Back in the Land of Evergreens (and Alders)

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.

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.

New Content is Sprouting at Arboreality

Tree blogging is a genuine love of mine, and I especially enjoy the opportunity to exercise my amateur photography upon such an excellent and ever-evolving subject.

This Christmas my folks contributed once again to Arboreality with the gift of a new lens for my Nikon D80: the AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens. Now we shall boldly go where Arboreality has never been able to go before: high, high into the treetops! [For example, the nest in our first image - remember you can click on pictures to enlarge them.]

Suddenly it has all become to clear to me (no pun intended) as to how so many other bloggers can take pictures of birds: they have zoom lenses! No longer must I sneak within a few meters to obtain blurred images of indignant ornithoids: now I can stealthily snap their photograph without their knowledge! Ditto for deer, foxes, and other mobile lifeforms.

In addition to the sharper images at Arboreality, I will also be brining in content from other writers. Arboreality will invite its first guest bloggers this year, and will also be sharing articles from businesses who work in trees, plants, flowers, and gardening supplies. Our first book review of the Curious Gardener’s Almanac in November 2007 is the first of many to come; in fact, there are two books sitting on my desk, staring me down expectantly every morning.

Arboreality is one of three blogs I write in addition to Brainripples and AppleJade. Between these three blogs plus my (paying) work as an independent writer / editor, I find that I have an ever-waning amount of free-blogging time to wander the woods and wax philosophical. My hope is that by bringing new writers and businesses to the table at Arboreality, I will continue to bring you fresh ideas about trees and forests throughout the year - no matter how busy my work schedule becomes.

If you would like to contribute at Arboreality, please contact me via email at jadeblackwater [at] brainripples [dot] com with a brief query for consideration.

Also, for all my regular readers: please be sure to let me know if you ever have trouble loading Arboreality or its images. Thank you!

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!

Change is Coming, and the Trees Know It

Greetings! I hope you have all enjoyed these last bits of summer (or winter, should you live south of the equator). Autumn is just starting to raise its voice in Eastern Pennsylvania, but there's enough summer left to keep my kitchen filled with tomatoes.

During my time away from blogging I’ve crafted new ideas, taken loads of pictures, fixed up the disaster in my house, and created new project plans for the coming season. I have much to share!

Pictures and thoughts about trees and forests will resume at Arboreality later this week. Postings will be once or twice per week while I give my energy to my newest projects. Provided all goes well, Arboreality itself may be pulling up its roots, and migrating to a whole new domain!

But you’re just here for the trees, right? I’ll get right on it.

Until then, remember to check out the Festival of the Trees. The new issue went online on the first.

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

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!]

The Thinking Tree

Sylvia of Classical Bookworm (and Sister Earth) has graciously tagged Arboreality with the Thinking Blogger Award.

Thank you Sylvia! For those who enjoy Arboreality regularly, we also owe another debt of thanks to Sylvia for being the first to bring the Festival of the Trees to our neck of the woods!

I admit that I am a tad remiss (having been out sick), so please allow me to make up for it now by tagging five blogs with the Thinking Blogger Award that really make me think!


Anita Marie Moscoso, Owl Creek Bridge
I regularly enjoy Anita Marie's musings of the macabre at Owl Creek Bridge. Hop over, turn up the wick on the oil lamp, pull your blanket around your shoulders, and enjoy. Errr... perhaps you may want to leave the lights on!


Flea, One Good Thing
A good friend of mine sent me to this blog a couple years ago. Flea and I may not have much in common in our day-to-day, but she is one hell of a writer, and I am never disappointed when I visit her blog. Flea shares her thoughts, stories, family, writing, and more at One Good Thing.


Pablo, Roundrock Journal
I can't remember whether I first visited Roundrock Journal before or after I joined in the Festival of the Trees, but I do know that I always wish I had more time to stay and read. Pablo shares discoveries online from his neck of the Missouri woods.


Kerrdelune, Beyond the Fields We Know
It's funny, but I've found myself wandering Beyond the Fields We Know via many paths through the blogging woods. I inevitably lose myself in Cate's reflections on daily rituals, monthly moons, and the wonders outside her window.


Bloglily
It was her thoughts on writing and literature that first drew me in to Bloglily's musings, but I think it's her tone that brings me back. Bloglily shares her thoughts on literature, life, and all sorts of little projects.

Phew. Do you have any idea how hard it was to pick just five?!

What’s that you say? This post has nothing to do with trees or forests? Think again. If you want to stretch you brain just a fraction, take a moment and envision the ever-expanding branches of a stout, wide-crowned tree of “thinker blogs,” which is growing this very minute, rooted in our very own musings!

If you were tagged with the Thinking Blogger Award and you want to participate by tagging others, be sure to stop by The Thinking Blog (where this meme originated) for more info. Here are the easy rules:


1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative

silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

* * *

And if you didn't get enough new material here, check out the sidebars at Arboreality and Brainripples, and wander!

Alive and Kicking

I’m not dead, but if you’d asked me a few days ago I might have said yes. My apologies for my two-week absence: I’ve been sick!

