Arboreality Returns in June

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!

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

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.

The Festival of the Trees 20 online at Ginkgo Dreams

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.

Festival of the Trees 19 is Online at Hoarded Ordinaries

The Festival of the Trees 19 (our first FotT for 2008) is now online at Hoarded Ordinaries, courtesy of Lorianne. She shares a dense, rich forest of links, thoughts, and reflections. Starting us off with a look at trees of the past, Lorianne also presents “Picture perfect trees,” “Festive trees,” “Poetic trees,” and even “Mythic trees”!

If you’re still in a New Year’s haze, take a moment to see the trees for the forest, and explore the plethora of tree and forest blogging that Lorianne has collected like so many acorns to share with us at this month's festival.

To submit for next month’s festival, or to volunteer to host the Festival of the Trees at your blog, be sure to visit the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

Have a great, green 2008!

The Festival of the Trees 18 is Sprouting at Riverside Rambles

Larry Ayers of Riverside Rambles has spared no small effort in composing this month’s Festival of the Trees 18 - November Arborea. Watch it grow! There’s plenty to play with already online, and Larry is composing (composting?) the rest as we speak.

The Festival of the Trees is a monthly blog carnival featuring posts about trees and forests from blogs across the Internet. Check out the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog to learn how to share your own submissions, or volunteer to host a future festival at your blog!

November Forest

October was kind to Philadelphia this year. We enjoyed late summer heat, which means that I was still harvesting red tomatoes until just a few weeks ago. It also means that many trees are still holding their leaves in swaths of pink and gold – great news for us tree lovers!

And there’s more good news for us tree lovers:

First, the Festival of the Trees came twice this month, courtesy of Salix Tree at WindyWillow. Go forth to enjoy the Trees of Halloween – if you dare! Then take a leisurely stroll through the Trees and Fruit of Autumn. Delicious.

Second, forest biologist Nalini Nadkarni is putting the finishing touches on her most recent book, Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees, due out in Spring 2008 from the University of California Press. I have had the honor of working as her assistant in preparing this book, and I am very excited to share more with you in coming months.

For now - enjoy the pictures!

Arboreality is on Vacation

Greetings Folks! Our weekend’s new moon and the master disaster it heralded in my home is taking me offline for the remainder of the summer. I’ll check in from time to time, but until then, I look forward to returning in September. Autumn is a great time of year for tree blogging!

Be sure to look for the upcoming issues of the Festival of the Trees, and consider volunteering to host. See you soon, Happy Summer!

Festival of the Trees 13: Putting Down Roots is Now Online at Wrenaissance Reflections

The Festival of the Trees 13:Putting Down Roots is now online compliments of our host Wren at Wrenaissance Reflections. Thanks Wren for all your hard work – it’s a beautiful festival! Happy Birthday to the Festival of the Trees! You’re one year old! Wren starts us off with the following thought:

“Trees are inextricably linked to places, perhaps because it takes them so long to reach maturity and majesty. When we become very attached to a place, we liken ourselves to the trees, and say that we have put down roots.”

Today’s images are of a butternut tree (Juglans cinerea) growing next to my cottage. I’ve blogged about this tree before at Arboreality; this tree is one of my favorites at the farm, and as I slowly grow roots in my new home, it is becoming one of those familiar friends that quietly pattern themselves to our daily routines like coffee and sunrises. Hop over to Wrenaissance Reflections to see what other trees people relate to, and share your own!

If you would like to contribute to next month’s festival, direct your requests to Dave, bontasaurus [at] yahoo [dot] com, or Pablo, editor [at] roundrockjournal [dot] com. You can also use the Blog Carnival submission form – it’s fast and easy!

The Festival of the Trees is always looking for new hosts. If you would like to host an upcoming Festival of the Trees, please visit the Volunteer to Host page at the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog, or contact Pablo and Dave at the email addresses above.

Need a reminder when new festivals are published? Sign up for email notifications for the Festival of the Trees through Feedblitz.

Over the weekend we explored around the Susquehanna River, and I’ve returned with a handful of pictures to share. Hop over to Brainripples for a sneak peek with today’s Monday Morning Muse.

The Festival of the Trees 12 - Meditations

Greetings and welcome to the Festival of the Trees 12 - Meditations.

Many of us blog about trees or forests because of the personal connections we make with them in our day-to-day. Amid the bombastic cries in the media of “Go Green” and “Stop Global Warming,” it can be easy to overlook the power of our individual relationships with trees to help change the way we (as a species) interact with the Earth. When we blog about trees in our respective regions, we share a sort of ongoing, global meditation on the green and growing world.

