes dry fast in a place like Santa Barbara. If you arrive early enough, the only people you’ll see are the usual van-campers (I’m sure the locals have a name for these guys), the ever-present surfers, and a handful of early morning beach-watchers and beach-walkers.

The trees of Goleta Beach Park include plenty of palms, eucalyptus, and a handful of evergreens which I never did identify. I believe the tall, skinny palms shown here, so familiar in Santa Barbara, are Mexican Fan Palms (Washingtonia robusta). If you spend any time in Santa Barbara, you’ll acquaint yourself with the Santa Anas – warm, dry winds which sweep across the region in the autumn and winter. They give voice to the eucalyptus and palms, and the interspersed deciduous trees which actually manage to remember to turn color and drop their leaves for the season.

In addition to the calm waters of Goleta Beach (Santa Barbara enjoys relatively calm beaches thanks to the Santa Barbara Chanel Islands, which alas I have yet to visit), there is also a small slough which is inhabited by numerous birds. Perhaps the strangest and most unexpected thing I learned about Goleta Beach during my stay was that it is a “managed” beach.

Apparently there is a seasonal cycle whereby sand is dragged out with the ocean, the beach shrinks, and then a bulldozer comes to redistribute sand and smooth out the beach for all the touristas. (Just to be clear -- I don’t pretend to fully understand the causes, impacts, and potential benefits or harms that surround these approaches to the erosion of Goleta Beach.)

I’ll say this on behalf of “managed” beaches – they’re fun to walk on, and perhaps that’s the point. I wouldn’t trade a hundred Goleta Beaches for the rocky, windy, salt-splashed beaches of Washington State, but I did enjoy every waking-up moment that I shared with those quiet Santa Barbara waters, and the dolphins that swim in them.

It’s Never Too Early for a Forest Sunrise

2010-01-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

If you’re feeling blue, perhaps you just need a little more indigo.

I love the cold, dark days of the autumn and winter seasons. But if you’re feeling sunshine-starved I encourage you to wake up extra early and watch the sunrise before you do anything else with your day.

We're just past the recent New Moon, but Full Moons are especially fortuitous times for sunrise-gazing. Remember this full moon sunrise in Philadelphia?

Festival of the Trees 43 Now Online at Xenogere

2010-01-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

Welcome the New Year with a stroll through the Celebration Tree Grove!

The Festival of the Trees 43: The Celebration Tree Grove is now online at Xenogere, courtesy of our January 2010 host Jason Hogle.

Forests are made for wandering! Take plenty of time to explore Jason's delicious collection of links to tree blog posts, photos, and more.

The Festival of the Trees 44 will be hosted once again by Ash at the treeblog on February 1, 2010.

To participate:

1) Blog about trees

2) Email a link to: mail[at]treeblog[dot]co[dot]uk

3) Wait for February 1st to read, share, and enjoy!

Would you like to host The Festival of the Trees? We are always seeking volunteers for future Festivals. Visit The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog to learn how to submit, volunteer, and help us spread the word.

Best wishes to us all for a green 2010!

A Christmas Tree Story for Tu B’Shevat

2009-12-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

In celebration of this month's Winter Solstice and tomorrow's Full Moon, and in honor of Tu B’Shevat (the New Year for Trees) and the 43rd issue of The Festival of the Trees, I’d like to share this year’s Christmas tree from my home.

Many of you know that most years I like to plant a tree for the winter solstice. This year I cut a small Western White Pine tree (Pinus monticola) to bring inside for our holiday festivities. Our White pine Christmas tree comes with a little story:

This little pine probably sprouted about 12-15 years ago. It was just one among a sea of tiny Western hemlock, Douglas fir, Red alder, Black cottonwood, and assorted wild willow trees. I estimate 12-15 years, because that’s about the time that the land would have been cleared on this property before the house was put in.

The particular spot where our White pine grew happened to be situated right above the septic system and drainage field. Consequently, we have carefully removed hundreds of saplings over the years, usually when they were barely knee-high. We relocated as many trees as possible, but unfortunately some have been sacrificed for the health of our home’s septic system. (As a side note, I’m having great fun learning about Humanure! It WILL be done, oh yes.)

So how did this one White pine remain? I can’t say that I’m entirely sure, but I do know this: around here, the forest knows how to hide things. One day you’re holding your favorite pair of rose-colored sunglasses, they slide carelessly off your nose as you bend down to inspect a lichen, and zzzhoooop! they're gone.

It’s because of the forest’s ability to hide things that I’ll presume this particular White pine chose to remain unnoticed until this year in its full five-meter-high glory. We realized it had grown too big to safely dig around the roots for removal (without potentially damaging a pipe). We decided to honor the tree in the best way the winter would allow.

I used my little bow saw to cut down our tree, and we set it in the front room where it now looks out on the cold ground where it once grew. I’ve never had a White pine for a Christmas tree, but I tell you it’s beautiful – the long needles give it great character, and the big gaps between branches make it easy to see all the ornaments. This tree even came pre-adorned with two great pine cones at the top. The star at the top was made from a shiny paper gift bag given to me by my sister many years ago. Her birthday is tomorrow – HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!

Join me in ringing in the New Year as we raise a toast to all the trees we love! I encourage you to celebrate the New Year with the planting of a new tree. Make a wish, set a goal, crack a joke, say a prayer, or do a silly little dance… then put a tree in the earth, and nurture accordingly.

Feature Interview: Ben Cohoon of The Arbor Day Foundation

2009-12-30T06:35:00.000-08:00

As a follow up to our Book Review of What Tree Is That? by the Arbor Day Foundation, I have invited Ben Cohoon, Manager of the What Tree Is That? project, to join us for a brief interview.

JB: Greetings and thank you for joining us for an interview at Arboreality! I just published a review of your latest book, What Tree Is That? Could you tell us what motivated the Arbor Day Foundation to publish this book?

BC: We were motivated by our members. Our members sincerely love trees but many of them were having a difficult time identifying individual trees. We decided that creating a simple to use, step-by-step guide was the best method to help them discover more about trees.

JB: I believe that it is important for people to be able to identify common plants and animals where they live. What benefits does the Arbor Day Foundation hope to provide by helping people learn tree identification?

BC: Our mission is to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees and having people identify and understand trees helps them to appreciate trees even more and potentially helps them maintain trees. An additional benefit that the book provides is the potentially invasive species guide, this section allows individuals to determine if a tree that is growing is invasive. If it is determined that a tree is not in the right place, then the individual should consider trying to remove it.

JB: What suggestions would you give to parents /educators who would like to teach tree identification to kids?

BC: Play a game. Choose a few trees that you can easily identify and then allow the kids to try to figure out the answer. Everyone loves a mystery and if you can do it outside it’s a win for everyone.

JB: Apart from just getting out into the woods, what are some other ways that the Arbor Day encourages people to get excited about trees?

BC: Planting trees is always a great way to appreciate trees. But if you stop to think about all the benefits that trees provide us from food, clean air, clean water… it is hard not to get excited about trees. This video is my favorite.

JB: What advice would you give to people who get comfortable with What Tree Is That? and want to learn more about trees, or get more involved with conservation efforts?

BC: Arborday.org has a lot of great information on it otherwise many local communities have great non-profit tree planting groups where you could get involved in planting trees in your community. Visit http://www.act.org/ for list of non-profit tree planting groups. The next serious step once you become comfortable with What Tree is That? is to consider becoming a licensed Arborist.

JB: Ben, we thank you again for joining us, and we thank the Arbor Day Foundation for its tireless efforts in support of healthy trees and forests.

We wish to extend special thanks to the Greenleaf Book Group for making this interview possible.

____________________

Ben Cohoon is a Business Ventures Analyst and the Manager of the What Tree Is That? project. Ben has worked at the Arbor Day Foundation for nearly five years and has helped launch or create a number of mission-related projects, programs, or businesses. What Tree Is That? has been one Ben's favorite projects because the book is such a great introduction to the Foundation, it's easy to use, and it really works. Currently along with What Tree Is That? Ben Cohoon is working on Tree Store, Arbor Day Coffee and Hazelnut Consortium

Book Review: What Tree Is That? By The Arbor Day Foundation

2009-12-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

What Tree Is That?: A guide to the more common trees found in North America

By The Arbor Day Foundation

The book for today’s review was provided by: GreenLeaf Book Group LLC

Have you ever visited a new place to find that the trees seem to be one nameless sea of green? One of my favorite aspects of travel to any place is the opportunity to see new flora. The Arbor Day Foundation’s latest book What Tree Is That? has just joined the ranks of handy references which I tote along for quick identification during travel.

What Tree Is That? works like a decision tree. The user navigates the book from the general to the specific, starting with location (region) and ending with botanical details like leaf size and shape.

On the big treasure map of tree identification books, What Tree Is That? would be the big red X marked “Start.” There is nothing intimidating about this guide: it fits comfortably in the hand with a durable plastic cover which features key tools like a glossary and a ruler.

Everything about this book lends itself to use with kids, in classrooms, and in everyday excursions to parks and gardens. There is no unapproachable terminology – every botanical word is clearly explained in the glossary. This makes What Tree Is That? effective not only in teaching about trees, but in helping users to learn about the process of tree identification, and the physiology of trees and plants.

What Tree Is That? is inviting. Users are welcomed to the book with a short note from Arbor Day CEO John Rosenow, addressed “Dear Friend”. Novices and experts alike can pick up this book and use it immediately. While this book does not pretend to be a comprehensive identification manual, it does provide the user with a great introduction to common trees of North America.

So why is it important to be able to identify common trees? Just as museums afford us a glimpse at our human history, trees and forests can teach us about our natural history.

I started by flipping ahead past the key and went straight to the mulberry trees. Remember when I was in Pennsylvania, trying to distinguish the black, white, red, and paper mulberries (only to find that they may even be wild hybrids)? This is one of the first books to help clear the air and distinguish each variety in clear, simple terms.

All pictures are hand-drawn which gives the book an attractive, consistent quality. Images reflect the main parts used for identification in this book: leaves, needles, fruits, flowers, and cones. The leaf shapes, qualities, and growth patterns are clearly explained to help those new to tree identification learn what to look for as they observe new species.

