Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

©voyager, all rights reserved

It’s leaf day! Around our house that means that the baby leaves are finally big enough to camouflage the highschool up the street. There’s nothing wrong with the highschool, they keep it well maintained, but I prefer to look at leaves. The city where I live plants a lot of trees free of charge. Technically they sit on city land (which is about 5 meters in from the center of the street), but they become the property and responsibility of the homeowner. About 20 years ago they planted red maples down my street and I happened to be home when they got to my house. It was near 5 pm and it had obviously been along day for the lads. There were only 2 trees left in their trailer and they were about to plant one of them in my side yard when I decided to ask if I could have them both. One fellow looked at the trees, looked at my yard, looked back at the trees again and shrugged. “Sure, why not” he said as he grabbed his shovel and started to dig. For once, I was in the right spot at the right time and was bold enough to open my mouth and ask for what I wanted. And it worked. Those 2 trees are now big and strong and shade my house all day long. Lucky me.

Tree Tuesday

©voyager, all rights reserved

The effects of human-caused increased greenhouse gases were predicted as early as the turn of the 20th Century and according to the Ivan Semeniuk of the Canadian Globe and Mail a NASA study of tree rings from the last 120 years is helping to prove out this theory.

In 1896, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius made a prescient calculation that showed the vast quantities of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by burning coal and other fossil fuels would eventually cause the planet to get warmer.

Little did he realize that the effect he described was already under way and being dutifully recorded by a ready-made monitoring system distributed around the globe in the form of trees.

The growth record of trees is recorded in their rings and this growth is highly sensitive to changes in moisture.

Tree rings are among the most direct ways of measuring past climate because trees are sensitive to soil moisture. In drier years, trees grow more slowly and the annual rings that are recorded in their trunks become narrower. By comparing overlapping tree-ring patterns in wood that grew at different times on different continents, scientists have gradually built up “drought atlases” that show changes in moisture distribution dating back to the year 1400 or, in some areas, even earlier.

Drought atlases are nothing new, but using trees to measure the effects of drought across time and region is new science and it’s showing some startling trends.

The scientists found that after centuries of normal variations during which some places alternately became wetter or drier relative to each other, an additional effect on moisture emerged around 1900 that is consistent with climate change. Over all, the data show that much of North America, Australia and the Mediterranean have been getting drier over the past 120 years while parts of Asia, including India and western China, have been getting wetter.

The effect was especially pronounced during the first half of the 20th century, but became more subdued between 1950 and 1975. Since then, it has accelerated. The scientists posit that a huge increase in the release of sulphates and other airborne chemicals in the postwar era served to temporarily counteract the effect of greenhouse gases by deflecting sunlight and promoting cloud formation. This countertrend later subsided after air-quality regulations went into effect in North America and Europe.

The results of this study help confirm that human activity is directly related to global climate change, although trees in the southern hemisphere were not included because their growth patterns are not as seasonally visible.

So it seems that trees are helping to relate the story of climate change in new ways. I’m not surprised. Trees have proven to be one of mankind’s best natural resources and now they’re talking to us in ways we can understand. Whether people will listen is another matter.

 

Via: The Globe and Mail, May 2/19, Ivan Semeniuk

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

It’s been an absolutely glorious day here, full of sunshine and flowers and bees. The tulips around our neighbourhood are opening up in a riot of colour and down the street hyacinths are in full deep purple bloom. We’ve had a day and a half of sunshine and it seems that’s exactly what was needed to kick spring into gear. Yesterday morning the trees were only just a bit fuzzy, but this afternoon there are actual leaves popping out all over. It isn’t quite leaf day yet, but I think it might be tomorrow. Everything is growing so quickly. Overnight my hydrangeas sprouted leaves and I swear my grass has put on 2 or 3 inches of growth since yesterday morning. It’s like someone waved a magic wand and said ‘go, hurry.’ So imagine my surprise to arrive at the park this afternoon and find all of the tulips there still tightly closed.  Oh well, it obviously isn’t their day yet.

It’s my day! ©voyager, all rights reserved

Tree Tuesday

Trees in the News:

A massive yellow meranti found in the Dunam Valley area of Malaysia has been confirmed to be the world’s tallest tropical tree at 330 ft. (100.5 meters). Originally seen from the air, the tree was climbed by a daring local man with a tape measure to confirm it’s status. Logging is prohibited in the area and it is thought that there may be even larger trees as yet undiscovered in the same area. The video has some very nice aerial photography.