Our cover image for Festival of the Trees 12: Meditations is “The Tree” from the Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert. For those who are unfamiliar, tarot is a tool which uses systems of symbols, images, archetypes, and other “alphabets” on a deck of cards to explore a given topic.

Tarot decks usually contain a sequence of 22 “majors”: a common set of standard cards, each rather like characters in a story. The Tree (Joanna’s version of The Hanged Man) is card number 12 in the tarot.

For our Festival of the Trees 12, I encourage you to take a moment to mediate on The Tree from the Gaian Tarot. What do you see? As we wander today’s collection, consider our simple, personal connections with trees and forests outside of environmental politics, policies, and as-yet-unsolved problems.

Hanami – Cherry Tree Blossom Viewing

Hanami, meaning “flower viewing,” is a Japanese custom of viewing cherry blossoms. People come out in the springtime to enjoy a sort of floral meditation as the cherry tree blossoms (sakura) open around Japan (and many other regions in the northern hemisphere).

It’s not difficult to understand why the deceptively simple act of flower viewing can warrant holidays and festivals around the world: cherry tree blossoms are beautiful. Bloggers I found who shared their Hanami experiences this spring seemed no less enthusiastic, as evidenced by their inability to post “just a few” pictures of the blooms.

Jason Truesdell of Pursuing My Passions has a two part series featuring "Hanami in Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan. Be sure to check out both Part 1 and Part 2. Nate and Ruth of Korea! Oh yah, you betchya share Spring in Korea: Yellow sand, beautiful flowers and high emotions.

In 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo, Japan gifted the city of Washington D.C., United States with 3,000 cherry trees as “a memorial of national friendship between the United States and Japan and a celebration of the continued close relationship between the people of the two countries.”

Ryan of Northfield Center, Ohio who writes the American Peak blog, visited Washington D.C. while in hiatus in time for the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Back Yards Around the World

This month I wanted to take advantage of the world wide web to help connect us with different places around the world, and the trees that live there.

Candice Dillhoff of Leavenworth, Washington, USA lives in the Eastern Cascade Mountains of North America. At her Wee Cottage Art Studio blog she shares the sensational view of her home this spring. Pablo at Roundrock Journal is reporting some sort of Blackhaw blooming in the Missouri Ozarks, USA.

In the Eastern Ontario Highlands of Canada, Cate (Kerrdelune) of Beyond the Fields We Know shares New Leaves, and Sumac in Spring. History Mike of Toledo, Ohio, USA reflects On the Brilliance of Spring Colors. And Karen of Rurality reveals the secret life of roots in North Central Alabama, USA.

Trees and forests have marvelous powers of regeneration, and Silver Valley of Kellogg, Idaho, USA is experiencing its second chance. Silver Valley Girl shares one of her Silver Valley Stories with a promising ending. Meanwhile, back in the holler Cady May in Hartsville, Tennessee, USA shares Random Acts of Recovery of an Oak Tree.

GreenmanTim is still Walking the Berkshires (and Litchfield Hills) of the Housatonic Valley in northwest Connecticut, USA. If you haven’t read the good news elsewhere, be sure to visit GreenmanTim reporting on ElmWatch: Restoring the American Elm.

A genuine tree lover if there ever was one, Salix Tree of the Windy Willow blog from Ireland shares tree blossoms and Tinkerbelle’s Tree. Bitterroot of Bitterroot and Bergamot opens a window to Wisconsin, USA with Tree on a Cliff and Ephemeral beauty. And Claudia Lüthi of Lima, Peru blogging at though trees grow so high... shares the thousand aspects of trees for this month's Festival.

I'm an American, so I suppose it’s natural that I’ll find a lot of links in the US. However, I was fortunate this month to be found by several bloggers in Portugal, who demonstrate their country's true love of the arboreal.

At Dias com árvores, Manuela DL Ramos of Porto, Portugal reflects on trees with “Every breath you take.” And Pedro Nuno Teixeira Santos who writes A Sombra Verde from Covilhã, Serra da Estrela, Portugal, shares Sozinho (Viagens II) for this month’s festival. A Sombra Verde welcomes its readers with the following:

"A culture is no better than its woods" Wystan Hugh Auden (1907-1973).

You’ll notice that my list is still limited to just a few places around the world – if your region wasn’t mentioned, be sure to tell us about your local trees (and tree blog posts) in the comments below! (And of course, send your links in for next month's festival).