While traveling through Oregon in November, I tested out What Tree Is That? to see if it could pinpoint the giant pines growing in the Siskiyou Mountains. Let me walk you through the result:

START: I’m located West of the Rockies --> Go To 68A

68A: This tree bears cones with needle-like leaves (Conifers) --> Go To 69D

69D: Needles are arranged in clusters, tree is evergreen (Pines) --> Go To 70A

70A: Needles are clustered, cones thick and prickly --> Go To 70B

70B: Needles more than 2” long --> Go To 72A

72A: Needles 4-7” long, cones prickly --> 73A Ponderosa Pine (Pinus Ponderosa)

It took me about a minute to walk through these questions and find the tree. Each question discusses a key distinguishing feature allowing only a YES or NO response. This cuts down on confusion and makes it easier for those new to tree identification to get the right answer the first time.

When all trees appear as a nameless sea of green, it may be difficult to recognize the amazing and intricate natural processes which are an ever-present (however unnoticed) part of our lives. Easy-to-use books like What Tree Is That? can help us learn to look carefully, and observe. And once we begin looking and discovering what we once passed by unnoticed, we find ourselves looking for the next resource, asking the next question, and looking for the next tree.

A Break in the Storm

2009-11-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

Black Cottonwood in Autumn Gold

2009-11-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

It’s taken me a few years to identify the Black cottonwood tree (Populus balsamifera spp. trichocarpa), also known as the Balsam poplar or Tacamahacca.

Shown here in its autumn glory of brilliant yellow, the Black cottonwood bears dark, green, glossy leaves in summer. I first began to notice these trees as small saplings with large, sticky buds. They seemed to disappear among the alders and evergreens in the summer, but in the winter and spring they stick out as strange, naked twigs... with big buds.

It wasn’t until the emergent individuals in our yard grew tall (7-8 meters among our tallest) and strong (on the fruits of the septic tank drain field) when I realized they might be related to poplars. Why? Because the leaves have a wonderful back-and-forth flutter in the wind, much like an aspen. They're especially audible with a nice summer breeze.

Poplar, aspen, cottonwood, and willow trees are all classified in the willow family, Salicaceae. My real breakthrough in identifying this tree came not from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees (whose many varieties daunted me) but from my newest book: Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

Not only does this book cover hundreds of plants which I recognize by sight and smell, but it also includes detailed descriptions for each plant beyond physiology and identification. According to Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, the gum, leaves, inner bark, and other parts of the Black cottonwood tree have traditionally been used in food, medicine and craft by many Native American people from this region.

I purchased Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast when I was buying the Washington and Oregon Recreational Pass including the America the Beautiful: National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass. I stocked up on these critical tools for my November West Coast road trip, for which I will be departing shortly. Stay tuned for tree blogging from Washington, Oregon, and California.

Festival of the Trees Returns to Via Negativa

2009-11-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to share that I have been invited to join Paul and Dave as a coordinator for The Festival of the Trees.

Most of you know how much I love this project, and I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute even more - all for the love of trees.

This month we return to Via Negativa where Festival of the Trees co-founder Dave Bonta will once again host your blog posts, podcasts, vlogs, photographs, and other tree-and-forest-related creations.

Here are a few words from Dave to help inspire you:

You remember the Once-ler, right? The bummed-out old narrator in Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, who gives the boy the last remaining truffula-tree seed at the end of the book? I’ve been feeling a lot like that lately. Probably many of us do, watching the world’s forests burn or succumb en masse to new insect pests, new diseases, and stronger and more frequent storms. Will the kids “care a whole awful lot”? Will they care at all?
The next edition of The Festival of the Trees will return to my blog Via Negativa for the fourth time, and while I’m not suggesting themed submissions — all tree-related blog posts are welcome — I do expect that my gloomy, yet still desperately hopeful outlook on the future of trees and forests will color my presentation. A lot of forest activists like to cast themselves as the Lorax: “I speak for the trees!” But I’ve never presumed to do that myself. For one thing, the trees are quite capable of speaking for themselves, if we were only inclined to listen. And also, like the Once-ler, I have no illusions about my own culpability in the desperate state of the global environment.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

You don't have to be a nature blogger to participate in The Festival of the Trees. Create a story, poem, article, photograph, or any other tree creation, post it online, and send us the link. It's that simple!

You can also send us links of other tree-related goodies that you find online. It doesn't have to be your own.

Email links to: bontasaurus [at] yahoo [dot] com – or use the Contact form.

Deadline: November 29, 2009

Important! Put “Festival of the Trees” in the subject line of your email.

Have fun!

Forest Song

2009-10-28T14:19:00.001-07:00

Forest Song

Lean back easy to the soil
let your elbows root
watch the clouds go by
for a few weeks.

Curl, wrap around a stump
reach your fingers to the sky
when it rains you can
open your eyes.

Stay, wait until it’s cold,
blossom underneath the waning
moonlight, where the
hemlocks come to sing.

Here, deep inside the night
listen for the creek
in the Earth where the
memories fit together.

* * *

Copyright © 2009 Jade Leone Blackwater
www.jadeleoneblackwater.com

Autumn Sunset Greetings

2009-10-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hidden Among the Trees – The Festival of the Trees 39

2009-09-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Hidden Among the Trees, the 39th issue of The Festival of the Trees blog carnival. The Festival of the Trees is a periodic revelation of our findings and imaginings from trees, forests, gardens, backyards, orchards, and oases located in different parts of the world. Our purposes are connection, celebration, a sharing of knowledge.

This month I have invited people to seek out what is hidden (or lurking) among the trees, and share a glimpse of a secret with us. By inviting others to reveal a secret, a discovery, or a dream, it is my hope that we can illuminate hidden (or perhaps, merely forgotten) connections between each other and our world.

Discovering Solutions: Environmental Problem Solving

At the new blog An Exploration of Environment & Spirituality, Antioch University Seattle graduate student Laura is “delving deeper into the connection between humans and nature.” Her introductory post tells us:

“The basis of my inquiry is my understanding that traditional cultures, in general, understood that humans are part of nature, and that, as we know from the scientific field of ecology, all life is connected in an intricate web of interdependence.”

Like Laura, I believe that our perceived separateness from the rest of the world is a source of our current environmental woes. By seeing ourselves as connected not just with each other, but with all of the Earth’s systems, we position ourselves to problem solve from the new perspective of “part of” rather than “separate from.”

Keeping Secrets: Forested Mysteries

One of my first discoveries this month arrived via Pacific Northwest hiker and photographer Stacy Marie Davis. In May 2009 Davis discovered “Dirty Harry’s Truck,” a rusting ‘museum’ in the forests of the Cascades, which she announces online with an emphatic “Suck it Dirty Harry!” in the NWHikers.net discussion forums. As Davis explains, “To find it, you must earn it.” There is no clear trail to this abandoned remnant of escapades past. Davis’ Dirty Harry's Trail photoset on Flickr shares a glimpse of her findings, but clearly we aren’t getting the full picture. If we want to see it for ourselves, we would have to strap on the boots and start walking.

Among many explorers an unending debate grumbles as to whether secret places such as these should be kept hidden, or shared with others. My internet search for more of Dirty Harry’s Truck took me to the blog KarensTrails, and her post The Power of Secret Places. In this post, Karen Sykes carefully explores the sometimes heated argument about whether or not to share secret places. As an example she tells us about hidden lakes, cherished by the pilgrims who use their will, fortitude, and love of the forest to find these mystical waters.

Bloggers everywhere are partaking in this argument whether we consider it, or not. Each day we reveal online for the unnamed audiences of ephemeral internet archives what might normally stay hidden: our journals. Poet G. C. Waldrep tells us in Apologia Pro Vita Tua: “ […] In the best paintings some key figure is always missing. This is the magic behind both Vermeer and Delacroix. / In the forest, the key figure is never missing, only hiding. […]” Which invites us to consider: what secrets do we selectively keep to ourselves when we share our discoveries online? What stays hidden, left to the imagination?

NimrodCooper presents us with just such a scenario in “It escalated into a melancholy murder.” Here, with photo and few words, the artist shares the last days of the Shaker Tree. When you gaze at this picture, I invite you to alight on the memorial stone of the Watervliet Shaker Community, take a look around, and consider what you see. Are we the fools?

Sharing Secrets: A bird in the hand…

… is worth two in the bush. Or so the saying goes. The idea as I understand it is that it’s preferable to have some advantage, rather than mere possibilities of potential advantage. Perhaps more clearly stated: don’t be greedy when you can be thankful for what you’ve got.

For those among us who are willing to share, the “bird in the hand” is in fact something which can be released – a treasure to be set free for someone else to admire. This is the spirit of Ester Wilson’s blog Daily Drawings, where she reveals moments of her ever-evolving artistic portfolio. Included among her recent drawings is Stone Mountain Graveyard, a sketch of a tree which she states she drew while sitting in a graveyard.

If you’ve ever sat in a graveyard to reflect, or to speak to someone who has passed, you can identify how this small glimpse is so revealing. When I visit a graveyard, trees are often the way-markers to finding the people whose memorials I seek. Sometimes, those trees are the only breathing audience to what I need to say. Lubna Kably of The Writer’s Cyberslate knows this too, which is why she chooses to share her post, Remember Your Roots. Herein, Kably reveals two distinct moments of wisdom: first, the power of sharing a secret with a tree, and second, the need to emulate a tree as we grow and change throughout our lifetimes, as she states simply: “Always strive to stand tall, but remember your roots.”

Author Aimée Laine remembers her roots clearly in creating her short creative nonfiction piece Nature Girls. I was (ok, I AM) one of those girls running barefooted into the unknown. Laine artfully articulates the mystery, anticipation, and discovery to which the forest lends itself, complete with tree-bridge photo, inviting you to cross into another world.

Speaking of tree bridges, I am so thankful for this hidden treasure revealed at the Damn Cool Pics blog. In The Living Bridges post we are taken to Cherrapunji, India, where they grow bridges from the Ficus elastic tree:

“The War-Khasis, a local tribe, noticed this plant and realized its potential. Using hollowed-out betel nut trunks, the tribesmen are able to direct the roots in whatever way they like. When the roots grow all the way across a river, they are allowed to return to the soil, and over time, a strong bridge is formed. It takes up to 10-15 years for a root bridge to develop, but it becomes stronger with each passing year and are known to last for centuries.”

