treeaware

New York City December Trees

2012-01-16T21:53:00.000-08:00

Twelfth Night has been and gone, so although it is really far too late to write about Christmas I am now going to tell you something about a short family visit to New York, between Christmas and New Years Eve.

In Manhattan I have always been struck by the two very different approaches to Christmas decorations: on the one hand, you see the very formal, minimalist ones- a few lonely, outsize Christmas tree baubles or a whole store wrapped in a giant red Christmas bow- on the other hand the delightfully romantic way every tree is delicately entwined with Christmas lights, turning the streets into fairyland. It is the latter visual experience that I want to share, so here are some images:

Having lovely memories of a Christmas spent here 14 years ago, I was eager to show my granddaughter the iconic scene of the Rockefeller Center with its skating rink and Christmas Tree. Unfortunately, when we reached it- after time spent in MOMA- she was fast asleep! But that didn't stop me enjoying the lights- although the crowds were so dense you could barely see the skaters:

Needless to say, I cannot visit New York without going into Central Park. I find it fascinating that the concept of this park was largely that of a 19th Century visionary, Frederick Law Olmsted. He was multi-talented with varied, enlightened careers- a prolific landscape architect among others. In this industrial age, he understood the need to both protect the natural phenomena- such as the Niagara Falls and Yosemite National Park- and to create parks within cities. It was he who had the vision of Boston's Emerald Necklace as well as being co-designer- with Calvert Vaux- of Central Park, which was built between 1857 and 1873.

I like this quote of his from 1870: "We want a ground to which people may easily go when the day's work is done, and where they may stroll for an hour, seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the bustle and jar of the streets where they shall, in effect, find the city put far away from them..."

The above photos were taken on this last December visit, when the weather was comparatively mild for New York- if not compared with left-behind sunny Los Angeles- whereas the next two were taken last year on a freezing February day...

Another fact I like about Central Park: in these days when we see so much needless destruction of trees, it is good to know that here the trees are valued and protected, as I read in a New York Times article in 2009. Film director Brett Ratner was filming a segment in Central Park for "New York, I love You". Although there are some 26,000 trees there, a filmmaker is not allowed to touch a single leaf. Because of this, Mr Ratner had to provide his own prop tree together with a crane to support it while his leading lady "shivering in a pink cocktail dress, dangled from a branch"!

Now THAT is the way to respect trees!

The King Palm

2012-01-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

The King Palm- Archontophoenix Alexandrae- is a native of the rainforest regions of North East Australia but seems to flourish in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. It can grow from 50- 80 feet high with a spread of 10-15 feet of its pinnate leaves, the single grey trunk being attractively ringed.

When I first became aware of these elegant trees, I was totally enchanted by their exotic "chandeliers" of flowers, on coral-like stems, so was not surprized to learn that they were named as the King of Palms:

These ivory or magenta flowers are succeeded by wonderful cascades of brilliant red berries:

I love their bright, lime green crownshafts, speckled with reddish-brown:

And eventually the brown overtakes the green...

Palm trees may not be as environmentally indispensable as many other trees (after all, they are officially PLANTS rather than trees) but to me they are certainly visually indispensable...

Falling Fall Leaves....

2011-12-04T23:10:00.000-08:00

Since joining Santa Monica's Treesavers in 2007, I have been lucky to have met and befriended a variety of wonderful, people, all caring deeply about trees in different ways.

After a recent meeting, Kathy- one of our valuable members- sent us all the following email. I was so enchanted by the way she was able to express her heartfelt delight in her experience- an experience I totally empathized with- that I wanted to share it with my readers:

Subject: Great Experience on the Way Home

Hi Everyone - Thank you again to Treesavers for getting me out of my house on this beautiful day! Not only was it beautiful driving to our meeting, but on the way home I went down 14th street from Pico to Ocean Park Blvd. The trees were amazing - it was like a moving art show! The sunlight was streaming through the orange, red, yellow fall leaves on the trees, but also the trees were dropping a leaf at a time. The leaves would move through the breeze slowly and then land on the street. It was a constant movement all the way down the street. Wish I had a video camera with me! If you get a chance in the next few days, drive down 14th between Pico and Ocean Park Blvd. when the sun is shining through the trees. It is beautiful!
That was a great meeting today. I came away with a good feeling.
Thanks everyone for your wonderful dedication to raising peoples awareness of the wonderfulness of trees. You sure raised mine!
- Kathy

A few days later we received this next email, completing the story after Kathy had shown the trees to Joe, another great Treesaver:

