New York Botanical Garden

You're probably thinking, "who visits a botanical garden on a cold, snowy day?" Well, as you may know, I was in New York city to see my 94 year-old father in late November-early December because he had taken a tumble a few weeks prior. Thankfully, he is doing well now. His rehabilitation facility is in the Bronx, only about four miles from the venerable New York Botanical Garden. Not going there would be a major oversight in my book, so visit I did - it was a cold day with a tiny bit of snow and sleet falling, but not enough to whine about. And there were hundreds of other brave souls there as well - this is a popular spot I discovered, even in bad weather!

Haupt Conservatory Main Hall

Popular photo stop at the garden!

Most folks were heading to the annual holiday model train show, which takes place inside the huge glass Conservatory. The show is one of their main fundraisers each year. The show features scores of plant-based replicas of well know New York landmarks such as the George Washington bridge and the Statue of Liberty. It's a unique world-class attraction that draws families year after year. I watched a 30 minute show about it on PBS while here, so I got to experience it without having to wait in line for 2 hours! Most visitors buy their tickets online and get a time to show up, thereby avoiding the wait.

Garden Map

It's a short walk from the "D" subway to the garden, which has been around since 1891 and covers 250 acres in the heart of the Bronx. Even in cold weather, there are several miles of paths to walk, and countless trees to admire. I was especially interested in checking out their new Native Plant garden, which opened last year. There was also an exhibit featuring flora art and historic books which was very interesting to someone like me; and it was indoors!

Water Features at Native Plant Garden

Flora Artwork and Book Exhibit

Rare book for sale in gift shop

This vast expanse is home to 50 different gardens, featuring all types of habitats and flora. I could easily spend several days here in warmer weather. So I do hope to come back in the Summer at some point. As I walked around I actually found a few blooming things, such as a winter Camellia. The garden is also a research center, has an impressive library, and a good cafe, where I absorbed my afternoon espresso!

Winter Moon Camellia

Seeds I purchased from the NYBG seed bank...

You can read much more about this fascinating place by visiting their website and searching on the web. It's worth checking out the Holiday Train show on YouTube as well, as there is nothing quite like it. If you have been to the garden, please comment on your visit below!

Other Flora in the Area

While in New York, there were a few sunny days when I walked around the parks near my father's place in Washington Heights. Fort Tryon Park is nearby and has a good view of the Hudson River in both directions. It was designed by Fredrick Olmstead Jr., the son of the Central Park architect. It has a notable history and is very popular with the locals.

Odd welcome to the park by author Val Lewton

      

Blooming Heather

Walking Paths

Late blooming Aster

Much of the park is solid rock

Plein Air Painter

Links:

NYBG website

Wikipedia article on the NYBG

YouTube excerpt from PBS show

Fort Tryon Park Info

Historic Holly Hails Herein

Here in Oregon, we have all seen holly trees growing in yards and on roads, as well as holly tree farms planted for commercial use. A bit of an oddity, all holly plants are in the family Aquifoliaceae and genus Ilex - which is the only genus in the family. There are 400 - 600 species of holly around the world, both evergreen and deciduous. For the most part, what we find here in Oregon is English Holly or European Holly (Ilex aquifolium). It's a native of Europe, Africa, and Asia. There are no native holly plants in Oregon (gasp!).

Male English holly with berries.

Female "Golden King" holly - note lack of thorns!

What is the association of holly with Winter/Christmas, I wondered during a recent walk where I encountered an old and very colorful holly tree growing along the road? Is it just crass commercialism, or that "holly" sounds a bit like "holy"? I understand the appeal and symbolism of something like mistletoe, but holly - not so sure. Commercially grown holly is big business, especially this time of year; and there are dozens of holly cultivars for sale at nurseries. 

After a bit of Internet research, while sipping my heavily spiced hot cider, I learned there are many stories and legends surrounding this one. No surprise there! As with many very old legends, holly has a pre-Christian and post-Christian storyline, which I will attempt to outline here, very briefly.

The Druids seemed to have been the first to use holly as a kind of protective headgear when going into the forest for hunting. Later, the Romans used holly as an offering of sorts to their Saturn god. In addition, Roman citizens gifted holly sprigs to each other, possibly for good luck or to indicate prolonged friendship.

In Christian times, holly was originally placed above home doors to indicate it was a Christian home and to possibly ward off evil spirits as well. Over time this became a general symbol of Christmas festivities, joining mistletoe and Christmas trees. In addition, the red berries have been symbolic of the blood of Druid gods and later of Christ.

Many of these holly legends and practices are based on English holly's evergreen status (triumph over winter), thorns (protection, weapon), and red berries (blood, sacrifice, warning). In fact, the berries are fairly toxic with alkaloids, and should not be consumed by humans. The leaves on the other hand contain caffeine and are used to make Yerba Mate, a coffee alternative.