Art and Poetry

Originally I created the Brainripples blog to keep tree discussions separate from discussions on writing and art. Today I am enjoying an excuse to blend the two by sharing some of the artistic meditations I found online. Trees and artists go together like peanut butter and strawberry preserves!

Connie Tom of A Painting for You! posted A Walk Through the Woods IV. Ester Wilson of Daily Drawings has been especially inspired by trees lately. Be sure to explore each of her offerings: doodles and paint, moleskine trees, painting ideas, and her collaboration project with James of Oil Covered Hands.

Take A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania with Kathleen Connally to see The First Grass of Spring, and then stroll over to join Joe Felso of Ruminations as he ponders the Spring Crown.

At The Clarity of Night, Jason Evans stays true to his reputation for making his readers stop and reflect with his creative writing piece Rings, and his thoughts on the Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina).

Deborah Barlow of Slow Muse shares What is Unfolding ("Beginners" by Denise Levertov), and the eloquent Bernita Harris of An Innocent A-Blog helps inspire some mystery for the Festival with A Tree's Ghost.

Melanie of Pink Lemon Twist provides us with a unique incorporation of tree forms in art with her Hanami stole. I was intrigued not only by the delicate design so true to the cherry blossom form, but by the symbolism incorporated into the weave itself.

At Idle Minutes, Don West shares a Tree Study. In his comments, Don identifies the true root of the Art and Poetry segment of our Meditations: artists across media are inevitably inspired by trees, and it all starts with careful looking and patient listening.

Wit, Whimsy, and Whatnot

It was my goal to keep this month's festival light-hearted, and I’d like to finish up with a garden salad of musings and other meditations on trees and forests.

I must have been on a common wavelength with Maureen at Timothy’s Shop Talk who shared some meditations on trees with a helping hand from Hermann Hesse.

Vicky Sawyer Herrala writing TGAW has some disturbing evidence of hungry trees!

Jorge Daniel Neves writing Jardinando sem parar from Lisbon, Portugal shares the enthusiasm for the Festival de árvores sobre, árvores em cimento by providing a continuation of “trees in the concrete” theme of the Festival of the Trees 11 at Flatbush Gardener.

Karen Shanley, an Author Mom with Dogs, tells us all about her Old Friend, and Maggie at Maggieno's Journal paints images with words in One More for the Road, Day Two: Big Trees and Thursday in the Rain Forest. Meanwhile, Cady May is searching for patterns (again) back in the holler.

And if you need to turn your perspective on its head, try climbing up a tree and looking down on the world with Dobster at the Travel Blog. Dobster shares a climb with the Gloucester and Bi-centennial trees of Pemberton, Western Australia.

If you haven’t been following the treeblog, Ash has some seedling updates, and shows us the equally impressive Plane Tree of Hippocrates.

In the Land of Little Rain, Maureen Shaughnessy shares with us again the trees she has known and loved.

As you wander your corner of the world this weekend, be sure to take a moment to look up, listen for the wind, and meditate on those trees which you have known and loved.

* * *

Next month’s Festival of the Trees 13 will be hosted by Wren of Wrenaissance Reflections on July 1, 2007. Send submissions to treefest [at] wrenaissance [dot] com by June 29.

Want to be alerted of upcoming Festivals of the Trees? Visit the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog or click here to sign up for email notification with Feedblitz.

You can also visit the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog to learn more about submissions, festivals past and present, and how to volunteer to host future issues of the Festival of the Trees at your blog.

Thank you to all of today’s contributors, and to Pablo and Dave for keeping the Festival of the Trees alive.

Special thanks to Joanna Powell Colbert for the use of her image The Tree from the Gaian Tarot for the cover image, and to Kirsten Annette Dillhoff for the use of her photography in today's Festival of the Trees.

Artists and authors retain their original copyrights for all images and blog posts included in today’s Festival of the Trees 12: Meditations.

Photo credits, top to bottom:

The Tree, © 2007 Joanna Powell Colbert

Rhododendron blossoms, © 2007 Kirsten Annette Dillhoff

White pine branch, © 2007 J. L. Blackwater

Birch canopy, © 2007 Kirsten Annette Dillhoff

Olympic Mountains, Seabeck, WA, © 2007 J. L. Blackwater

Banana Slug, © 2007 Kirsten Annette Dillhoff

Trilliums, © 2007 J. L. Blackwater

Lichens, © 2007 J. L. Blackwater

Mosses, © 2007 J. L. Blackwater

Mystery beech, © 2007 J. L. Blackwater

Larch, © 2007 J. L. Blackwater

Magnolia, © 2007 Kirsten Annette Dillhoff

* * *

For all the posts we've shared today, there were dozens more that I simply had to let go (for my sanity's sake). Remember to spread the word about tree blogs, submit to future Festivals of the Trees, and keep on blogging!