Hi Everyone - I have to tell you one more amazing thing about my trees on 14th St. I was driving up 14th St. with Joe so that I could see my trees again. I was swooning every time a tree let a leaf fall to the ground in front of us. Joe got a kick out of my excitement. Then a tree released a leaf that came right in Joe's car window and landed on his lap. It was beautiful and very unusual. It was almost white, and the leaf stood up perpendicular to the stem. We took it home and put it in front of Joe's book work area for him to enjoy. I felt like it was a gift from the tree to Joe.
- Kathy

The leaf I have shown here is not Kathy and Joe's leaf- just one of my photos of American Sweetgum leaves that Kathy's descriptions brought to my mind, although the leaf is not perpendicular to the stem- perhaps if Kathy reads this she will tell me if it is at all similar? And thank you Kathy for a story that brightened my day- so many people just don't SEE trees...

The Fall in LA

2011-11-20T22:24:00.000-08:00

All my life having been subjected to the miraculous, dramatic shocks of the changing seasons in the UK, I will always feel rather cheated in Southern California, where the changes are more subtle. Because of this, I get extra excited when finding evidence of Autumn- or I should say "the Fall"- in LA where the majority of trees are evergreens.

As I have said before, as an artist my prime interest in trees is visual. Although my knowledge of the indigenous British trees is quite extensive, it is very limited regarding trees from other countries, including those in the US. In the last few days I have twice been made very aware of this, and embarrassed myself.

The first instance: Nearby, there is a wonderful avenue of one of the few local trees that are now glowing red and yellow and orange. I vaguely decided they were some variety of Maples- partly because of their colours and partly because of the palmate shape of the leaves:

Before writing this post I looked more closely at them, and soon realized that there were no signs of the Acer family winged seed pods. Instead there were these spiky, round fruits that I think of as "pom-poms", similar to those on the London Plane trees, and the leaves were slightly different from all the Maples.

A bit of research led me to the American Sweetgum tree- Liqidambar styraciflua.

My second instance of mistaken identity was in a street connected to that of the Sweetgums, down which I regularly walk when taking my Granddaughter Violet to a nearby playground. There I was constantly enjoying some magnificent tall golden trees, especially when lit by sunlight. Again, I was not that concerned about what they were, as it was their colour rather than their structure that caught my attention. I thought they were possibly some sort of Sycamores (though not the London Plane tree).

Having decided to include them in this post I became a bit more observant: checking out the leaves on the ground, I recognized the distinctive shape of a tree I had fallen in love with in the Botanical Gardens of Bath. This was the Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, also known as the Yellow Poplar tree, although it is a member of the Magnolia family. What puzzled me at first was that on the LA trees I had never noticed the wondrous flowers they have, and which I had delighted in photographing on the Bath tree- but then I remembered that last Spring I left the country in March, before they would have blossomed.

These are the LA leaves:

And this is one of the Bath ones:

And here is the evidence I zoomed in on of the seed clusters on the LA tree:

Finally, two photos of the Tulip tree flowers in Bath. I just can't wait to see the LA trees covered with these magical flowers next year!

Moreton Bay Fig Trees

2011-10-31T23:38:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has followed this blog for some time will know of my obsession (one of my obsessions!) with the extraordinary Moreton Bay Fig Trees- especially those on La Mesa Drive. A member of the Banyan tree family, Ficus Macrophylla originates in the rain forests of Australia and sends down aerial roots which, on establishing themselves in the ground can help support the weight of the often massive limbs.

What is special about La Mesa Drive is that the trees form a wondrous avenue on a crescent; you walk along the road seeing one amazing tree after another...On returning to LA, one of the first things I did was to walk down this street, falling in love with the trees all over again and feeling ecstatic...

Starting with a general view:

And here are some of the aerial roots- I love the different textures between them and the main bodies of the trees, the difference between youth and old age :

This is one of my favourite trees, incredibly sculptural:

And here is a mad tree:

Another thing I love is the way the trunks and branches frame their backgrounds:

Here there is a contrast with a delicate little Fall, yellow-leaved Ginkgo tree:

And here one of the human-like sculptural shapes:

I find the individual patterning on the bark engrossing:

Especially when contrasted with the terracotta aerial roots

And as for the aerial roots....

These I just like for their bony quality:

Now for the figs, which I find quite delightful. Like all figs, they are pollinated by the Fig Wasp, the Fig Wasp only being able to reproduce in the fig flower.