As if the pictures and descriptions aren’t cool enough, the ladies of the Travel and… Action! blog escort us across one of these bridges for a unique video-peek at a living root bridge. You can visit their blog to see yet another amazing bridge, this one a suspended length of bamboo in Arunachal Pradesh. (Bamboo isn’t a tree proper, but it grows a lot like one!)

Meanwhile at Walking Prescott of Prescott, Arizona, Granny J shares with us a glimpse of fortitude revealed in the gritty trees of the rocky ridgelines. As you gaze at these Herculean evergreens, it’s easy to lose yourself in the silence. What do these trees see and experience up there on the rock about which we can only dream?

Lost and Found: Memories, Discoveries, and Tree-Secrets

The trees which grow in our communities and local woodlands can have significant, personal impacts on our lives. In August 2009 a powerful, passing storm felled over 200 trees and destroyed hundreds more in Central Park of New York City. At The American Friend blog, native New Yorker Druidhead shares a personal glimpse at the trees she knew, the sanctuary they provided, the personal history she shared with them, and the memories she keeps of their branching shade.

Trees don’t just keep our whispered secrets, but they also hold secrets of their own. Using fossil records of ancient trees and contemporary records of modern forests, paleoclimatologists and paleobotanists consider correlations between dominant leaf morphology (e.g. shape, size, and margins like toothed, lobed, or entire/smooth) and climate patterns in different world regions. In dendroclimatological studies, scientists consider correlations of tree ring growth to climatological, ecological, and geological history. Jeff Id of The Air Vent blog muses in An Ode to the Great Thermometer Tree on the virtues of paleodendric secrets yet to be revealed.

Meteorological studies on the formation of clouds are important for current studies in climate change. At the Ozark Highlands of Missouri blog Allison Vaughn shares a press release on cloud seeding based on the research of Henrik Kjærgaard of the University of Copenhagen which reveals newly-discovered connections between the chemicals released by certain trees which, when concentrated over healthy forests, contribute to the formation of clouds. According to Kjærgaard, a better understanding of the processes that affect cloud formation is critical to the development of meaningful climate models.

At Machines Like Us, the editors are discussing current research on the colors of autumn leaves conducted on behalf of scientists Simcha Lev-Yadun of the University of Haifa-Oranim and Jarmo Holopainen of the University of Kuopio. Lev-Yadun and Holopainen look back 35 million years to theorize about the differences in yellows and reds of autumn leaf coloring as it relates to the shared evolutionary history among of insects, plants, and seasons.

At Osage + Orange, Dave Coulter provides The Local Report: A Hawthorne in Decline from the Des Plaines River in Illinois. Coulter’s post reminds us to engage in the simple act of looking and watching as we travel our daily paths – be they urban or rural – and make connections.

Denny Lyon at Beautiful Illustrated Quotations elongates the experience of observation through a collected series of tree photography and poetry in People Trees. Stroll through the imagery until you find something familiar – something which resonates, and then stop for a while and just look at what’s there in the photo.

Arati at Trees, Plants, and More muses on the Tropical Tree Tales of old squabbles between people and trees. And in case you were doubting the connections between people and trees, hop over to Jill and Ted’s Tree-mendous Adventure to see the secret truth revealed in response to the old question, Where do people come from?

Dave Bonta of Via Negativa is Listening for the Saw-Whet. And as further confirmation of the people-come-from-trees-theory, we see someone emerging from A Hollow Hemlock. Still my favorite discovery at Via Negativa this month is the lunar moth, a gorgeous member of the mystical Saturniiae; its hugeness and iridescence remind me of forest walks I took in Belize when I first saw the Blue Morpho butterflies.

Here at Arboreality, I wasn’t sure what secret I would share for this Festival. It was the forest which decided for me. In August I discovered my newest neighbors, the Secretive Summer Residents: Bald-Faced Hornets in the Backyard. These busy insects are hidden in the branches just a few meters from my home, and I can watch them work from a safe distance.

Amber Coakley at the Birder’s Lounge blog shares a discovery which (unlike wasps) you can safely touch, taste, and smell: the Texas Persimmon Tree. It’s not just people who like this fruit, but birds as well.

At Rock Paper Lizard Hugh is also paying careful attention to the local birds, and the fruits they love. Hugh shows us The Young and the Handsome Cedar waxwings, and discovers an attentive Mother bird, a White-crowned sparrow, whose nest has been usurped by the Brown-headed cowbird. Among the neighborhood trees of Vancouver, British Columbia, Hugh reports that Frugivores are Happy.

Not a Secret: Human-Forest Connections Revealed

Discussions regarding human relationships with the Earth's systems (such as forest conservation, habitat destruction, ecological restoration, and climate change) are raised by scientists, politicians, environmentalists, and concerned citizens on all sides of the issues. These topics can remain (or become) “hidden” when they are not discussed, shared, and understood.

In South Wales Jennifer Marohasy believes that Red Gum Forests Need Water and Thinning: Not Bob Carr, while India and Pakistan seem to be neck-and-neck competing for the common goal of a Guinness World Record for tree-planting.

In an attempt to resolve the ongoing human-elephant conflicts, members of the Green Valley Forest and Wildlife Protection Society are supporting efforts to plant trees along the Indo-Bhutan border. The goal is to help reestablish important elephant corridors in order to mitigate their need to search for food in human settlements.

Audrey Rabalais at College Green Magazine reports on current efforts to restore the American chestnut tree in southeastern Ohio.

“At one time, the American chestnut made up roughly 25 percent of trees in the forests of the eastern United States and about 5 percent of Ohio’s forests. In 1904 the fungus Diaporthe parasitica was accidentally introduced to the Bronx Zoo in New York City through chestnut lumber imported from China. The parasitic fungus caused sores to develop in American chestnut trees, killing them slowly. By the early 1940s, the American chestnut was nearly extinct.”

The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) and the American Chestnut Foundation (ACF) support the planting of American chestnut throughout the region. As a fast-growing hardwood, it is believed that American chestnuts are an especially good choice for reforestation efforts, such as those planned for reclaimed mining locations.

LookAtVietnam discusses the need to support healthy growth in the region’s mangrove forests. Mangroves are slow-growing coastal trees which provide habitat for numerous creatures of air, land, and sea while simultaneously protecting coastlines from erosion.

In Malaysia, the Indigenous Peoples Organizations are speaking out for a moratorium on monoculture plantations. Chris Lang reports at PULP, Inc. that on August 9, 2009, the UN-declared international holiday of World Indigenous Peoples Day, the indigenous Malaysians submitted a statement to their governments which includes the following:

“ […] Over the past decades, our indigenous communities have faced a turbulent survival as a result of our forest being continuously exploited by the timber companies. Logging have destroyed our fundamental existence to livelihood, the plant varieties including medicinal plants, animals and fish have either become threatened or extinct. The bulldozed forests cannot be planted with crops as the soil is compacted and disturbed; crop harvests are reduced and rivers on which the people depend on for water becomes polluted. Forest produce becomes scarce and threatens the survival of the people who have depended on it for hundreds of years. […] ”

I would submit that while this problem is felt most acutely by the indigenous peoples of the world, that it is relevant for all humans. For those of us living in urban or semi-urban settings, the impacts of environmental destruction by humans may not be as immediate or as visible. This does not make the issues less relevant. The impacts of forest destruction do not pause at political boundaries, societal classes, or religious affiliations. It is critical that we consider the wisdom of the indigenous peoples who can tell us first-hand, “Hey everybody, this isn’t working!”

From suburban America, Lucille Clifton drives this message home during a 1990 poetry reading of her piece The Killing of the Trees posted at Moving Poems. Watch, listen, and consider: collected in this blog carnival are a mere handful of articles, essays, stories, images, and thoughts which reflect the deep connections shared among humans and the Earth’s systems. How much more evidence do we collectively need to examine before the health of our environments becomes personally relevant for all of us?

If you would like to continue the discussion of the human-forest connection, I invite you to visit Laura’s blog mentioned at the beginning of this month’s Festival of the Trees. Among her early posts Laura shares a glimpse into a discussion she facilitated this summer among pagans in the Seattle area. Some participants mention the struggle to connect with “nature” while living in an urban setting. Laura’s approach to this issue is to find avenues by which the separateness of “nature” can be dissolved to reveal the connectedness of life on Earth.

Regardless of where you live, or what system by which you form your beliefs about the world, each of us has something to share in both thought and action to cultivate a healthy relationship between people and planet. We are all housed under the same sky, wash ourselves with the same water, breathe the same molecules of life-giving oxygen, sustain ourselves with the fruits and roots of the worlds’ plants. The natural world is not out of reach: it is everywhere, it is in us, it is of us. This isn’t a secret; share it with the world!

* * *

Acknowledgments

Thank you for joining us this month for the 39th issue of The Festival of the Trees. Special thanks to all our contributors, and to Dave Bonta for his many submissions of found treasures in the arborblogging world.

Thanks to D. L. Ennis of Visual Thoughts Photography (http://dlennis.wordpress.com) for the use of his photo Wise Old Owl, Copyright © 2009 D. L. Ennis. Visit Visual Thoughts for more of D. L. Ennis' colorful perspective of the green, growing world.

All other photos in this issue by Jade Leone Blackwater, Copyright © 2009 Jade Leone Blackwater.

Dinosaur photos taken in October 2008 at the Prehistoric Gardens located off of Highway 101 in Oregon State.

Upcoming Issue of The Festival of the Trees

For the 40th issue of The Festival of the Trees we return to Local Ecologist with Georgia, who asks us to submit entries on the theme of “Benefits of trees to people, wildlife, and the environment in general.”

Deadline for submissions to The Festival of the Trees 40 is Saturday, September 26, 2009. Send tree-related blog posts, images, video, and other online discoveries to: info[at]localecology[dot]org .

