Snow Cones

Snowy Hemlock Sunrise

Fabulous Friday Philadelphia Snowfall

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).

Black Walnut Snow Dance

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?)

Cold Sunrise at the Farm

The Moon is waning. Here in the Philadelphia area the coming New Moon in Sagittarius (December 9, 2007) heralds wind, cold, and (hopefully) snow. When I woke around 4am today the moon was still high with Venus, and by dawn it was eclipsed by passing wisps of cold, grey clouds.

(Note for star gazers: the Moon is nearly conjunct Venus; that means they're really close together in the sky from our perspective. Seriously, just make yourself get up early for five minutes, and soak in the beauty before sunrise.)

No one calls in the winter wind like the Eastern white pines along the western side of our cottage. Without their leaves, the oaks may groan and the walnuts may roar, but the Eastern white pines still kick up a clatter, their voice clearer in the winter without the deciduous trees to drown them out.

I encourage you to visit Cady May at Meanwhile, Back in the Holler and listen in on what the trees have to say in her neck of the woods. She's composed a timely video which is as much a documentary as it is a lovingly constructed work of art: Autumn in a Tennessee Holler.

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).

No No Zoto

Well, my photo hosting at Zoto is no more, so please bear with me – our forested header and icons will return shortly!

As you can see, Spring is not far off here outside Philadelphia!

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?

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.

Frozen Pine Needles

Winter is still very much alive in this neck of the woods!

Frosty Fungus

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

Ice and Snow

I just love the bark of the black walnut trees!

Blue Spruce in Snow

We have snow, and I have pictures. More to follow!

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.

Trees in Snow-dust

Last night, with respect for the new moon, I undressed the Christmas tree we had in the house. It’s rather unusual for us to have a cut tree in the house. Normally, we have a small live tree indoors for a week, which is typically planted by this time.

As you may have read, this year we planted a Blue spruce, and brought in a cut Fraser fir. So far, the Blue spruce has tolerated the transplant (but the first couple years are the real test).

The biggest surprise was the cut tree we placed in the house. It stopped taking water about two weeks ago, but apart from a little browning at the top of the tree, it still looks GREAT! I am seriously impressed by the longevity and vigor of this cut tree after standing in our home for almost two full months. Now that I've removed all the ornaments, I'll be cutting off the branches and chopping up the trunk to bring it full circle back to the earth.

Among the many trimmings to come off the indoor tree last night were a few strands of popcorn and cranberries. After the last attempt, I decided to hang these on the two planted Christmas trees this morning in order to increase my chances at spotting the snackers in action.

I also sprinkled bird seed on and around the Eastern white pine outside my window so that I can enjoy the colors and songs of all the overwintering birds. This morning we have a small dusting of snow to show for last night’s flurries. It’s a tease, but I’ll take it!

First Snow Fall

With the exception of the occasional flurry, this is our first snow of the winter season, which started just minutes ago! I can’t believe that during my first year away from Seattle, that I would miss all the outstanding rain, wind, snow, and storm that they’ve been seeing this season. Harumph!

The tree in the background of this image is one of the big Eastern white pines next to our home. C’mon snow! Let's see some accumulation!

Ranunculus, Ridiculous

First off, SpiderGirl was right about the ranunculus. The little yellow flowers which I call buttercups (as SpiderGirl pointed out, a type of ranunculus) are in fact, winter aconite (ranunculaceae, Eranthis). My landlady was kind enough to let me in on the secret of their exact common name (and kind enough to offer that I could dig some up and bring it over to my cottage!) Rock on!

Second… I’m in love with a spruce cone.

It’s ridiculous. It’s disturbing. It’s leaning towards dendrophilia!

Ok, it’s nothing untoward… nothing obscene...

Here’s the story: Monday, I was walking my month’s rent check to our landlady and landlord, when one of the great evergreens in their driveway gave me a gift: a cone!

I think you’ll agree that it’s just gorgeous… I picked up two, but I like this one the best – especially because it has a little twig of needles still attached. While I’m not certain of the species, after looking online I believe that this is likely a Norway Spruce. Interestingly, it appears to have already tossed its seeds out of the cone. I can see the groves under the platelets where they should be, but they are all empty.

Anyways, I’ve simply fallen in love with this beautiful cone. I love the feel of its shiny platelets, its uniform radial symmetry, its delicate fragrance, and its pretty little twig. I’ve been carrying this cone around for two days now. It’s been sitting on my desk next to my laptop when I write, and following me around the house while I work.

Is there an 800 number I can call to get help for this sort of thing? :)

Have you ever brought cones into the house (or kept them on the dashboard of your truck) and watched as they opened and closed their platelets? I don’t mean rapidly like fish gills, but slowly over time?

Later today, or perhaps tomorrow, I'll be sharing some more images from the stone ruins. Last night I took some great pictures showing how the trees have taken over what was once a large farm house.

Chasing the Sunrise

This morning we awoke to a dusting of snow flurries, and a clear crisp sunrise heralded by none other than Venus, the morning star herself.

I dashed out with my camera to try and get a few images for you while the rising sunlight still shone pink and gold on the trees. It's wonderful to watch the changing contrasts as the sun first touches the upper most branches, and works its way down the trunks.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to be able to dip your paintbrush in the sunlight, and paint with sunrise-pink?