There I will finish- but I'm sure I'll be back again among the Moreton Bay Figs very soon...

Junipers: Santa Monica City Hall

2011-10-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

I have long been an admirer of Santa Monica City Hall. This Landmarked building was built in 1938- 1939. It is described as Deco Moderne, a cross between Art Deco and Art Moderne and seems to me to be an archetypal town hall. An elegant geometric white structure, detailed with rich terracotta tiles, its facade is wonderfully contrasted with the dark green, exotically sculptured shapes of Juniper trees on either side of the entrance. Two more Junipers act as sentries when you enter the grounds. The whole effect is both grand and iconic.

Here it is: but alas not for long!

Now, apart from being so decorative, these evergreen Junipers are drought-tolerant and having been there since the late 40's could carry on helping the environment for another 100 years. So what does the City Council do? agree to get rid of them!

This is all to do with a wondrous new plan, a redesign of the landscaping to complement and connect to the planned new Palisades Garden Walk. I am extremely puzzled: are we not in a financial crisis, are there not countless unemployed and homeless people? Is this the time to redesign a beautiful, stately design? And with what? a nondescript, bit of urban design- regardless of being by James Corner, a designer of repute. The layout has no stature, no character:

Yes, they have included more trees- pollarded Western Sycamores- and a boring water feature replaces the Memorial Rose Garden. The Rose Garden may not have been stunning but at least it was made up of living flowers, rather than a series of familiar spurts of water.

However, the design has finally been approved by the City, after an appeal regarding stipulations by the Landmarks Commission, which were overthrown. I attended this meeting on October 25th, trying with other Treesavers to save the Junipers. The Landmarks Commission had wanted to retain the planters which housed the Junipers and also the original red brickwork of the steps, which continued as a pattern round the paving, connecting the building to the courtyard:

James Conner, however, wanted to remove the handrail on the ramp on the Southern approach. This entailed extending the ramp to a shallower gradient. To maintain the symmetry, he wanted to repeat this on the North side - this meant removing the Junipers. The brickwork he regarded as incompatible with the new materials- therefore it, too, must go.... A rather odd solution to the patterns of bricks on the courtyard was to score demarcation lines where they had been! One Councilmember, Kevin McKeown, made a stand for both the Junipers and the brickwork- but receiving no back-up joined in voting to accept the plans...

The four Junipers against the facade cannot be transplanted as they are too interwoven with the fabric of the building, but the plan is to relocate the other two.

What a tragedy- to lose six magnificent, valuable trees and a wonderful, iconic landscape...and what a waste of money...

Ivy: Does it Strangle Trees?

2011-10-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

I am actually now back in Los Angeles, but I still have a lot of catching up to do from when I was in Wales. There the ivy was rampant on the trees, who's characters it completely changed according to the pattern of its growth.

It has often been said that ivy strangles trees, but this seems to be a misconception. Ivy naturally reaches for the sun, needing it to gain sufficient levels of photosynthesis. In this process, if it covers the crown of the canopy it can affect the photosynthesis of its host and it can- by covering the trunk- create a humid environment where fungus or bacterial organisms can flourish. However, the general opinion seems to be that the tree will only suffer seriously from this if it is already declining. On the plus side- apart from the decorative- ivy can support many forms of wildlife, such as providing roosting, hibernating and nesting sanctuary for animals, birds and insects.

The trees I am about to show here are all around Manorbier, where I was staying in Wales, and because of the prevalence of Sycamores there, most of the trees are Sycamores.

As result of the fear of ivy damaging trees, people will often cut its stems near the base of the tree. This will cause the ivy gradually to die, the host being left with a tracery of dead stems, as in the next three images:

I like the fact that you can see the pattern on the bark of this tree where the ivy once grew, while another stem is still alive:

Now for a contrast- a tree trunk smothered in blossoming growth:

And there is something wonderful about an ivy-smothered wood...

this wood reminding me of Lewis Carol's descriptive phrase of a "tulgey wood" in his Jabberwockey:

Whereas this next display seems to be a delightful peace of design:

And on these next two images I love the different textures of ivy, lichen and moss:

This seems to me to be another example of an ivy design project:

Here the bark of the Sycamore is gleaming from Welsh rain, a contrast to the elegant strands of ivy:

And here again it is the juxtaposition of the bark and the ivy that appeals to me:

Now, apart from being decorative, ivy on a tree can be quite spooky, as I find in the following images:

Finally, walking up a lane surrounded by ivy-covered tree trunks, at first I thought this was yet another one- until I raised my eyes and saw it was a telegraph pole!