**06/04/07 editor's note: Thanks to all our readers today as I have updated the Festival of the Trees to include all the images planned for this issue. I appreciate your patience. Thanks again - JLB

Coming up at Arboreality: The Festival of the Trees

The Festival of the Trees is returning to Arboreality, and there is still time to submit your tree, forest, and wood related blog posts! The deadline is May 29th, and the Festival will be published June 1st, right here at forest central, Arboreality.

If you want to join in the fun, allow me to make the following suggestion: take a look around your home, your work place, your kids’ schools... (whatever places you frequent each day), and find a tree, a stump, or a grove that really speaks to you (or maybe just catches your eye).

Perhaps this is a tree that you don’t even notice much each day, but you pass beneath its branches, or wait in its shade at the bus stop, or find its catkins under your windshield wipers.

Find a tree that’s a part of your day to day, and tell us about it in whatever way feels best! Drawings, photos, songs, stories, anecdotes, and articles at your blog are all welcome for consideration.

Send your submissions to me via email: jadeblackwater [at] brainripples [dot] com, or simply use the Blog Carnival submission form online.

And remember, it doesn’t have to be your own post – feel welcome to send me links to other great tree, forest and wood related blog posts and pictures that you’ve found as you’ve wandered the virtual woods!

Looking forward to reading your submissions!

Fesitval of the Trees 11 Now Online at Flatbush Gardener

The Festival of the Trees 11 “Trees in the Concrete” is now online courtesy of this month’s host, Xris of Flatbush Gardener. I guarantee you hours of blissful procrastination – Xris has a real garden full of links for you to explore.

Next month, the Festival of the Trees returns to Arboreality for its 12th edition. Send your submissions to jadeblackwater [at] brainripples [dot] com, or use the Blog Carnival submission tool. Submissions are due by May 29th.

For more information about the Festival of the Trees, or to learn how to become a host, visit the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

[Pictured above is just one of the many treasures I brought back from the Washington forests. More ahead!]

Festival of the Trees 10 Now Online at Words and Pictures

Come one, come all to the monthly Festival of the Trees! Issue 10 of the Festival of the Trees is now online at Words and Pictures, courtesy of Roger Butterfield. You don’t want to miss this – he’s put together one amazing collection of tree, forest, and wood related posts!

If you would like to participate in future Festivals of the Trees, or would like to be a festival host, please check out the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog for more information.

PS - Is the header loading better now? I went back to Zoto, so I hope the load time is faster.

Festival of the Trees 9 now online at Riverside Rambles

Larry of Riverside Rambles has done an excellent job of collecting a wide diversity of tree, forest, and wood related posts for this month’s Festival of the Trees 9. Be sure to hop over with a cup of tea in hand – you’re going to be there a while!

The Festival of the Trees runs on the first of every month. If you would like to submit to next month’s festival of the trees, or volunteer to be a host, check out the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog for more information.

Hello from the Hedge

We’ve had some wonderful snow in recent days, and today we’re seeing some beautiful rain. I just adore the grey days! Have I mentioned that Pennsylvania looks best in snow? All those grey-brown tree trunks and rest-crested birds look so lovely against all the white!

While I enjoy these final days of the cold and grey, I’ve been busy with projects, and thankfully with some creative work of my own. Arboreality will resumes its usual pace shortly.

Ahead: I really do have book reviews to share (remember when I said that like two months ago?), so those should come online in a few days. The skunk cabbage is going to sprout soon, and before everything else sprouts and turns green, I really would like to share some images and information about leaf marcescence with you! There are so many great examples around here.

Also, in coming months Arboreality will feature return trips to Longwood Gardens, the Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve for spring blossoms and buds, and hopefully a few new places too!

Remember that the Festival of the Trees 9 will be hosted by Larry Ayers at Riverside Rambles on Thursday, March 1, 2007. Be sure to send your tree, forest, and wood related posts to: larry [dot] ayers [at] gmail [dot] com

Tree Snow Shadows

I waited to share these pictures from a few days ago. We’ve had intermittent snow at my home for the past couple weeks, and one of my favorite finds were these “tree snow shadows” on the ground in the setting sun. What you see is what remains of what snow the sun could sweep out from the south before it got too low on the horizon.