 

From The Smithsonian Magazine

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

Yesterday was a perfect spring day with sunshine and warmth and all things good. Today is also a perfect spring day, but of the drizzly, rainy kind that feeds all the growing things. I’m not sure the little growing things really need the rain because the ground is still pretty wet from the last rain we had plus the winter melt, but the trees are doing thirsty work making leaves so they’ll use up any extra left over water. I know that there are parts of the world who are struggling with a too dry spring season and I wish I could share. Here it’s been snow and rain and rain and rain for many weeks. It should settle down eventually and I can only hope the trees get enough wet now to protect them from the blistering heat to come. The weather has changed so drastically over the course of my lifetime that I just don’t know what to expect anymore. I do love the trees, though, and I hate to see them suffer so let it rain on my beauties while they grow their summer suits. I can wait  for the sunshine.

Tree Tuesday

This week we have gorgeous spring blossoms from Avalus. This is a Mirabelle Plum tree and it’s magnificent. The critter in the last photo seems to agree, although it is likely not enjoying the blossoms as much as it will the fruit to come.

Mirabelle ©Avalus, all rights reserved

Mirabelle (2) ©Avalus, all rights reserved

Plums ©Avalus, all rights reserved

Squirrel ©Avalus, all rights reserved

Jack’s Walk

The Palomino Tree, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Our walk today was slow and short. To begin with it’s raining. There’s been a constant light rain since yesterday and every now and then it unexpectedly morphs into a heavy downpour that eats up the light and has you soaked in seconds. That’s what accounts for the shortness of our walk. The slowness is another matter, though. On rainy days I move like a sloth. The best way that I can explain it is that I feel like I’m moving through thick porridge. Even my hands give me trouble and simple things like doing up buttons and keyboarding seem to take forever. Today it’s worse than usual and I’ve got quite a bit of brain fog to go along with it. Let me tell you why.

Yesterday Mr. Voyager had sleep dentistry done. This is becoming a thing around my area. You’re given a light general anesthetic while they do fillings, etc. and it’s commonly used for children. Mr. V needed 2 root canals done plus several fillings so being asleep seemed like the best option. He’s had sleep dentistry done in the past and it went well so we weren’t expecting any problems. Ha, silly us. This time the Mr. wouldn’t wake up. He went under at 11 o’clock with about 2 hours worth of work to be done. At about 1:30 the nurse came to tell me everything went well, but they couldn’t rouse the big guy. Nothing to worry about they said, he’s just sleeping. OK, I thought, he didn’t sleep well the night before so let him snooze for a bit. Then 3 o’clock came and went. Then 4, then 5 and by the time 6 o’clock rolled around the office was closing up for the night and the nurse is still telling me not to worry, he’s just sleeping and they’ll stay with him as long as needed. Finally at 8 pm the Dr. himself walked my sweet, groggy husband out to the car and we made the 45 minute trip home. My sleeping beauty drowsed the whole way home, went to bed as soon as we got in the door and didn’t get up until 11 o’clock this morning. He says he’s feeling quite refreshed. Me, not so much.

I do most things standing up resting on my arms because sitting is uncomfortable. My desk is at standing height and so is my work table. Some days even lying down isn’t comfortable so I’ve learned how to sleep standing up. It’s because of the fibro plus an advancing  scoliosis. Sitting causes nerve compression which sets off sciatica which sets of the fibro which makes voyager a tad cranky. Yesterday, I sat for hours. It was pouring rain outside so going for a walk wasn’t appealing and there was nowhere I could stand and rest my arms. I also kept thinking he’ll be awake soon and we can go home.

Jack’s day wasn’t much better. We left him with my brother-in-law who has a dog about the same size as Jack named Angus. Angus is a dick. He’s part German shepherd, part border collie and part Australian cattle dog and he’s smart as a whip, as fast as the wind and a bully. He taunts Jack and teases him with toys that he never shares. Yesterday was the longest that Jack has had to stay with Angus, almost 12 hours, and he was absolutely overjoyed to see us. I can see today that he’s exhausted so I don’t think Angus let him rest yesterday.

So, both of us slow today. Sorry about the prattling on, but I can’t find the brevity button in my brain. I hope you find some joy in whatever you do and have a good weekend.