More Tree Fruits

2011-09-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

In my previous post- "Tree Seeds, Nuts or Fruits?"- I concentrated on the less fruit-like fruits. In this one, I will show some images of these more fruity ones that have caught my eye on walks over the last couple of months.

First, here is the trunk of a gnarled, ancient-looking Mulberry tree, which is actually bearing succulent fruits. It stands in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in the garden of Shakespeare's Birthplace- not to be confused with another one in the grounds of New Place- where he died in 1616- which is claimed to be a cutting from a tree planted by Shakespeare himself.

And here are some of the fruits, though these happen to be ones on a tree in nearby Leamington Spa, where I was the following day:

When I was walking by the River Avon in the outskirts of Bath, I came across this Damson tree, in what once must have been an orchard:

On this same walk, but alongside the towpath of the Canal, there were these Slow berries. Finding the colour blue in nature, whether in flowers or fruits, is somehow always exciting- and Slows always enchant me with both this colour and their wonderful bloom:

These Elder berries were growing below the railway line, that runs parallel with- and between- the river and the canal:

The Rose hips were prolific in the hedgerows by the canal, making me regret having missed seeing their flowers- the fragile Dog Roses- in the early Summer:

These amazing Hawthorn berries also made me regret having missed their May Blossom:

These next two photos of Hawthorn berries were actually taken not in Bath but where I am staying at present, in Manorbier, on the South-West coast of Wales:

Wherever I've been in the country I've seen Rowan trees covered with berries- but these ones are on a little tree in my brother's garden in Bath:

Now this next image seems right out of season- we expect to see Holly berries ripe at Christmas, not in September. Seeing them now is like seeing Christmas decorations in the shops in the Summer- in fact, I was horrified to hear that this year Harrods opened its Santa's Grotto in July, 151 days before Christmas! In Valentines Park in Ilford the Holly trees were weighed down with their non-seasonal fruit:

My later childhood years were spent on the Malvern Hills, which mark the boundary between Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Both counties have wonderful orchards but the Apple orchards in Herefordshire (Cider making country) were memorable. Apple trees remind me of those rural days. These first two photos, however, were of a tree I saw on my Bath walk, in the same area as the Damson tree:

Whereas this next one- actually a Worcester apple tree- was in the garden of my friends' house in Stratford-Upon-Avon:

And this last charming little Russet apple tree is in the garden in Manorbier where I am now:

And here are some of its apples...

And these rosy ones are on a nearby tree:

This last green apple is a Bramley in Stratford-Upon-Avon:

More Conkers

2011-09-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have already shown photos of conkers this year in my recent post about trees' fruits- but knowing how mad I am about them you won't be surprized to see them again. At present I am house/dog sitting for friends by the sea in Pembrokeshire. Walking home this morning I was pleased to see conkers scattered on the drive approaching the house, fallen from a row of tall Horse Chestnuts. When I opened the case of one, I was delighted to find that there were "twins" inside:

Now, one of the charms of conker twins is that one surface- the inner surface where the two entities face eachother- is flattened, forming two hemispheres:

Looking at them, childhood memories flooded back: this flattened surface made them ideal to turn into miniature chairs. One just stuck pins in them for the legs and then pins for the backs, through which one wove wool: and hey presto you had a Fifties styled chair- though in fact we children were constructing them in the Forties, so were designers ahead of our times! Always carrying pins with me, I was tempted to see if the method still worked...

I can't wait for my Granddaughter to be old enough to play with pins!

Tree Shadows

2011-09-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

To state the obvious, there is something totally magical in the way light can affect the appearance of an object, this being made full use of in the theatre as well as in paintings. Nowhere is this transformation more striking than among trees, when the sun is going in and out of the clouds: one moment you see a simple, statuesque tree, the next a column decorated with wondrous patterns and shapes. Here I am going to show some that I have seen over the last few months in the UK, where this Summer the shadows have been rare because of a lack of sunshine!

As any of my followers will by now know, I am particularly fond of Conker (Horse Chestnut) trees, so am starting with the shadows of their leaves on trees in Ilford's Valentines Park- I find them reminiscent of Japanese paintings:

Whereas on the Conker tree the shadows were of the tree's own leaves, this next tree is decorated with those of a neighbouring Privet hedge:

Next are the paler, more delicate Oak leaf patterns on an Oak tree trunk:

And here are more Oak leaf shadows, mixing with the bark's texture on a very gnarled old tree:

Here the shadows of this Plane tree spread down its trunk onto the grass:

And now for the Impressionistic effect on a Copper Beech:

Here beside the River Leam in Leamington Spa, is a watery-shadowed Weeping Willow tree:

And back in Ilford's Valentines Park, the bold shapes on this wonderfully sculptural Deodar:

To conclude, I will show you the shadows made by four Lime trees in Valentines Park:

Tree Seeds, Nuts or Fruits?

