Snowy Chester County

The farm where we rent our cottage is nestled in Chester County, just outside of Philadelphia. For the last few days we’ve had a beautiful little snow dusting and crispy, cold temperatures. Our snowfall accumulated roughly two inches, and officially brought winter to our neck of Pennsylvania.

Yesterday’s sunrise illuminated the many oak trees which have not yet released their leaves. This phenomenon, called “leaf marcescence,” is common among oaks (Quercus), beeches (Fagus), and a few other deciduous trees. (Remember you can click on pictures to enlarge). I hope to take a drive up toward Phoenixville some time this winter so I can bring you pictures at Arboreality – there are beautiful swaths of forests (and lovely planted sycamores in town), and the blush of the young beech trees is always a warming sight in the cold of winter.

Of course, I can’t resist an excuse to share another picture of the stone silo. As an artist, I am perpetually inspired by the intermixing of farm, forest, and fauna here at my Pennsylvania home. This stone silo is one of a handful of remnants of the original farming days which once defined Chester County and the greater Brandywine Valley region. The third image is one of my favorite romantic staples in these parts: the elegant, imposing Black walnut (Juglans nigra).

Today, much of this land is being converted to suburban housing. Fortunately, the local culture allows room for a genuine interest in conservation, as demonstrated by the Open Space Preservation Department of Chester County. Last winter I had the pleasure of interviewing the Director, Mr. Bill Gladden. Check out the interview here at Arboreality, and stop by the Open Space Preservation Department website to learn more about local efforts to retain forest and farmland in the area.

Coming up at Arboreality: Christmas trees, winter planting, and green holidays.

Looking to bring a few more trees to your blog? The Festival of the Trees is a monthly blog carnival featuring trees and forests from around the blogosphere. Stop by the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog to learn how you can contribute your tree posts, or volunteer to host the festival right at your own blogging home! (An April volunteer is needed! April means Arbor Day for many in the US... what better time to host the Festival of the Trees?)

Northeaster Paints the Forests White

Yesterday brought us one hell of a storm in Philadelphia which continues to bellow this afternoon with wind, thunder, and lightning. Classified as a Northeaster (or “Nor’easter” as they say), this storm brings cold air from the northeast, and is a typical winter system in these parts. Power outages have been persistent. The rain has been awesome!

Our spring Nor’easter managed to paint the world white overnight, and saturate the earth with the waters that make this area one of the most fertile, non-irrigated farming regions in the world. This morning all the fields are covered in about 3-5 inches of free standing snow, water, and ice. When we pulled an aluminum stake out of the ground, the soil actually made a pop-sucking sound, and water flowed out!

As you can see in some of these images, the reason that the trunks shine so white is because anything with a surface was painted white from the direction of the prevailing wind. Here at the farm, that appears to be West-Northwest. (I believe this is the result of the rotation of this weather system). Don't you just love the blush of red blossoms and green sprouts on the tree branches and rose canes?

Considering what the rain, snow, and ice did to my daily trail (what looks like a river in the above image), I can only imagine what some of the flooding is like around the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Today everything is wet, squishy, and cold, and absolutely beautiful. I’m glad we got to see one more snow – Pennsylvania is absolutely at her best when dressed in snow.

For those of you who have lived in both evergreen and deciduous forests, have you noticed how the hardwoods' voices have a deeper, lower rumble in the wind (especially in winter), while the softwoods' voices have more clatter and roar in the windstorms? Tropical forests have different voices too - it's a wider, longer sound with an echo to it (if that makes any sense whatsoever).

Fresh Snow in Philadelphia

The farm and its surrounding forests are donning a fresh blanket of snow today. Right now, we just have a dusting that allows the gold of dead grasses and blush of red rosecanes shine through in the snow. We may get up to three inches, but I won’t be holding my breath. ;) Don't you just love the way snow highlights every curve on those trees?

Branching Out

Some of you may know that apart from loving trees, I am also a writer, poet, and work as an independent consultant providing editing and research services.

Today I launched my new Brainripples blog where I’ll be discussing writing, art, and many associated topics. I hope you’ll visit me there and join in the fun. Not to worry – we’ll still be blazing ahead with trees here at Arboreality!

Here we’re looking up at one my favorite fixtures around the farm: the old silo adjoining what’s left of the bank farmhouse. Next to it is one of many young black walnut trees which spring up around here like dandelions in a grassy field.

Coming up: more mystery trees, and mulberries too!

Sagittarian Moonrise

The moon is full in Sagittarius on Sunday.

Moon rise, sun set

These rose hedges are going to look so incredibly righteous once they begin to bloom!

How's THAT for a five o'clock shadow?

Have a lovely evening, everyone... and a great Tuesday too.

The silo and her trees

I’m not certain just why I love this silo so much. When I finally get out my watercolors, pencils, and charcoals, I think that the silo and her tree-neighbors will be among my first subjects.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Trees consume the bank farmhouse

According to my landlady, these are the remains of what was once an enormous bank farmhouse. By “bank” farmhouse, she means that it was built into a bank, which slopes upward to connect with the silo seen in the last image.

This house was originally at least four stories tall, with I don’t know how many rooms. It must have been an amazing sight to see! Now, the remains of the farmhouse are overrun with great tall trees, including several of the “water trees” of which I spoke the other day. [Eventually I'll get you their common identity].

Sadly, this house was destroyed in a fire many years ago. I’m not sure what has caused all the stone to fall, except for continual erosion. Clearly there is a lot of history in this house, and I hope to learn more as I live here. The big old tree, I am told, is a linden tree; like the farmhouse, it was much much grander before being destroyed in the fire.

Walking through and around this house reminds me of when we visited the ruins of Nim Li Punit in Belize. The great city still boasts incredible stone structures, but all throughout the ruins grow ENORMOUS trees which have consumed what was once a thriving community.

I wonder if the inhabitants of this house ever dreamt about the trees that would one day grow through the very rooms in which they slept, and ate, and gathered. I almost feel as though I am trespassing when I walk through these ruins, and for the most part, I walked around the perimeter only.

At times, it seemed like I could hear their voices in the stone. Perhaps it was merely the chatter of the clack-clacking water trees on the wind. It’s amazing to see how their roots have taken to growing along the mortar, as if feeding off the stone itself. I think that the trees took this opportunity to do what they do best: reuse materials to make something new.

Trees and stone

Around the property where I now live are numerous stone ruins from the remnants of barns, sheds, cottages, and in this image, a silo. Add the many over-growing trees sprouted around them and you have a painter’s paradise, a tribute to romantics everywhere.

This week I’ll be exploring the grounds a bit more, and bringing you images which show some of the beauty in the skeletons of the trees adorning these ruins as only winter shows them to us. They bear burrs and burls, cones and conks, with plenty of mystery and allure.