 

Jack’s Walk

A cloudy day in early spring. This photo is in full colour. ©voyager, all rights reserved

Well, it’s rain, rain, rain around here for the next 6 days if you believe the forecast. I don’t usually believe the forecast when the weather is supposed to be good, so why should I believe it when the weather’s supposed to be bad. That might make me an optimist and a pessimist which likely equals out to being a realist, which sounds about right. I’m being stiff upper-lipped about the weather, though. I keep telling myself that April Showers bring May Flowers and that it’s like this every year. Spring is wet, but at least this week it’s rain and not snow and the temps are steadily rising and the sun and the flowers and the birds and the bees will be here soon. Hmm… might be an optimist after all.

Tree Tuesday

I love to see the bright, fresh blossoms on flowering trees in early spring, but around here the show hasn’t started yet and the trees seem to be waking up very, very slowly. In Germany, though, the cherry trees are in full bloom and Avalus has taken some gorgeous photographs to share with us.

©Avalus, all rights reserved

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Tree Tuesday

The Tree of Life in Bahrain, Alawadhi 3000, Wikipedia.org

In a remote part of the Arabian desert in Bahrain sits a lone Ghaf tree (Prosopis cineraria) that has mysteriously survived for over 400 years. It’s known as The Sharajat-al-Hayat or The Tree of Life.

Lacking any visible source of water, the 32-foot mesquite tree has baffled visitors and scientists alike for its entire life as it has continued to grow. Although the mesquite tree is known for holding a great deal of water in its massive root system, there is still no source of water in sight. Even arid vegetation needs water to survive, which makes Bahrain’s Tree of Life even more mysterious.

The mystery of the tree’s survival has led to a lot of speculation.

Without a rational explanation for the tree’s biological success, many have turned to mythology and religion for answers. Some assert that Enki, an ancient god of water in Babylonian and Sumerian mythology, protects the tree. Others still believe the site is the historical location of the Garden of Eden.

Whatever the source of life is for this tree it has inspired millions of people and attracts upwards of 50,000 visitors a year from around the world.

 

Via Atlas Obscura

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

Proper spring has finally arrived and our temps have climbed into double digits. Today it’s a delightful +13º and for the first time this year I smell that fresh, sweet, earthy scent of spring. I even threw open the windows this morning, but 13º isn’t exactly room temperature so I had to close back up sooner than I wanted to. No matter. Jack and I took a long, leisurely walk around our wee forest this morning and even the overcast sky couldn’t dampen our good spirits. I wore shoes, not boots and a light jacket, not my padded winter coat. I replaced my tuque with a cheerful small-brimmed straw hat with a navy blue and white ribbon and it was delightful to be unburdened of all that heavy winter wear. I think we probably have a few more cold days ahead of us so I won’t put way my winter stuff just yet, but it sure is nice to give the spring wear an outing now and then.

Jack’s Walk

Help me, I’m melting… ©voyager, all rights reserved

We’re expecting rain today and according to the forecast it’s going to be rainy for the next 4 days. Oh well, you know what they say…April showers bring May flowers. At least it’s finally getting warmer. It’s going up to +9º today and the weekend is supposed to get all the way up to +18º. Oh my, that will make the plants get growing and the trees start leafing and I don’t even care that it’s going rain. Proper spring is about to start and I can’t wait to see a bit of colour around here. I hope everyone has a good weekend, especially those of you who are battling with sickness…feel batter soon.

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack started picking at his feet and scratching yesterday and around our house that’s a sure sign of spring. It means that the gray grass is getting ready to turn green and Jack’s allergies have flared up. I called the vet and we’ve started the boy’s allergy tablets (Vanectyl-P) and he’ll be taking one a day until the snow flies. The scratching isn’t all due to allergies, though. Jack’s annual spring shed has kicked into high gear and the amount of hair he loses is astonishing. It comes out in clumps when you brush him and your arm can go numb and still there’s more hair to brush out. When he walks you can see hair just floating off and it’s almost impossible to keep up with the hair bunnies that collect in the corners of the house. The boy starts to look a bit shabby, too, with light patches of fur that stick out at odd angles. So he scratches and turns into a little bear who rubs himself on anything handy; trees, telephone poles, the sofa, people. You have to watch out for that last one, people. Jack loves to talk to strangers and he’ll walk right up to anyone and ask for a scratch. If it isn’t offered quickly enough he’ll take his bowling ball of a head and butt you with it and then start rubbing himself around you in circles. Unsurprisingly, not everyone appreciates this. It will be a few more weeks before my little hair machine finishes his shed and until then it’s brush, scratch, rub, repeat around here.