English holly trees are either male or female, producing slightly different flowers, but otherwise nearly identical, although female leaves have fewer thorns. In its native habitat, holly enriches the soil and provides good cover for birds and mammals alike. It's an indicator species in those areas as well. Here in our area, it can be considered an invasive plant, disrupting some of our natives. See link below.

On closer examination, male holly tree on left and female
 on right. Looks like they've been a couple a long time!

Female English holly leaves.

Old male in town.

I also found scores of songs and poems with seasonal holly in the theme. One notable one was actually written (or "penned") as they say, by King Henry VIII (yes, THE King of England in 1509-1547). It seems to be a love poem of sorts, which is amusing given the King's marital history (he was married six times):

Green groweth the holly,

So doth the ivy.

Though winter blasts blow never so high,

Green groweth the holly.

As the holly groweth green

And never changeth hue,

So I am, ever hath been,

Unto my lady true.

As the holly groweth green

With ivy all alone

When flowers cannot be seen

And greenwood leaves be gone,

Now unto my lady

Promise to her I make,

From all other only

To her I me betake.

Adieu, mine own lady,

Adieu, my special

Who hath my heart truly

Be sure, and ever shall. 

And most of us have heard some version of the Christmas Carol, "The Holly and the Ivy." This British carol's exact origin is unclear, although it likely started with the Druids. The earliest printed lyrics are dated in the early 1700's; the more recent ones are likely mid 1800's. These two plants were associated with fertility, holly being male and ivy being female. They probably did not realize at the time that holly has both male and female plants. In addition, since "Holly" became a popular girl's name, the original idea must have morphed somewhere along the way!

Locally, you can visit a well known holly farm right here on the west side of Portland. The Teufel Holly Farm is mainly wholesale, but they have a seasonal retail shop open until Christmas. They have been in operation since 1890 and have helped develop several new holly cultivars. See link below.

And so in closing, I'll just say "happy holly days, warm up your tea, and get that fireplace going!"

Links:

English Holly Wiki Page

Teufel Holly Farm

Portland Plant Invader Link

King Henry VIII Wiki Page

NW Conifers Christmas Tree Post

Feeling Old?

In early November, we took a short trip to southern Oregon to visit an elderly relative. After that we headed to the coast to see some elderly trees: we spent the last two days of this excursion on the coast, starting out in Crescent City, California. We chose this spot so we could spend a bit of time in the Coast Redwood groves of the area. In particular, we drove through Jedediah Smith State Park which is one of the few remaining places where old growth Redwoods still exist.

Light is filtered by the tall canopies.

When I say "old," I mean upwards of 1,000 years. These trees are some of the oldest living things on earth. You'll feel like a real youngster when you walk around these beauties. The cool, wet, and foggy environment along this coast is ideal for these trees. Before logging started in the mid 1800's the Redwoods thrived on an estimated 2.1 million acres in southern Oregon and northern California. Now, the remaining 125,000 acres are in state and national parks, created to preserve the remaining stands.

Kyle ponders the heavy duty bark.

It is not unusual for a Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) to grow over 200 feet high and some reach over 300 feet. The oldest known tree is about 2,500 years old. Their bark is resistant to insects and fires, making it a well evolved species.

The trail is soft from years of needle accumulation.

We hiked the half mile from the road down to the Stout Grove, where a loop trail takes you through a remarkable stand of older, larger trees. As we walked the soft trail in this completely silent spot, it reminded me of a natural cathedral or sorts. It was hard not to be in awe of these magnificent survivors.

There is enough light for these Sword Ferns.

After about 90 minutes of the "natural yoga," we left the park feeling uplifted, spirited, and younger! For more photos and information, use the links below.

Links:

More of our photos

Wikipedia article

Ken's NW Conifers website

Kodachrome Fall

Even the dreaded Blackberry leaves can be colorful!

If you started out in photography during the "old days" of film, you'll know exactly what I mean by Kodachrome. For years it was the unmatched epitome of high quality, rich, warm, color transparency film. I still have hundreds of Kodachrome slides up in the closet, waiting to be scanned for posterity or doomed to a dark box in the back of the closet until the next time we move!

The stuff was even immortalized by Paul Simon's famous song "Kodachrome." The song is not one of my favorites, but the lyrics went on about how color is better than non-color, and repeated the line, "mama, don't take my Kodachrome away" many, many times. Well, as we all know, it did eventually get taken away by digital cameras and phones. It had a good run though, starting in 1935 and ending in 2010. Although, I noticed you can still buy the stuff on Amazon. Not sure about processing though.

But this post is more about the colors of Fall and how great they looked with Kodachrome. The reds and blues in particular were strong and vibrant. It was the primary film used by National Geographic Magazine and movie makers alike, because of its great color, wide dynamic range, fine grain, and long shelf life, both before and after exposure.