I hope you’ve all been enjoying the Festival of the Trees 8 over at Ginkgo Dreams. The Festival of the Trees 9 will be hosted by Larry Ayers at Riverside Rambles on Thursday, March 1, 2007. Send your tree, forest, and wood related posts to: larry [dot] ayers [at] gmail [dot] com

Also, remember you can send festival hosts any tree posts you find around the internet, not just your own!

Interested in being a host? The Festival of the Trees is always open to new hosts from all variety of blogs. Check out the Volunteer to Host page to learn more, and to contact the coordinators.

Festival of the Trees 8 Now Online at Ginkgo Dreams

Hooray! The Festival of the Trees 8 is now online at Ginkgo Dreams, courtesy of Kelly Schmitt Youngberg. I am on my way over there now! Hop over for stories, images, and hand-on-bark encounters with the trees and forests. :)

Pictured above: the Butternut tree over the driveway.

Festival of the Trees: Reminder

There’s still plenty of time to send in your submissions for the upcoming Festival of the Trees 9, to be hosted by Kelly Schmitt Youngberg at Ginkgo Dreams.

Send your tree, forest, and wood related blog posts, be they silly, philosophical, scientific, or whimsical, to: kelly [at] ginkgodreams [dot] com

To learn more about the Festival of the Trees, or to enjoy some of the previous festivals, visit the Festival of the Trees Coordinating blog.

Also, if you would like to be a host for a future issue of the Festival of the Trees, be sure to visit the Volunteer to Host page at the Festival of the Trees Coordinating blog to learn more!

Festival of the Trees 7 is now online at The Voltage Gate

Happy New Year everyone! Jeremy of The Voltage Gate is kicking our new year off right with the Festival of the Trees 7. Stop in to enjoy blog posts and pictures about trees and forests, including discussions on Christmas, Environment, News, Science, Humor, and of course – Photos!

Did you miss this month’s festival? Not to worry! The Festival of the Trees runs on the first of every month. Next month’s Festival of the Trees 8 will be hosted by Gingko Dreams. Submissions can be sent to kelly [at] gingkodreams [dot] com. Deadline for submissions is January 29th.

If you would like to host the Festival of the Trees, be sure to check out the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog to learn more. It’s fun, easy, and a great way to get first pick of some of the greatest tree and forest posts around the blogging world.

Oh yes - and I’ve been meaning to point out a new link in the Arboreality sidebar… For those blog carnival fanatics out there (who also enjoy reading and/or blogging about ecology), there’s a new carnival on the block called Oekologie. Check out the coordinating blog for more details.

More on Christmas Trees

To continue our current discussions on Christmas trees, I thought I’d share a couple more things which have crossed my path:

First, Bill Gladden forwarded the following from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture weekly newsletter, Inside PDA:

***

"Did You Know?

PA ranks first in the nation with 2,000 Christmas tree farms and ranks 4th nationally in cut trees with 1.7 million and 4th in acres of production at 45,000. Christmas trees contribute $13.9 million to the state's economy."

***

And Trailhead has a discussion on more of the agricultural aspects of Christmas tree farming (including a not-to-be-missed video captured by Mr. T of the harvest in progress) in her post, O Fir Tree Dark. Check it out!

Also, remember that there is still time to submit your entries to the Festival of the Trees 7, to be hosted by Jeremy at The Voltage Gate. Submissions deadline is December 30, 2006. Send all submissions (including post title and URL) to Jeremy by email: thevoltagegate [at] gmail [dot] com. Be sure to put "Festival of the Trees" in the subject line.

Want to join in the fun? If you like trees, you may enjoy becoming a host for a future issue of the Festival of the Trees. To learn more, check out the Festival of the trees coordinating blog and the Volunteer to Host page.

Cold and beautiful, wish you could see!

Good morning folks! I have so many pictures to share, but Blogger is not allowing me to upload pictures… so until that is resolved, I hope you’ll continue to enjoy the Festival of the Trees 6.

Once Blogger is back online, I will be sharing images of our first true freeze, our newly planted evergreen tree, and much more! Next week I'll be interviewing a local environmentalist and sharing that discussion here at Arboreality.

Arboreality will see a few changes in coming months, including a few book reviews, and the development of an index which I hope will make it easier for readers to find information about specific trees.

More to come! Be sure to send Blogger some happy, functional thoughts of encouragement!