Iduna's Tree

June 19, 2011

I have the good fortune to have two apple trees in my back yard. So here is a painting of one of them with the sky in her hair.

I was reading in, "Plant Lore, Legends and Lyrics":

In remote districts, the farmers in Herefordshire, Devonshire and Cornwall still preserve the ancient customs of saluting the Apple-trees on Christmas Eve. In some places, the parishioners walk in procession visiting the principal orchards in the parish. In each orchard one tree is selected as representative of the rest; this is saluted with a certain form of words, which have in them the air of an incantation, and then the tree is either sprinkled with cider, or a bowl of cider is dashed against it, to ensure its bearing plentifully the ensuing year. In other places, the farmer and his servants only assemble on the occasion and after immersing cakes in cider, they hang them on the Apple-trees. They then sprinkle the trees with cider, and encircling the largest, they chant the following toast three times: -

"Here's to thee, old Apple-tree,

Whence thou may'st bud, and whence thou may'st blow;

And whence thou may'st bear Apples enow.

Hats full! Caps full!

Bushel, bushel, sacks full!

And my pockets full too!

Huzza! Huzza!

After this the men dance around the tree, and retire to the farmhouse to conclude, with copious draughts of cider, these solemn rites, which are undoubtedly relics of paganism. (pg. 219)

This appeals to me in so many ways, cider, bowls holding cider, apple trees on Christmas Eve, the word "copious" to describe the quantity of cider and most of all, saying, "huzza, huzza!"

Snow in Cedars

March 3, 2011

A few days ago we had a lovely snowfall here. Lovely, if you didn't have to work or drive in it. Lovely, if you could trudge along in the snow and head for the forest to see the updraft and swirls playing against the dark greens and burnt siennas of the woods.

The woods near me are an afterthought, an overgrown quarry left to its own devices. It's very close to the main highway and as such, the din of the traffic is incessant. On snowy days, however, the noise is muffled and not as intrusive.

It is a small wood, but interesting and quite strong in its own energy. Sitting and tapping into this energy is always restorative. Once, while sitting quietly, I watched a white coyote make its way through the woods. I was sitting higher up and could watch his progress. He stopped once, to figure out where I was as he had picked up my scent. I cleared my throat to let him see me. That startled him no end, to find me sitting ten feet from him amongst the ferns. He took off in a blur.

This little painting will be developed into something bigger in oil and a little more subdued with greys and greens.

Vine Maples

November 15, 2010

Vine Maple Trees don't mind growing under shady West Coast canopy. Here they grow, protected from the hot summer sun, getting gentle light, filtered by their tall, evergreen neighbours. In the fall, they blaze out of the dim undergrowth like golden flames.

Aspen Trees = Sneaky Trees

November 5, 2009

As we know, aspen groves grow from one seedling and spread by means of root suckering. So, it's not like an oak tree whereby one acorn=one oak tree. It's one seedling and then a whole grove, or colony, some trees suckering out some 40 meters from the parent, making you think it's a whole new grove...but it's not, because they are sneaky. Moreover, while the trees themselves have a life span of 40- 150 years, the root system underground can live for thousands of years. EEEeee. Yeah. I know, a whole new perspective on these trees eh? Apparently, there is a colony in Utah that they estimate to be 80 000 years old.The grove even has its own name for crying out loud; "Pando", which means 'I spread' in Latin.

Oh my, the things they've seen (say in a high-pitched British old lady voice).

So this painting is misleading because there are no aspens here in the
Vancouver area, being too warm and wet for their growth. This painting
is from a pic from, yes, the Utah holiday. Moreover, the leaves weren't
quite changing for the season, sadly, as that would have been something
to see. Perhaps it is a good job as I might never have come home, just
camped out like some crazed hermit under the aspens, slowly becoming introduced to the colony. I would always be considered an outsider of course, but they would come to accept my human ways.

30th Annual Mushroom Show

October 26, 2009

The Vancouver Mycological Society had their 30th Annual Mushroom
Show at the VanDusen Botanical Gardens on Sunday so we went for a quick look around before it got too crowded. Last year we got there in the middle of the event and you could barely see the table displays due to the crowd that was...well, crowding. This time I could get a closer look, which is nice, especially when you are short.

Below is a large tray of coral fungus in a wide range of colours. Always a crowd pleaser them.

And time enough in the afternoon for a painting, inspired by all those changing fall colours in the botanical garden.

Aspen

September 25, 2009

Another favourite tree of mine, next to maples and birches, are aspens. You don't see too many around these here local parts (too warm and wet) but it is sure a treat to come across some as we did when we were in Utah and traveled high in elevation between campsites. It was a neat thing to be driving along at a low elevation in desert sand and slickrock and then gradually the trees got bigger and bigger the higher up we went, until at about 9500 feet, we were surrounded by Ponderosa pine and aspens. Our campsite was next to a lovely babbling brook. It was something out of Tolkien.

Mystery Tree

March 28, 2007

Well, not so mysterious really because I found out from my horticulturist friend what it was - a Norfolk Pine Tree - Araucaria Heterophylla
I sketched this tree which sat across the channel from me. It looked for all the world it was upside down... in a funny branchy way, not in that the roots were above the soil. Well, you can see by the sketch what I mean.

Landmark

December 28, 2006

We've had some amazing high winds here recently. I ventured out down the creek during a break between storms for a walk and found to my not-surprise, that the super-dooper leaning cedar was leaning no more and had in fact, split in half. I was always amazed at how far over it could hold itself above the creek. If I can find a "before picture", I'll insert it. Hey mum, you know the one I mean. We used to take Maggie to swim beneath it!