In other news, spring is awakening around the farm, and there is so much to show you! I’m sowing seeds and watching the first flowers awaken, including Winter aconite, daffodils, and croci. (Guess what I discovered when I looked back at last year's entries for those links? I was sick at almost the exact same time last year!) As soon as I get out with my camera, I'll have pictures for you.

And to toot my horn a little, I had a photograph published in Pennsylvania Pursuits Magazine. It’s one of my images of the mulberry trees from around the farm. If you subscribe, flip to the end of the magazine to find my image with a silk worm article.

There is more ahead. Thank you all for your patience, kindness, and support, and HAPPY SPRING!

PS – So tell me, how fast does the Arboreality header image load for you? If it’s not showing up, please let me know so I can find another image hosting service!

New Natural Lands Trust blog

If you’ve ever browsed the Conservation and Preservation blogs listed in Arboreality’s sidebar, you’ve likely ventured around the various Natural Lands Trust blogs that featured news from conservation efforts around my area.

The Natural Lands Trust has now created one, central blog featuring news from preserves around the area. Be sure to stop by to see what folks are doing for the trees, forests, and wildlife in my neck of the woods!

If you'd like to read more about what's going on in Southeast Pennsylvania, check out our previous discussion with Bill Gladden about Open Space Preservation in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

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!

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!

Nature Preserve Blogs

After sharing what I learned about the Open Space Preservation Department in Chester County, Pennsylvania, I heard from Oliver Bass, Senior Director of Development and Communications with Natural Lands Trust.

Natural Lands Trust manages numerous preserves around Pennsylvania, including Sadsbury Woods Preserve and Stroud Preserve of Chester County. Apparently, several of those preserves also maintain blogs with news and information! You can now find links to them both at the Natural Lands Trust blogs page, and in the Arboreality sidebar under Conservation and Preservation Blogs. Be sure to check them out!

What are your favorite green blogs? What blogs do you look to for news about the environment, trees and forests, conservation, land preservation, nature, and other earth news and information?

If you're still looking for blogs with environmental information, be sure to play around in the Arboreality sidebar - there's lots to explore in that little forest.

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!

Festival of the Trees 6 – Taking Root and Bearing Fruit

Welcome to the Festival of the Trees 6!

I have emerged from a dense forest of tree blogging to share some of my favorite discoveries. Would that I could have included them all! Thank you to Dave Bonta for his support in preparing this festival.

Blogging about trees and forests at Arboreality provides me with the unique opportunity to share my daily discoveries among the trees. When I started out, I intended to use Arboreality as a vehicle both to share information, and to help me improve my plant identification skills.

The true surprises for me actually come from reading other blogs about trees and plants. Has anyone else noticed how amazing it is to watch forests and gardens grow and change in unison across the world? I love seeing how a certain tree or flower will blossom in my neck of the woods, only to emerge a week later in another region. Even more fun is to see how dramatically different wildlands and gardens can look in different regions of the earth.

Over at Brainripples, reader Ester Wilson recently responded to a question about creativity with the following: “I’m sure that everything in the world has potential to pull out creativity within people. It may just depend on how much you’re willing to let it come out, how willing you are to be fascinated by the world.”

I hope that this month’s Festival of the Trees encourages you all to renew your willingness to be fascinated by the world, and to be touched by the trees.

[Photo above: Autumn Leaves, courtesy of Renata Vincoletto]

Turning Seasons

Many of us in the northern hemisphere have been enjoying the color show with the passage of Autumn, and it’s my pleasure to share some of the many signs of the seasons I found online in full color.

For the curious, Caroline at Earth Friendly Gardening shares with us the mysteries of how and why leaves turn color in the autumn. Petunia’s Gardener enjoys the benefits of the big leaf maple and the ornamental cherry trees in mulching.

Lené of Counting Petals is Giving Thanks, Pam of Nature Woman was awed by sparkling trees, surprise rainbows, and busy birds, and Mary Ellen at Poetry, Art, & the Fotoz of my life shares the many colors of Sacramento.

Amba at Ambivablog tells us about her maple tree as it awes them with its annual color show, while Roger at Words & Pictures shares his Sweet chestnut and Ginkgo, still full of life at the turn of the season.

With autumn coming to a close, KerrdeLune of Beyond the Fields We Know peers through the looking glass at seasons past. Petunia’s Gardener sees the first snows of the Pacific Northwest coat her late season apples. Sandra of here in Korea shares the annual wrapping of ornamentals in straw, to protect the trees through the coming winter, while Cindy at Woodsong shows us the Snow Bunting birds gracing the trees like fluffy ornaments. Speaking of tree ornamentation, Lorrianne of Hoarded Ordinaries gives us proof that deciduous trees can get into the Christmas spirit!

For those who are not quite as excited as I am for the autumn and winter, take a trip down under to see what Alice at A Growing Delight is enjoying in Australia, including her recent visit to a Canberra Nature Park at Gungahlin Hill.


UK National Tree Week

This month’s Festival of the Trees 6 coincides with the UK National Tree Week