Ready to host The Festival of the Trees at your blog? We are seeking volunteers for upcoming Festivals. To learn more, visit The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

Secretive Summer Residents: Bald-Faced Hornets in the Backyard

2009-08-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

Last week, the setting sun illuminated secretive tenants hidden among the trees of my backyard. I was sitting with the sun behind me, watching the dusk clouds in the east. That’s when I suddenly noticed a large, pendulous, white football suspended in the branches of the young hemlocks growing among the garden beds.

Apparently, even though I walk around (and occasionally crawl under and through) these very trees, I never noticed my quiet new neighbors who crafted a summerhome above the dog trail to the water-bucket. I’m guessing they’ve been working there since Spring, and I suspect that the tipping point of their decision to set up shop was the hot weather, which heralded the arrival of a kiddie pool.

My new friends are the Bald-faced hornets (Dolichovespula maculata), closely related to the yellow-jacket wasps. Bald-faced hornets are impressive, and intimidating (hence why I don't have a close-up shot of an individual to share). I’ve seen them playing in the mud around the kiddie pool, and they share space with the local wild bumblebees and honeybees on the sunflowers and other blossoms.

I’ve noticed that they like the yellow ragwort (genus Senecio), the delicate Queen Anne’s lace (wild carrot, Daucus carota), and another white wild flower whose name I don’t know yet, but I encourage in the gardens (if you know its identity, please tell us in the comments).

Bald-faced hornets are amazing to watch at work: every few seconds someone flies in, and someone flies out. Sentries sit as inconspicuous bumps on the perimeter of the nest. In total, the nest is probably about 40-50 cm long, with at least one opening (visible in these photos).

According to articles I’ve read, the bald-faced hornets will ignore me if I keep my distance and do not disturb the nest - which seems to be their preference considering how long they've gone unnoticed. Now I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to watch them work.

Once the snow sets in this winter, I’m going to carefully cut down the nest so I can examine it up close. According to my research the bald-faced hornets will be finished with their mating cycle in the autumn, and they should leave the nest with plans to build a fresh home next season (so I won't have to feel bad about robbing them of their hard-earned resources in order to satisfy my curiosity).

Secrets Among the Trees: The Festival of the Trees Returns to Arboreality

2009-08-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Festival of the Trees 39 will be hosted here at Arboreality on the theme of Secrets.

But first, the current Festival of the Trees:

The Festival of the Trees 38 comes to us from Chennai, India compliments of Arati at Trees , Plants and more. Highlights for me include a peek at the Eastern Black Walnut (Juglans nigra), so beloved in my former Pennsylvania home, the evergreen Christmas tree farms of North Carolina, and the Jack Fruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus), a tree whose equal I have never seen. And then, there’s the mango tree reputed to be “3500 years old [and] bears fruit of a different taste in each branch.”

Thank you, Arati, for bringing us such arboreal diversity and splendor!

Coming up next:

The Festival of the Trees 39 brings this green blog carnival back to Arboreality.

This month’s theme: Secrets

Forests, farms, gardens, urban trees, and ancient-rock-clinging-wind-whipped Bristlecone pine stands can be an escape, a place to hide, a space to rest, a home for buried treasure. This month, I invite you to reveal a small glimpse of a secret among the trees. Consider the quiet spots you go to sit, the trees which have stood in silent observation of the events of your life, the aromatic memory of the garden from a place you have visited. With word, image, sound, or otherwise inspired creation, give us a peek at what you see, or what you can imagine.

Gather your tree-materials, post online, and send me the link:

trees[at]brainripples[dot]com

Deadline for submissions is August 28, 2009.

Questions, comments, suggestions? Drop me an email.

PS - We're still seeking volunteers to host The Festival of the Trees #40 and beyond! This is a great way to broaden your audience, and of course - have fun in the trees.

To learn more, contact Dave (bontasaurus[at]yahoo[dot]com) and Pablo (editor[at]roundrockjournal[dot]com), and visit the Volunteer to Host page for details.

Sunrise Rhododendron

2009-06-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

TEDxSeattle - Biome: Dancing to Save the Trees with Nalini Nadkarni

2009-05-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

* * *

You all know about my recent work with Dr. Nalini Nadkarni during the creation of her latest book, Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees. We've shared an interview with Nalini Nadkarni here at Arboreality, and we've talked a little about her work with Capacitor; now it is my pleasure to share the following press release:

For Immediate Release / Contact: Jodi Lomask
jodi [at] capacitor [dot] org
photos: http://www.capacitor.org/press/biome/

* * *

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading,
the TED conference has joined forces with Capacitor Performance Group for

TEDxSeattle – Biome
"striking theatre…" – The New Yorker

"a creative force." -- The Village Voice, Critic's Choice

"uncanny precision." -- Nature Magazine

From the rainforest of Costa Rica to the Northwest floods of 2009, Capacitor is set to debut 'biome' in Seattle. After the May 30 show, Capacitor will host a special presentation of TEDxSeattle- bringing together today's leading thinkers on conservation to present ideas worth spreading. Exciting talks with be given by Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, lead scientific advisor for the 'biome' project and Jodi Lomask, Capacitor’s Artistic Director along with Seward Park Audubon Center, The Nature Conservancy, the Pacific Science Center, and others.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Leo K Theater (Seattle Repertory Center)155 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109

*Biome:
An exploration of yearning and desire in the natural world

Fri, May 29, 2009, 8:00pm
Sat, May 30, 2009, 8:00pm

Special presentation of TEDxSeattle after 'biome', May 30, 2009 at 9:30pm, Free

In the world of ‘biome’ everything is interconnected in a cycle of growth providing a portal into our own motivations and impulses. ‘biome’ explores human connections to the natural world while inspiring wonderment about the delicate ecosystems that lie within the heart of our increasingly fragile world. The show was conceived with world renowned ecologists on top 200ft tall Douglas fir trees in Washington State and Giant Strangler Figs deep in the Costa Rica Monteverde Cloud Forest. Special post show event with local and national conservation groups.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75toO6TcOV4&feature=related

Presented by the Audubon Society and Toyota Green and sponsored by
The National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society

ticket prices: $25 presale; $15 students and seniors
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/57559/

* Performance contains some nudity

TEDxSeattle
Lobby reception with wine and light refreshments
Sat, May 30, 2009, 9:30pm- FREE

TEDx is a program of local, self organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and personal connections. The goal of TEDxSeattle is to increase conservation awareness and participation in a fun, interactive setting. Guest speakers will include 2009 TED presenters: the Queen of Canopy research, Dr. Nalini Nadkarni and ‘biome’ Artistic Director, Jodi Lomask. The Seward Park Audubon Center, the Nature Conservancy, the Pacific Science Center, and other environmental groups will provide additional talks, education and outreach activities.

------------------------------------------------------------------

About Capacitor

Capacitor is a performance arts group renowned for collaborating with the scientific community to create mind-expanding, heart-gripping live shows. Jodi Lomask is the Artistic Director and a fearless explorer of science through movement. Jodi was featured in this year's TED conference along side Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert (Author, “Eat, Pray, Love”), Tim Berners-Lee (Inventor, World Wide Web) and others.

Biome premiered in El Salvador in 2007 with sponsorship from the American Embassy, Campos Art Group, Delta Airlines, and Hilton Hotels. The show has tour nationally and internationally. http://www.capacitor.org/

About Dr. Nalini Nadkarni

Dr. Nalini Nadkarni is a Professor of Ecology at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA and the President of the International Canopy Network (ICAN)- devoted to facilitating the continuing interaction of people concerned with forest canopies and forest ecosystems around the world. Nalini was featured in the 2001 Emmy Award winning documentary, National Geographic’s tropical forest canopies, "Heroes of the High Frontier" and the author of “Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees”. A video of “Unveiling the beautiful, fragile world of rainforest treetop ecosystems” is available. http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/476

About TEDx, x=independently organize event

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. The TED conference is an annual event where the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share an idea worth spreading. “TED” stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono. www.TED.com

About TogetherGreen

TogetherGreen will invest in both promising environmental projects and outstanding leaders that can shape a brighter tomorrow. Along with Innovation Grants to be awarded each year, TogetherGreen funds and promotes conservation leadership training and volunteer programs designed to equip and engage diverse groups and individuals to take action today to shape a healthier tomorrow. Information on other grantees, along with opportunities to get involved in conservation efforts, showcase successful initiatives, and honor those who are making a difference, can be found at www.TogetherGreen.org

Of Rain and Bud Burst

2009-05-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

Spring is in full-swing here in the Pacific Northwest, and we have enjoyed many fine days of rain. I thrive on the grey and the wet, and so do the evergreens.

A few days ago, I slipped out to catch a photo of the first dogwood tree which I have found thus far on my property. Everyone around seems to have big, happy dogwoods, and I was beginning to feel left out. These shy, slow-growing jewels hide quietly among their evergreen partners; then emerge with their unique, opalescent grace of big, buttery blossoms.

Meanwhile, I spotted the first emergence of fresh evergreen tips on the tallest Douglas firs, and their shorter companions are not far behind. The rain has every tree swelling; alders are transformed from sticks to thickets; ferns and mosses creep out from the woodwork; wheelbarrow traffic must pause for crossings of salamanders and frogs.

It’s easy to get lost gazing skyward, but the forest floor is rich with new growth: lichens, mosses, and shrubs of all kinds are ready for fruit and flower. Soon, I will be able to share the rhododendrons, salal, and huckleberries. Today, I conclude our images with the soft leaves of the foxglove, and the patient reawakening of the salmonberry.

Flowering and Blossoming Trees Edition: Festival of the Trees 35 Now Online at Orchards Forever

2009-05-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

These days I spend more time in the forest and the garden than I do in my office. Fortunately, many other tree-lovers continue in the fine spirit of arborblogging, as featured each month at The Festival of the Trees.

This May, The Festival of the Trees 35 "Flowering and Blossoming Trees Edition" is hosted once again at Orchards Forever. Honoring the fruits and flowers of Beltane and the return of warm days in the northern hemisphere, our hostess Peg immerses us in the annual celebration of bud burst. She includes an image of a red flowering currant, compliments of the Brambleberries in the Rain blog. Thank you, blogging friends, for sharing one of my dearest, favorite plants in all her finery!

I join the celebration with today’s image of the emerging blossoms on my flowering cherry tree, planted in my garden some eight or nine years ago. All the trees are drinking up today’s luscious spring rain, compliments of the Pacific Northwest.