So, this post is a tip of the virtual hat to those former days of  the legendary slide film, as well as a celebration of the beauty of nature's color palette. All of these photos are of course digital, taken recently, and near home, for the most part. You can mouse-over the photos for leaf names. Enjoy!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

Speed Dating

When we were kids, there were several "natural world" indicators for the arrival of Fall: shorter, cooler days, yellow and red leaves on the ground, big orange pumpkins for sale, and we started to find Woolly Bear caterpillars marching along on the ground! It was great fun to pick up these little guys and watch them curl up in our hands; and of course it was more fun to drop them down each other's shirts.

Heading west at Jackson Bottom Wetlands - Oct. 13, 2014

Back then, little did I know that this "Halloween" caterpillar was really an Isabella Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella). When we found the caterpillars roaming around, they were probably looking for some nice green leaves to eat. It feeds on a wide variety of herbs and forbes during fall and then lies dormant through winter. In our area, it only takes one winter for it to emerge as the Isabella moth in the spring. But in colder, shorter growth areas to the north, it can take multiple winters!

The one in these photos was about 1.5 inches long and moved along at a good clip - probably hoping to avoid the many birds in the wetlands!

Front view - note the head, looking at the camera.

Once the moth emerges in spring, it has only a few days to find a mate before it dies. Assuming of course it does not get eaten or smashed by a vehicle. It's a short, rough, dating life for these Isabellas!

Isabella Moth (Wikipedia)

According to legend (or perhaps it's the Farmer's Almanac), the stripes on the Woolly Bear predict the type of winter we will have - the wider the orange stripe, the milder the winter. Kind of reminds me of the Groundhog day legend! Not surprisingly, the stripes have more to do with what the caterpillar eats and how much. See the Folklore link below.

And just as that notorious rodent from Punxsutawney, PA gets his own media day, there are several Woolly Bear festivals held throughout the U.S. in the fall. One features costumes and races... and I'm sure there must be a beer garden in there somewhere!

In some areas of the country, the Woolly Bear is called the Woolly Worm, which kind of makes more sense to me....  If you happen to be near Beattyville, Kentucky in late October, you can stop in for the annual Woolly Worm Festival, a three day event featuring music, a car show, and lots of food!

Closeup with blooming Pearlwort. 

As you can imagine, the Woolly Bear has made an impact with authors, poets, and children. There are poems, songs, and books devoted to this curious little insect. It could be my own view, but it seems there are fewer of these caterpillars around now, but I could be looking in the wrong places. In any event, here's hoping you will see some of these hairy guys this year!

Woolly Bear Folklore

Blast Zone

October 9, 2014 - Crater and Dome

Following the 1980 eruption of Mt. Saint Helens, which is only 65 air miles from Hillsboro, it was only a matter of days before locals wanted to get a closer look at the geologic and environmental aftermath. Two years later, federal funding was approved to build a new road up to the blast area and to construct several visitor centers along the road. The first visitor center near I-5 opened in 1987 and the Coldwater Lake visitor center at the end of the road and closest to the crater opened in 1993. We made our first journey up the new road shortly after that.

May 18, 1980 Headlines

The eruption destroyed thousands of acres of native plants and trees as well as extensively changing the lay of the land in the blast zone. The area became a living laboratory for biologists and botanists to study the natural recovery around the north side of the volcano. See the link below for time lapse from space of the past 33 years in the blast zone.

We made a couple of additional trips up to the north side over the years, but it had been 10 years since we last made the trip. (In September of 2012, after training most of the summer, I climbed up to the south side crater rim of the mountain, and got a good look at the dome and caldera. See the link below for photos of that adventure.

I had hoped to make it up to the newest and closest-to-the-crater visitor center, the Johnston Ridge Observatory (JRO) in July or August, but that did not pan out. So, knowing the JRO would close at the end of October for the season, gave me the added incentive to go this month; not to mention that the impending foul weather would soon prevent access as well. (Visited on 10/09/2014)

It's a long 130 mile drive from our house up to JRO, so you want to do this early and go when the weather is good. The beginning of October was ideal for the trip, with clear skies, no wind, and little traffic once I got off I-5 at Castle Rock, WA, which is roughly the half way point.

The road up to the monument has not changed much, but the trees and shrubs have really filled in the Toutle River flood area and private land outside the monument has mature stands of Noble Fir covering hundreds of acres. The view from JRO, which opened in 1997, is outstanding and the building design is sturdy and low-impact. There are many trails for day hikes and backpacking on the north side, so given my limited amount of time on this visit, I took the Boundary Trail which starts at the JRO.

You've probably seen postcard or calendar pictures of Mt. Saint Helens with wildflowers blooming as far as the eye can see. Well, as expected, I missed the big show this year, but there were a few things here and there in bloom, so all was not lost. Next year we hope to come up to the area for a week or so and really explore the area. The east side of the mountain has many more trails and epic views to discover!

...

Links:

NASA Imagery of the Blast Zone Over 33 Years

2014 JRO and Hike Photos

2012 Climb to the Crater Rim

2004 Coldwater Visitor Center Photos