2011-08-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

The more I write about trees the more I realize how little I actually know. As an artist, I just look at what attracts my interest and although I'm always naturally curious as to "what" the tree, bird or flower is it is not my primary concern: hence my ignorance!

This month- August- one is constantly aware of trees' ripening seeds, both on the branches and the ground. I happily photograph them and then suddenly wonder, what is this? is it a seed? is it a nut? is it a fruit? I then find it is a minefield and I am more confused than ever...for some info click here.

In this post I am, as usual, being subjective- just showing what I will loosely call the "seeds" of trees that I have seen over the last few weeks. For economy, I won't include what we generally think of as fruit- apples, plums etcetera.

I will start with a favourite Oak tree of mine in Ilford's Valentines Park- a wonderful ancient tree, covered in Acorns:

I love the patterns the fallen acorns make on the soil:

And there is something so endearing about a glossy acorn in its cup!

But what is NOT so endearing is what I have only recently discovered on oak trees- the Knopper galls. This is caused by the Knopper Wasp which lays its eggs on the acorns, thus effecting the tree's fecundity and the reproductive ability. Apparently it was introduced into this country in the 1960's- so I am surprized I have not noticed these weird distortions earlier:

Now to come to Fir Cones- Here I learn you have both male and female cones, the smaller male cones passing their pollen to the females before falling off the trees. This first image is of two maturing female cones on an Oregon Douglas Fir in Kew Gardens- apparently by September it will be shedding its seeds:

These next two images are of Cones on trees in the grounds of Woburn Abbey. Unfortunately, I have not yet ascertained the names of the trees. Does anyone recognize them from the cones and needles?

These next attractive little cones I saw in Leamington's Jephson Gardens- but again don't yet know the name of the tree...

Whereas these next oddities, on a Cupressus sempervirens pyramidalis, I saw in Hidcot Garden:

These are the "nuts" of an Alder tree in Valentines Park:

Now for the "flying" seeds or Keys: most of us remember as children dropping the wings of the Sycamore trees (not to be confused with the London Plane tree also known as a Sycamore in the US) for the pleasure of watching them spiraling rapidly to the ground:

The seeds of this Lime tree (also in Valentines Park) are hanging from ingenious wing-like leaves called "bracts" which fly the seeds away from the tree:

Hornbeams also carry their seeds on bracts but in large clusters:

Now Ash keys I always find magic- as a child I was quite convinced they really were functional keys! Although in clusters, their keys are single, carrying a single seed. First, I am showing some glossy new ones and then some ripened brown ones, which can remain on the trees throughout the Winter:

Another tree I saw in Leamington's Jephson Gardens was the American Yellow Buckeye, Aesculus flava, with its striking striped, early Autumnal foliage and nut-like seeds:

And another tree I saw in Hidcote Gardens was this Chinese Handkerchief tree- Davidia involucrata. (this link is well-worth reading, to hear of the adventures of the botanist who introduced it to Kew in 1899):

The pom-pom like seeds of the Plane tree are another great favourite of mine!

This next image is of a nut from a Copper Beach. The spiny burs on their cases (which hold two nuts) serve the purpose of attaching themselves to the fur of passing animals and thus distributing them further afield.

And here is the edible nut of the Sweet Chestnut tree in its amazing, spiky case:

I will conclude with my favourite of all-time, the Horse Chestnut nut, better known as a Conker, due to its fame in the game of Conkers. What could be more desirable than this wonderfully patterned, burnished fruit of the Conker Tree?

Bark Shedding Trees: Plane Trees

2011-08-16T04:57:00.000-07:00

Plane Trees: first becoming aware of these wonderfully trunk- patterned trees when I was a student in Chelsea Art School, I just knew them as "Plane trees". When I went to Santa Monica, I suddenly heard them called "Sycamores" or "London Planetrees". In fact, they are all part of the Platanus family. Platanus occidentalis is the native North American Plane while Platanus x acerifolia is the London plane tree, actually a long established clone (more than 300 years ago) between the North American and Oriental planes. There are numerous variations within this species, while it is thought the most common ones in London are Platanus x acerifolia 'Pyramidalis'.

