I've written about this tree before.
He stands straight up, like a sentry, at the head of the powerline trail that cuts through the park that buffers the place where I work out on Lotusland's western-most edge.
Usually his colours turn last, but this year they seem to be going a little early.
And I'm not entirely sure what's up with his buddy the cedar either (the one in our backyard has had the same problem this year).
Subtly strange days perhaps?
Weather/climate-wise, I mean.
****
Had an interesting talk with a science geek-buddy this morning.
He's a Dipper who lives in the former provincial Earth-Wind-And-Fire minister's (i.e. Liberal Joyce Murray's) riding.
"Should I vote for her?" he asked.
What do you think my answer was?
________
Scorecard:
Good - The puffed-up starling on the fence in the back lane who I could swear winked at me as I disembarked.
Bad - The first sheen of damp leaves on wet pavement - super scary for bikes
Ugly - I did my best when I turned right at the sentry and hit the trail this morning...But there was one slug I just couldn't avoid...Maybe they need a lane of their own...
.
9 comments:
I think you said yes, vote for Joyce Murray.
Same as my answer would have been.
Canadians have got to vote strategically to get ride of Steven Harper and take our Canada back.
---otr
otr--
Absolutely.
I saw a bunch of LeadNow folks out and about in VanGranville this afternoon.
Asked them if there was another poll coming for that riding because I don't see how anybody can know how to swing their vote strategically without some data about who has the best chance to beat the Con with the 'big' signs along the GVille Hghwy.
.
didnt a Green party running member offer to quit as to not split vote?
Trees are male?
Anon-Above--
There was something out there about a Green candidate having their knuckles wrapped (i.e. not whipped) along those lines.
Anyone remember the details
_______
Chris--
Ha!
Well, just this particular one.
.
Re the Green, if you mean the gent from Peterborough, Ont., he was after the nomination and said he'd put his name on the ballot but then withdraw and endorse another party, since he had no chance. Party spanked him, gave the nomination to someone else. He's still out campaigning for Green candidates across the country to back another candidate where it would make sense, but he's not getting traction from the party. Looks like partly an internal party dispute about centralization of decision making and partly the same debate everyone is having about vote splitting. The guy's name is Gary Beamish.
Thanks Chris--
So just a spanking.
Not the thing that starts with 'w' that Ms. May said she doesn't/won't do?
.
The tree is monoecious ---"one household"---male and female together. It's a maple, I think; can't quite make out the leaves but the top-first leaf-clour change I think gives it away: maples do not have summer dormancy like conifers and many species of deciduous trees do, and so have a constant water demand throughout summer, the only way to conserve scarce water being aborting foliage instead of going to sleep like the other species do when it gets droughty. Birch family (alders, birches and hazelnuts) same way. If you cut during summer, the wound will "bleed sap," whereas mid-summer dormancy allows mid-summer pruning of fruit trees (rose family) and conifers without bleeding.
The cedar has to drop its foliage, which all so-called "evergreens" do after its about 3 or 4 years old---except since the cedar's scale-like needles are interlocked, it has to abort entire fronds in a process called "flagging" instead of individual needles like other conifers. It looks serious until you realize it's normal. The flagged branchlets should be distributed evenly throughout the crown, in contrast to a cedar in real trouble in which every frond in a given sector, usually the top, turns red. I hope your cedar has the former.
Thanks scotty--
And, just because enquiring minds want to know...
Is there anything you don't?
(Don't know at least a little bit about, I mean)
.
Post a Comment