What’s that? You want MORE tree blogging? You’ve got it: Here are the past few months’ Festivals of the Trees.

Festival of the Trees 32 hosted at treeblog

Festival of the Trees 33 hosted by Local Ecologist

Festival of the Trees 34 hosted by Seabrooke Leckie at The Marvelous in Nature

Remember, submissions and hosts for The Festival of the Trees are always welcome and encouraged. To learn more about The Festival of the Trees, visit the coordinating blog (and sign up for the FOTT newsfeed for email reminders).

Joyous Spring!

Spring Lilacs

2009-04-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Spring is gaining momentum, and there is much to share from the forest. While I sort through my photos, please enjoy this glimpse at the emerging lilac which I planted so many moons ago.

Festival of the Trees 31 Online at Rock Paper Lizard

2009-01-02T01:37:00.000-08:00

Happy 2009!

I am pleased to announce that barring any more massive, unexpected uprooting, I will soon dig back in to blogging at Arboreality, Brainripples, AppleJade, and more from my home in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. (Of course, that all hinges on the availability of a satellite internet connection in the snow.)

But enough about me - I'm still celebrating the departure of 2008. If you're looking for some great arborblogging, hop on over to enjoy a walk through the wintry woods with Hugh at Rock Paper Lizard where we are celebrating the 31st Festival of the Trees.

(And while you're there, take a moment to review the Winter Food Chain, and reflect on the circle of life... and Fig Newtons).

Snow Cones

2008-12-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

Snowy Hemlock Sunrise

2008-12-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

Paths Through the Eucalyptus Trees

2008-11-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

These paths are dominated by eucalyptus trees, but as you can see they are also home to palms and oaks. Future posts will reveal other flora not visible here. Owls, hawks, and countless smaller birds live and rest along this thin strip of forest hugging homes, bikes paths, and roadways. If you get up early while the sky is still dark, you'll hear the owls calling.

Nalini Nadkarni tackles trees and people on NPR Morning Edition

2008-11-12T12:15:00.000-08:00

Visit NPR.org to listen to an interview by Robert Krulwich with author and forest biologist Dr. Nalini Nadkarni:

"Going Out On A Limb With A Tree-Person Ratio"

Krulwich on Science by Robert Krulwich. NPR Morning Edition, November 12, 2008

In her new book

Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees (University of California Press, July 2008), Nalini Nadkarni explores the many subtle and extraordinary ways that people rely on trees for the products they yield, the imagery they invoke, and the ecosystems they support.

It was my distinct pleasure to support Nalini Nadkarni in the creation of this book. You'll hear me chime in with a few words in the middle of this NPR broadcast.

Greeting the Guava Tree

2008-11-10T12:25:00.000-08:00

The arrival of our subtle, southern California autumn was heralded these past few months by the soft percussion of hidden guava fruits raining on the path. This happy, fruitful little guava tree is the first to greet me each morning at the front gate.

The Santa Barbara Independent recently published an informative article about two species of this small, unimposing fruit tree: strawberry guava, and pineapple guava, which grow in gardens around the area. The tree you see here is the pineapple guava variety Acca sellowiana, formerly Feijoa sellowiana.

The Festival of the Trees 28 - Art and Arboreality

2008-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Festival of the Trees 28 – Art and Arboreality.

Thank you to all the contributors for so many delicious, tree-inspired creations!

Art and Arboreality is illustrated thanks to the kind permission of Canadian artist Linda Lovisa, a talented painter and forest-listener whom I discovered via Eric Keast of Broken Vulture Art. As you wander through the Festival, I invite you to take a moment to investigate each window Linda creates into the forest, and let yourself be inspired.

~~~ OF AIR ~~~

I am blessed with this really awesome friend by the name of Ann Vetter-Hansen. Like Linda Lovisa, Ann Vetter-Hansen is also the kind of artist who opens windows into beautiful places:

"Do you feel it?

The glory that is fall approaches! I can practically feel my cells vibrating with glee. I have tentatively located sources for apples, quince and blue grapes locally. (I am going to can quince applesauce that will make tears fall from the eyes of unbelievers) I am itching to eat pears and honeycrisp apples till I'm sick. The fall light is absolutely glorious. I can hardly get any work done. I just want to wander orchards and woods."

Artist Julia Kay of The Daily Portrait Project might well agree, as her enjoyment of the trees seems push her self-portrait far to the margin amid a Tangle of Trees.

Dana Driscoll is almost finished with her Tarot of Trees. The Major Arcana are complete, and she is powering through the Minor Arcana. Take your time to explore these cards – talk about a lot of windows into the world!

Salix Tree of Windywillow spots the portal of the fates in the Spider Webs Everywhere adorning the trees of her garden.

Liz Stablein shares her Trees of Mystery, lovely pines silhouetted against the sky.

Writer Jason Evans of The Clarity of Night offers a pairing of poetry and photography when he’s reminded to Whisper an Old Tune to the telephone poles.

Art helps us to see the world from a new perspective, and trees can afford the same. Writer Ash Krafton shares her tree-inspired piece Boots on a Branch to help us all remember to stay young, and try not to take life too seriously.

Tree-climbing isn’t just for the daring and agile. Julie Dunlap of Pines Above Snow gets to See the Forest From the Trees via the world of the tree canopy at Longwood Gardens thanks to the new tree house exhibit. Visit Forever Young to learn more about tree houses constructed for universal access to all.

emily* of em @ home tells us about Walking On and Listening To the Trees at Kew. The botanical gardens in West London also include a treetop walkway!

If that’s not enough tree-top fun for you, check out the 10 Astonishing Treehouses You’d Love to Live In at International Listings Luxury Real Estate. (Personally, I prefer the minimalist approach, but that doesn’t make these look tree-mansions look any less righteous.)

Wes and Steph Vander Lugt of Integral Mission show us One of the Largest Trees in the World, a glorious cypress located in Santa Maria del Tule outside Oaxaca, Mexico.

~~~ OF EARTH ~~~

Fred First of Fragments from Floyd shares the perspective of a photographer in a Tree Fallen in the Forest during a recent walk. Poignantly, Fred tells us,

“I discovered once more how difficult it is, with the single monopic lens of the camera to capture the sense of forest–of any setting where we carry a camera wanting to say “this is what it is like” and only in the end touch the edges of a place, of a time.”

Green Womyn gives us Deméter in all her harvest glory heralding the arrival of spring in the southern hemisphere, and autumn in the northern hemisphere.

Christine Swint of maría cristina poesía shares her poem Tree Bardo read aloud with images. Her reading helps us to slow down to tree-tempo and smell the dying roses. She also offers an Interview with a Hickory, for those who want to be in the know.

Dave Coulter of osage + orange tells us about Another Sort of Ground Zero as he walks down the literal memory lane of osageorange trees.

It’s not a party without a few raccoons around, so I invited Marvin’s recent Raccoon sighting from Nature in the Ozarks to remind us of who might be watching from the trees as we wander on our morning walks.

Meanwhile, back in the holler, Cady May shows us the Paw Paw Poo Poo in the local woods.

GrrlScientist of Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted) takes us on a tour while Visiting Darwin’s Home, gardens, and experiements.

Kathryn Stripling Byer of Here, Where I Am, drives us through the Trees of her world, and reflects.

You can always count on the Crafty Green Poet Juliet Wilson to ground you in the garden, just as she does for us this month with her poem Orchard, Gorgie Farm.

I haven’t had much time for poetry lately, so I took my own prescription for art and arboreality and wrote about my Love Affair with the Santa Barbara Moreton Bay Fig Tree to share with you for the Festival of the Trees here at Arboreality.

~~~ OF FIRE ~~~

Dave Bonta of Via Negativa offers us a glimpse of The Tree Eaters and other antique machinery, and then steps back to consider the bigger picture. For more lumber machinery fun, try a visit to Forks, Washington.

Marco Flavio Marinucci invokes the lightning with his art series Rootless, perhaps to help us focus on the small, unbound moments in life.

Meanwhile, A. Decker of Resonant Enigma pauses for Meditation No Method – Neti Neti. I think Decker’s on to something… let his immersion inspire you too.

Michelle Johnson of Poefusion shares her poem An Oak Tree. Thank you, Michelle, for teaching me the word “monadnock”!

Dan of Exploring the World’s Tree Species discovered fine selections of Tree Art (by trees) to inspire us.

Jarrett Walker, Creature of the Shade, is Confronting Vegetation: Araucaria muelleri. Talk about an Extreme Tree Encounter!

John Lincoln of Art-Insight shares his Crimsoned Memories among the trees. This is just one piece that is part of his enormous gallery located at Artbreak which is filled with glowing forest imagery.

Lye Tuck-Po of Anthropological Notebook gives us an Elegy for an Old Campsite in Malaysia, describing her view from both above and below the forest canopy while learning about the Batek people. She tells us,

“I envied my Batek friends’ confident ability to find their way in the forest, only to be reassured that they, too, have moments of lostness and disorientation. They have to keep their hearts focused on the route, they said, distractions are a-plenty in the forest.”

As Lye Tuck-Po learns about the Batek and their language she discovers that, “they too see and appreciate and find ineffable the possibilities of poetry in their world.”

While we are on the subject of elegies, The Star reports that Buddhist monks in Assam, India conducted a unique funeral ritual for a fallen banyan tree and the storks it took with it. Banyan trees are one of many sacred trees used to symbolize life and the connections between heaven and earth. According to this report,

"The villagers, most of them farmers, considered the banyan tree sacred and believed that the storks were their guardian angels."

~~~ OF WATER ~~~

Chris Crowley shares a spectacular Tree Dance in the Rain. She tells us,

“I've photographed [this tree] many times, and each time there is a new facet of its beauty which comes across.”

Artist Ester Wilson of Daily Drawings shares an Oregon Film Strip which provides a snapshot of the beautiful trees of this region.

Hans Vaupel gives us a glorious Reflection with Pond and Trees as an offering of autumn color.

Since I’m trading ocean for autumn this year, I was especially intrigued by Nina’s discovery of “beach trees” in the sand shared at her blog Nature Remains. Nina takes us on a tour Inside the Hoh Rain Forest, and lets her inner poet do the talking.

Colleen Redman of Loose Leaf Notes muses with her poem The Sunbather, and shares several encounters with the alien-like growth on the forest floor with Fungi Feng Shui and the Mushrooms Among Us, exercising her creative skills to provide each with a new name. (Don’t you just love the way autumn rain calls out the mushrooms?)

Speaking of alien-like growth, I'm glad I'm not the only one who was delightfully startled by the Kousa Dogwood tree. Lorianne DiSabato of Hoarded Ordinaries has a great picture and carefully describes this Enigma. (Incidentally, the first time I saw this tree was during my own trip to Longwood Gardens).

~~~ OF SPIRIT (FURTHER READING) ~~~

We conclude the Festival of the Trees 28 with a few new forks in the trail for you to continue your travels.

--- ART ---

The Apple Valley Review
Ed.: Leah Browning

If you love poetry and literature as much as I do, you’ll definitely enjoy the Fall 2008 issue of The Apple Valley Review edited by Leah Browning. The Apple Valley Review is an online literary magazine of fiction and poetry, and incidentally the Fall 2008 issue cover art features some beautiful trees in “Otter Creek,” oil on panel, 15" x 24"by Rob Evans.

--- ARBOREALITY ---

Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees
By: Nalini Nadkarni

Arboreality readers may recall our interview with Bill Gladden of the Open Space Preservation Department of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Bill reminded me to include today’s “Further Reading” section in our Festival by pointing out how much he enjoyed Nalini Nadkarni’s “Recommended Readings” listed in her latest book, Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees.

In his thoughts about the book Between Earth and Sky, Bill writes,

“In addition to trying to engender mindfulness, it also helps validate those of us in a related field, inspire us to persevere, and provides a nice, supportive, intellectually “safe” /fun/energizing place to go (i.e. a great book to curl up with on a rainy day and come away with a bit of a karmic recharge). Definitely someone to whom we can “look up.”

Nalini Nadkarni is a forest biologist who strives to help people find meaningful connections with the natural world. I invite you again to enjoy my interview with Nalini Nadkarni and learn about her latest book, Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees.

ZRNO – Aroreality – Tree Stories
By: Mateja Smid Hribar

Finally, a contribution from Mateja Smid Hribar of ZRNO. Mateja has created an Arboreality page at her ZRNO blog as a new home for tree stories. Mateja tells us,

“[…] Because of their long life span trees can be seen
as unique beings which link human generations and preserve their stories for the future. […] Although some of these tree specimens are not extremely thick or tall they have a story to tell.

Contributions here will be in Slovenian and English languages, depands [sic] on stories, circumstances and authors.”

Her first story: The Bent Fir Tree.

* * *

Thank you again to every contributor who shared their tree-inspired artwork and adventures for this issue.

Special thanks to Founders Dave Bonta and Pablo Roundrocker for their ongoing support of The Festival of the Trees.

The Festival of the Trees 29 will be hosted on November 1, 2008 at Dave Bonta’s Via Negativa. Send submissions to bontasaurus [at] yahoo [dot] com or using the blog carnival submission form (link soon available). Submission deadline for issue 29 is October 29, 2008.

New hosts are always welcome for upcoming issues of The Festival of the Trees. To learn more and volunteer visit The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

* * *

All images used by permission in this post are © Copyright 2008 Linda Lovisa of Natural Transitions Art Studio (www.linda-lovisa-canada-art.com). Do not reproduce without permission.

Images of Linda Lovisa's artwork in order of appearance:

Freely Flowing Moutain Creek

Path Dabbled in the Light

Lone Poplar

Meandering Trail

Fairies Niche

Moonlight Peaks

Earth Bound

A Mystical Place

Two Seasons Met

The Nursery

Reflections of Spring

Wonders Above

This Issue 28 of The Festival of The Trees "Art and Arboreality" was prepared for your enjoyment by Jade Leone Blackwater.

Love Affair with the Santa Barbara Moreton Bay Fig Tree

2008-09-28T20:09:00.032-07:00

And then I saw you, silhouetted on the sidewalk.

Like a thousand eyes watching, no part of me left unseen.

Limb by limb, shoulder by shoulder, learning you petal by petal.

Snake-like and certain, our tongues smell earth, breeze, ocean mist.

A fence may stand between us, but I still feel your electricity;

gaze on your sweet under-places luminous with sunrise.

I reach up as you reach up, bend back and breathe in;

shimmy in the warmth of new day and clap, extend a fresh leaf on each bright finger.

I take pictures of your curves so I can stare at you alone, smooth my finger along forbidden branches; sigh.

Your infinite patience dwarfs me. I leave you smaller than I began.

Quietly I admire your persistent fruitfulness, your marriage of mathematics and magic.

We listen closely together to hear above the highway, small moments flicker as shadow follows shadow.

I want to sit back to trunk with you; exhale, close my eyes and wait for understanding.

* * *

For The Festival of the Trees 28: Art and Arboreality

October 1, 2008.

The Festival of the Trees is a monthly blog carnival hosted at a different blog each month. The theme for the Festival of the Trees 28 is "Art and Arboreality", which will be published on Wednesday, October 1, 2008.

I'm still accepting a few late entries, so if you would like to participate just follow these three easy steps:

Let a tree inspire you today.

Share your creation at your blog.

Email me your submission: jadeblackwater [at] brainripples [dot] com.

PS - Special preference given to all you fortunate folks seeing those beautiful autumn colors!!! Won't some kind, northerly blogger send me a sumptuous sugar maple in autumn color?

Santa Barbara Flora

2008-09-08T08:17:00.008-07:00

Festival of the Trees 27 is Now Online at Exploring the World of Trees

2008-09-02T05:37:00.006-07:00

Dan of the tree blog Exploring the World of Trees is our host for the 27th issue of The Festival of the Trees. Take a little time and read all the way through – Dan has some interesting floral finds!

Next month The Festival of the Trees 28 will be hosted here at Arboreality. I would like to share a little "art and arboreality" for October 1. Many of us have specific, personal stories about a tree or forest from our lives. Blogging is a great medium for short story-telling, so that's what I encourage this month: photoblog, videoblog, break out the crayons, sing a song, write a poem, whatever moves you: tell us a story about a tree or forest from your life. Or make one up. Or do something even cooler. (And then send me the link.)

Submit your blog posts to me via email at jadeblackwater [at] brainripples [dot] com, or use the blog carnival submission form.

To volunteer to host an upcoming issue, visit The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

Feature Interview: Nalini Nadkarni

2008-08-14T06:46:00.014-07:00

Today it is my pleasure to introduce Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, author of Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees. Nalini is a professor at the Evergreen State College and an accomplished forest ecologist with over 25 years of experience conducting research in tropical and temperate rainforests. Her specialty is the upper reaches of the forest: the canopy. You can learn more about her work at the International Canopy Network (ICAN).

JLB - Nalini, welcome to Arboreality! Thank you for taking some time out of your busy schedule to chat with us.

If you don’t mind, I’d like to start with a little background. Please tell us, when / how did the idea for Between Earth and Sky first sprout? What motivated you to wrap your arms around such an enormous subject as the connections between trees and people?

NMN - In some ways, I have been thinking about this book since I was a young girl climbing trees in her back yard. In fact, I wrote a “self-published book” when I was 12 years old on tree-climbing, called “Be Among the Birds”. I produced only one copy! I grew up with a deep love of trees and nature, and chose to pursue the academic of forest ecology to deepen my understanding trees. Along the way, however, I recognized the power of poetry, literature, and art to convey important ideas, and so I incorporated them into my book. The actual launch, however, took place when I was teaching an interdisciplinary class at The Evergreen State College, called “Trees and Humans”, in which my students and I explored the many relationships between humans and people in a systematic way. I realized that although it is an enormous subject, as you say, if I could organize it and synthesize it, it might be a good contribution to the existing literature on trees and their conservation.

JLB - What were your original goals when you set out to create Between Earth and Sky? Now that the book is complete, have your goals for the book changed?

NMN - My original goals were to create a book that crosses disciplinary boundaries to document the many ways humans and trees interact. Initially, I conceived it as a book rich in content, with facts and figures that would “convince” readers that trees are important and worthy of being conserved. However, as the work progressed, I realized that I needed to give myself permission to move from a strictly “facts” base orientation and instead tell stories about trees, about people and trees, and most of all, about my own life in order to be more effective in my goal of moving people toward mindfulness.

JLB - Of all the research and outreach that contributed to this book, could you tell us what were the biggest, or most unexpected bits of learning that you personally took away from the project?

NMN - The most important thing I learned was about my own motivation to understand and protect trees. As I wrote the book, collected stories, and examined my own connections to trees, I realized that it was my childhood interactions that have most contributed to my sense of wanting to protect them. As I describe in the very first chapter, when I was a young girl, I found that trees were places where I felt safe and protected from the bewildering world of grownups. They were my refuge. Over the course of my forest ecology career, working in trees on four continents, I am fully aware of how much trees need protection and refuge from humans. That, I now realize, is the motivation for my drive to protect trees – not only their huge importance in maintaining stable climate, a supply of oxygen, and biodiversity.

I know you’re a smart cookie with extensive scientific knowledge (and a vocabulary to match). How have you crafted your book to be more interesting and accessible than an “academic tome”?

The process of making my writing more accessible was a difficult one! I have been writing scientific articles and books and speaking to academic audiences for over two decades, so that is the “default mode” I fall into when I write. I had to be very conscious about writing on a more personal and conversational level without falling into the trap of being either too sappy or too sloppy. One critical piece of the process of writing the book was to have many eyes pass over it in the form of a generous set of readers who could point out the parts that fell into the pedantic or the maudlin before I sent material to the editor.

JLB - What were your favorite parts of this project? Are there any sections of this book which are most dear to your heart?

NMN - Although the writing of the book had its times of frustration, loneliness, tedium, and low confidence, there were many high points. I loved the creative moments when an idea from a scientific work about some aspect of trees would be echoed in a contemporary poem, or when I made an original connection or metaphor that really worked. I very much enjoyed the doing of the work with my collaborators and editors (particularly Jade!), who helped in finding and sending pieces of information my way. I enjoyed getting a previously intractable sentence “just right”. I loved hearing the tree stories people would offer me when they learned about the topic of the book. The section of the book I enjoyed writing most was about trees and symbolism, as I learned so much about how central tree symbolism is in so many cultures, which indicates the importance of trees themselves.

What were your biggest challenges in creating this book? Are there any sections that you want to develop for a second edition (or volume)?

My biggest challenges was in organizing it all. There is a HUGE volume of information, facts and figures, images, and stories about trees. Perhaps more than any other part of nature (maybe rivers and mountains are on a par), trees have evoked thinking and writing and art. I struggled with filtering out what seemed the most interesting and compelling, but still feel insecure that I have left critical pieces out. I would like to work more with trees as inspiration for art – music, visual art, poetry, literature. That would be a logical follow up, not only to enumerate the pieces of art that have been inspired by trees, but also what those products tell us about the nature of the relationship between trees and people.

Now that Between Earth and Sky has its first chance to speak to an audience, what are your hopes? What do you most want readers to take away from this book?

My hope is that after readers finish this book, they will say, wow, I had no idea that trees are so cool, so important, so beautiful, so fascinating. I want them to recall trees that have been important to them in their youth and in their adulthood from all parts of their life. I want them to walk down an urban street and say, hey, look at the body language of that tree, what was its past? I want them to climb a tree when they are feeling scared or sad, and then feel braver and not so sad. I want them to become mindful of all of the things that trees provide, and to become mindful of all of the things we must provide trees.

As the concept of sustainability slowly enters the public consciousness and conversation, how do you see Between Earth and Sky as contributing to the discussion?

I believe that my book is a direct and powerful participant in the concept of sustainability, as it is growing into our society. The book is essentially a document about conservation about one of the best ambassadors to nature – trees. The ultimate objective is to instill a sense of mindfulness about the importance of trees and forests – the lungs of our Earth. What logically follows once mindfulness is aroused is a sense of stewardship and conservation, which are both bulwarks of sustainability.

You perform a tremendous amount of outreach work which connects you with the public and the community, both local and global. What are the most important benefits that you have expected and experienced from these efforts? How have those experiences shaped your latest book?

What I have learned from my outreach activities to diverse public audiences such as prisoners, poets, legislators, urban youth, Inuits, and modern dancers, is that I learn as much about trees and forests from them as I teach. They see the world – and trees – in different ways, with fresh perspectives, and that in turns wakes up my own eyes and brain from its entrenched past approaches. I believe that this is a theme that emerged in my book. I constantly described the different ways of seeing trees that I garnered from other audiences, with fresh metaphors and analogies. I have a proclivity to do that in everyday life, but by consciously opening the door and inviting in these new guests, I was able to see the forest and the trees in new ways, and to present those to my readers.

What’s the next step for you? I know you’re a veritable whirlwind of ideas and activity. Has Between Earth and Sky inspired any “branch-off” projects?

My next steps are to sit and listen for a while, instead of speak. I want to hear reactions and questions that emerge from readers from this book. I will also be forging ahead on science projects in the temperate rainforest canopy, to keep my scientific brain engaged, as well as moving forward on the collaborative research and sustainability projects with prisoners that has now gained substantial funding from the Department of Corrections. I am currently raising funds to go on a national tour with a modern dance company to perform “biome” a dance about the rainforest inspired by joint time in my study sites. All of these will continue to provide a rich milieu to better understand the relationship between trees and people. My ultimate hope is to establish a project called “1000 Voices of Nature”, in which I gather multiple voices of scientists, artists, children, and others from all over the world to document the importance of trees and nature to humans, and in so doing, to make a strong case for its protection.

Where can readers find you for book signings and events?

I will be signing books in major independent bookstores in the Pacific Northwest in August and September 2009: Portland (Powell’s); Bellingham (Village Books); Seattle (Seattle Town Hall, Elliott Bay), and Olympia (Orca Books).

Nalini, thank you again for the opportunity to discuss Between Earth and Sky at Arboreality, and to learn a little more about your goals and projects. You’re the type of scientist AND artist to whom we can all “look up”!

Thanks!

* * * * * *

To learn more about Dr. Nalini Nadkarni's work, be sure to explore the following:

Dr. Nalini Nadkarni - Homepage

Research Ambassadors

Join us to discuss Between Earth and Sky on Facebook!

To meet Nalini at an upcoming book signing event, visit one of these fine bookstores:

Powell's Books

August 21, 2008

7:30pm

1005 W. Burnside, Portland, OR 97209

Powell's Events - Between Earth and Sky, Nalini Nadkarni

Village Books

September 3, 2008

7:00pm

1210 11th Street, Bellingham, WA 98225

Village Books Events - Between Earth and Sky, Nalini Nadkarni

University Bookstore

September 30, 2008

7:30pm

Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle, 98105

University Bookstore Events - Between Earth and Sky, Nalini Nadkarni

(Sponsored by Town Hall Seattle and University Book Store. Admission is $5 at the door.)

Orca Books

October 2, 2008

7:00pm

509 4th Ave E, Olympia, WA 98501

Orca Books Events - Between Earth and Sky, Nalini Nadkarni

* * * * * * *

Festival of the Tress 26 Now Online at Fox Haven Journal

2008-08-01T11:39:00.005-07:00

I am pleased to announce that the Festival of the Trees issue 26 is now available online at Beau’s Fox Haven Journal. Beau has created an excellent collection of posts which help us all see the world with fresh eyes and from fresh perspectives. Take some time this weekend to explore the woods!

The Festival of the Trees (FotT) is a monthly blog carnival which has been published for over two years featuring posts about trees, forests, wood, conservation, and environment. FotT is always seeking submissions and blog hosts. Visit the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog for submission information or to volunteer to host a future festival.

During Arboreality’s recent hiatus we missed announcements for the following issues of the Festival of the Trees:

FotT Issue 22 – Árvores Vivas em Nossas Vidas by Juliana

FotT Issue 23 – 10,000 Birds by Mike

FotT Issue 24 – Wrenaissance Reflections by Wren

FotT Issue 25 – Earth, Wind, and Water by Tai Haku

That should keep you busy! This weekend I’ll be reading my copy of Nalini Nadkarni’s Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees. Stay tuned for the book review and author interview coming up this August.

New Book Release by Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees

2008-07-28T07:35:00.007-07:00

At long last, Dr. Nalini Nadkarni’s book Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees (UC Press, July 2008) is now available for purchase. I had the unique pleasure of assisting Dr. Nadkarni in the preparation of this book, and I look forward to sharing more about her work here at Arboreality.

First up, I’ll be reviewing her book, and following that I hope to take a few minutes of Nalini’s time for a brief interview. There’s no need to wait for me however: I can tell you right now that this is an outstanding book derived from Nalini’s own willingness to ask new questions, and search for answers in both the obvious and the obscure. Grab a copy and give it a read!

Want to see more about Nalini Nadkarni's recent work? Check out the video special "Green Prison Reform" from KCTS9.

Red Alder Cones

2008-07-27T19:18:00.002-07:00

Red Alder cones like these are sprinkled all around my garden from last autumn. It’s no wonder these trees are growing like weeds among the garden herbs! In the upper-right you see one of the flowered male catkins draped and spent upon the branch.

We have many lovely Red Alders growing around the house, and a healthy young stand maturing on the western portion of the property. The young stand is home to our “blackberry circle” where many young ferns, foxgloves, and up-and-coming evergreens are patiently emerging in the small light gaps.

The Art of Looking (and Wandering)

2008-07-23T11:31:00.006-07:00

It’s taken me some time to find my groove now that I’m back in the Pacific Northwest. Wandering through the forest helps me to remember the useful arts of looking, listening, and waiting. Inspiration, clarity, and understanding require a fair portion of patience and “receptiveness” to the unexpected.

The next time you have a chance to stroll through a park, garden, or forest, remember to slow your pace a bit and look, or listen, or simply breathe. If you cannot seem to find anything new, try a change of perspective: crane your neck upwards, squat down on your heels, lay on your belly, or simply turn around and look back on the path you’ve just traveled.

Personal Encounters with the Pacific Rhododendron

2008-07-09T13:32:00.008-07:00

Every chance I find, I wander into my backyard woods in Kitsap to reconnect with my many floral friends. The Pacific Rhododendron (also known as the Coast or Coastal Rhododendron) is one of my favorites.

Wild rhododendrons have many moods. In the spring Pacific Rhododendrons cautiously extend new leaves and fresh flowers, blossoming in May or June. The brightness of clear-cuts keep rhododendrons squat and bushy, but in the shade of the forest they reach long, elegant arms in search of light.

The late heat of the summer will cause the lowest leaves to droop and yellow in time for autumn rains. Finally, a steady, cold winter freeze will motivate the rhodies to pull their leaves low to the trunk as the snow slides off.

I struggled to choose which images to share today, and finally settled for three of the more personal, close encounters I captured on a recent walk. Here you see fresh, young leaves not yet dark and leathery, as well as the final throws of spring blossoms hiding under the shade of Red Cedars and Western Hemlocks.

Arboreality will be featuring more from the evergreen forests in coming months. We're going to take a meditative tack for a while.

Fresh Growth on Douglas Firs

2008-06-30T08:58:00.003-07:00

Back in the Land of Evergreens (and Alders)

2008-05-30T06:54:00.005-07:00

Greetings from the Emerald City! I am settling in to the Pacific Northwest after enjoying a most excellent roadtrip from Philadelphia to Seattle. I will resume blogging in June with a post frequency of 1 – 2 times per week on each blog: AppleJade, Arboreality, and Brainripples.

At Arboreality we will be exploring the woods of Western Washington and other localities within reasonable driving distance.

At AppleJade we will be discussing healthy, happy lifestyle through attitude, gardening, cooking, and simple, green living.

At Brainripples we will be sharing methods of creative exploration, successful approaches to working independently, and unique perspectives from featured artists.

You will also find me blogging at the Pennwriters Area 6 HQ, a new blog created as a resource for writers living in and around southeastern Pennsylvania. I will be blogging with other Pennwriters about local news, events, information, and of course – writers!

If you are a writer in the Puget Sound Area (Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Kitsap Peninsula, Bellingham) and would like to join my newly forming Pennwriters Seattle Critique Groups, please contact me for more information.

Finally, I look forward to sharing thoughts and of course images of local forests from the Cascades and the Olympics. I will also be enjoying the opportunity to garden in two different locations, which means plenty of veggies, herbs, and flowers to share with you.

PS - Today's image is of the trunks of Red Alder trees nestled in the Kitsap forests.

Arboreality Returns in June

2008-03-25T06:20:00.004-07:00

I am returning to Seattle this May, and Arboreality will be on vacation until June 1, 2008 while I pack and travel.

Arboreality extends a gracious thank you to Mike of 10,000 Birds for volunteering to host the Festival of the Trees next month on such short notice. Be sure to send in your submissions this April featuring trees, forests, and wood.

Once I am settled in Seattle I’ll be able to share images from my return trip across the US. We’ll return to the evergreen forests of my home-state with a fresh pair of eyes. Until then, enjoy the blooming spring or the glorious autumn (depending upon your location), and feel free to reminisce through the Pennsylvania hardwoods when we explored the Poconos, and my dear home right here at the farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

See you in June!

Emergence Among the Trees

2008-03-21T07:19:00.009-07:00

The forests are still sleeping in Eastern Pennsylvania, but these photos from Ridley Creek State Park last month show the quiet emergence of ferns and other flora. I couldn't resist sharing photos of Snowdrops and Winter Aconite from my own garden taken earlier in March. Coming up at Arboreality: the first signs of swelling tree buds.

Fungi Along the Forest Trails

2008-03-03T04:09:00.006-08:00

Festival of the Trees 21 Orchards and Fruits Edition Now Online at Orchards Forever

2008-03-02T05:08:00.002-08:00

This month’s Festival of the Trees 21 is a special fruit and orchard edition hosted by Peg at Orchards Forever. You’ll be sure to enjoy this delicious selection of unique and tasty blog posts. Peg’s thoughtful edition of the Festival of the Trees is well worth the read. Fortunately for us, today’s Festival begins on a Sunday. Enjoy a lazy stroll through the orchards!

To volunteer to host a future festival, and to submit blog posts to future festivals, visit the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

Evergreen Goodness: American Holly Among the Pennsylvania Hardwoods

2008-02-28T07:07:00.006-08:00

Goose Snag

2008-02-25T05:23:00.004-08:00

Today’s image is from a recent hike at Ridley Creek State Park. This “goose snag” caught our eye from way up the trail, and was too cool not to share. Perhaps we should name her “Snaggle Goose.”

There is more to share from the park: coming up next I’ll share pictures of winter hardwoods, fungi, and lovely evergreen holly.

Fabulous Friday Philadelphia Snowfall

2008-02-22T05:03:00.013-08:00

This morning we awoke to a beautiful snowfall which has given us about four inches in the last four hours (it’s 8am EST now). We took a quick walk to enjoy the boot-crunching-goodness of first-thing-in-the-morning snow. With little wind, the trees are well-coated; snow always accentuates the lovely shapes of trees. Today's top image is of the butternut tree (Juglans cinerea) over the driveway, an excellent tree and true friend, naturally photogenic in snow.

Just about everything looks good in snow, including our wood fence (built by The Fence Authority of Chester County, Pennsylvania). We’re thankful for our cedar fence (this is its first winter) which allows our husky Blackfoot to enjoy the yard as a good dog should. As you can see, the garden is also segmented, to keep our over-zealous husky out of the vegetables.

Now that it’s lighter outside I plan to go visit the local woods with my camera. More images to follow!

(Blackfoot's Washington buddy The Quilting Doberman posted some righteous pictures of the beautiful snow in the Cascades this January).

Frozen Forests at Ridley Creek State Park

2008-02-15T04:20:00.007-08:00

I took some much needed time out this week to enjoy a small hike at Ridley Creek State Park. Ridley Creek State Park includes more than 2,606 acres of woodlands located in Delaware County near the West Chester Pike (Route 3).

Among the park’s many features is the Park Office and Gardens. From the DCNR park website:

"The park office is in the “Hunting Hill” mansion, built by the Jeffords family in 1914. The mansion was built around a 1789 Pennsylvania stone farmhouse that forms the core of the building and serves as the reception center."

Recently the Philadelphia area has seen bits of snow, ice, rain, and freezing rain, which meant that on this particular hike, most of my attention was spent trying to maintain my balance on icy trails. We will return soon on less icy days when I can carry my camera and bring you photos from the forest. In the spring I will also return to share images of the gardens. In the absence of pictures, I can tell you that the creek was roaring and full, and the trees were snuggly in their icy snow-blanket.

If you’re in the Philadelphia area and would like to learn more about local trees and forests, be sure to visit Steven Chmielnicki at Artisan Trees. Steven is an ISA Certified Arborist of Artisan Tree & Treehouse, LLC. Recently Steven began organizing informal “tree walks” at parks in our area. He invites groups of people to join him in learning to identify local species. These tree walks are free and open to the public. I hope to join Steven in the future and share a little about his tree walks here at Arboreality.

To learn more or to join in future tree walks visit the Artisan Trees website.

Warm Winter Sunset

2008-02-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday’s unseasonably warm sunrise was matched by the evening's delicious, colorful sunset. I’m not sure if it was the stormy weather, the eclipse, or my mood, but at yesterday's sunset the sky was positively glowing! My camera does not remotely do justice to the golden pink of the clouds and deep blue of the sky.

Blog Update: Arboreality is now listed at the Nature Blog Network. Be sure to check it out for listings of other great nature blogs!

Warm Winter Sunrise

2008-02-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

It’s a warm, humid morning in Philadelphia (60 degrees Fahrenheit and rising). I’ve only been in Chester County, Pennsylvania for three winters, but each one has included some strange, unseasonably warm days often sandwiched between freezing days and big snows. Today the prediction is for rain and possibly thunder; by the speed of those low, lavender clouds – I suspect that we’re in for a wild new moon (accompanied by an equally electric solar eclipse). Time to plant!

Black Walnut Snow Dance

2008-02-04T05:57:00.000-08:00

The Festival of the Trees 20 online at Ginkgo Dreams

2008-02-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

The Festival of the Trees 20 is online at Ginkgo Dreams courtesy of this month’s host Kelly Schmitt Youngberg. Kelly has prepared a truly unique collection, and her festival has a graceful, meditative quality – much like the ginkgo tree. This collection is not to be missed – so off you go, into the woods!

To volunteer to host a future festival, and to submit blog posts to future festivals, visit the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

Winter Tree Planting Ideas

2008-02-01T06:36:00.000-08:00

I realize we’re well past the winter solstice and holiday season, but many of you are still looking for information about tree planting for your live Christmas trees. Here in Eastern Pennsylvania, I still haven’t planted a tree for the season – the weather, soil, and timing just haven’t been right this year, so I’ll need to wait for the spring thaw. (Tomorrow is Groundhog Day in the US, so we’ll see what Punxsutawney Phil has to say about it!)

Live Christmas trees are an excellent way to celebrate the return of a new year. You can keep them indoors for 7-10 days, and then plant them as soon as the ground is ready (soft enough to dig). If you’re going to bring the tree indoors be sure to keep it cool and moist (but not soggy); watering with ice cubes works well. Take the tree back outside as soon as possible.

If it’s not the right time to plant your tree, just keep it somewhere outside where it gets a little light, but is protected from the wind. Protect the root ball by packing leaves or old hay bales around the base of the tree. (Placing the tree on the leeward side of the house helps too).

When you plant your tree, be sure to prepare the soil wider and deeper than the rootball will reach. Mix in compost to lighten and nurture the soil, and plant your tree just a little high in the hole so that as it settles, it doesn’t sink into the earth. (And remember: NO MULCH VOLCANOS).

The first year of your new tree’s life is critical: be sure to keep your tree regularly watered (but not waterlogged) through the dry months. Your young tree needs to establish a new root system before it can withstand drought on its own.

Fertilize and mulch your tree in the autumn when the water requirements are not as intense and your tree is focused on root development. This will help it grow strong healthy buds for the next spring, and remind you for another year of the return of the sun and warm season after the long, cold winter.

For other ideas about Christmas trees, check out my earlier articles:

Planting Live Christmas Trees for the Winter Solstice

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas (Garden Rant)

Deck the Trees with Strings of Berries

Winter Reds

2008-01-22T05:55:00.001-08:00

Winter Woodshed

2008-01-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

This winter we built a woodshed under the pine trees at our cottage in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Our design includes two segments of 8 feet square each: one for wood, and the other for the splitter.

When practical, we like to find opportunities to cut trees and split our own firewood from the rounds. This year we purchased our wood from the local Bradley Tree Experts as usual, and now we have someplace dry to keep it (rather than tarping the wood on the driveway).

The great thing about using wood heat for your home is that it warms you several times over. You warm yourself up stoking the fire. You warm yourself up every time you haul in a load of wood. You warm yourself up sawing, rolling, loading, unloading, splitting, hauling, and stacking wood. Managing the fire is part of how I keep active in the winter with the garden sleeping under snow.

Inside the fire is cozy, and with the cost of oil these days it’s actually a more affordable way to heat the home.

Outside, my guess is that the squirrels have all put down payments on the prime real estate, and are having an excellent weekend moving in to the coziest corners of the shed. I’ve already discovered walnuts in the stack!

Dances with Trees (and Ants Too!)

2008-01-18T03:45:00.000-08:00

Check out this preview of Biome on YouTube, Capacitor's newest dance video, shot in Costa Rica's Monteverdi rainforest.

Capacitor is a San Francisco-based dance troupe. Jodi Lomask and dancers accompanied Nalini Nadkarni to her field study sites in Costa Rica. Nalini Nadkarni is the author of Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees (June 2008).

Also, Nadkarni’s husband Jack Longino is an entomologist who has researched ants of the rainforest. Jack and colleagues recently conducted arthropod surveys in Chiapas Mexico and Guatemala. Check out his video Nucú for You Too!

And if that doesn't satisfy your video interests, check out the recent post at Arboreality, Nalini Nadkarni on Trees and Spirituality.