These are the ones I am writing about. The ground in the local parks- Valentines and South Park- is at present littered with the debris of cast off bark as the trees metamorphis into serpents. Opinions differ about the cause of this 'sloughing' of the bark- from a means of discarding burrowing insects and fungal deceases / a means for the tree to conduct photosynthesis via the exposed to the sun bare trunk, rather than-or as well as- through the leaves / to the fact that the bark is rigid, not elastic enough to stretch with the tree's growth. Whatever the reason, the effect is visually amazing- fantastic, jigsaw-like patterns being formed by the exfoliating bark.

The trunks of some of the older trees are gnarled and knobbly:

Then, when you look up into the branches, you see the exposed bright virgin wood and the bright coloured patterns where the bark has been shed from the younger wood:

This is when you really start thinking of Pythons and snake pits....

The whole process reminds me yet again of my childhood on the moors of Aberdeenshire. There we would often see Adders basking in the sunshine- and in the Spring they would shed their skins (so exciting to find these fragile, scaley tissues) and vibrant, shiney green, yellow and black scales would be exposed...

And here are some of the bark 'sculptures' below the trees:

This next image is of a more typical, younger tree, displaying the camouflage-like patterns and colours:

In fact- sad to say, but interesting nonetheless- military camouflages have been based on this bark; below is the German design for the SS, Platanenmuster-"Plane-tree pattern" (1937-1942): first, Spring/Summer colours:

Secondly, the Autumn variation:

Before leaving the subject, I will just show images of a couple of other prolific bark-shedders that I have seen in the last couple of weeks. Here is the extraordinary Paperbark Maple- an Aceraceae, Acer griseum. The first two photos are of one that I saw in Leamington Spa's Jephson Gardens:

And this next tree- and its bark on the ground- I saw in Hidcote's gardens. I read that in the Autumn the leaves turn a vibrant scarlet- what a sight that must be with the colour of the bark!

Finally, back to Birch trees, many varieties of which also shed their skins; this, too, I saw at Hidcote:

Silver Birch Trees

2011-08-15T02:50:00.000-07:00

I have always thought there was something a bit magic about these fairy tale, delicate, silver-barked trees, with their wonderful showers of golden leaves in the Autumn. As a child in Aberdeenshire it was under a Weeping Birch that I chose to bury "treasure" (a few coloured glass beads!) and there I found the many groves of ancient, lichen-covered trees mysterious...

Lately, I have been constantly coming across them and finding myself totally obsessed with the patterns and textures of their bark- so here are some of them:

The first five images are of a tree in Valentines Park in Ilford- one that I have both painted and photographed, fascinated by the stripes of different colours and textures...

Recently, a kind friend took me to Hidcote, a National Trust property with extensive gardens in the Cotswolds. It is made up of many individual "rooms", gardens with different themes. There were countless interesting trees and flowers but I was particularly enchanted with some of the Birches, their barks often reminiscent of mouth-watering silks:

These last four images are all of a tree in Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa, which run alongside the River Leam, after which the town is named. I went quite mad over this tree's patterns, taking endless photos- here are a few of them:

Waterlily House, Kew Gardens

2011-08-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I was back in Kew Gardens, where I spent a lovely afternoon wandering around with a cousin, enjoying constant surprizes looking at wonderful trees. I will write about some of the trees I saw another time, but now I want to share my enchantment with the Waterlily House which we just managed to see before it closed.

This beautiful glasshouse was originally built in 1852 to house a giant Amazon waterlily- Victoria amazonica- which, in fact, never flourished there. After becoming a tropical habitat for a time, in 1865 it was devoted to medicinal and culinary plants. Finally, in 1991, it reverted back to its original use and now- as Kew's most humid environment- houses a magic collection of tropical ornamental aquatic plants and climbers. I am going to concentrate on the Waterlilies themselves, that overwhelmed me, covering the circular pond with a fantastic pattern of leaves and exotic flowers:

These wondrous, circular flan-like leaves are those of Victoria cruziana, which has here replaced Victoria amazonica. Air-trapping ribbing on their undersides enables their buoyancy.

I love the way the flowers are always elegantly 'placed' in relation to the leaves- giving the appearance of having been carefully positioned there by a perfectionist designer:

Although the reflections of the glass panes break the illusion of a romantic lake, the grid effect is a good foil to the plants' organic delicacy:

And I delight in the many, often subtle, variations- in both patterning and shape- of the lily pads:

There is a simplicity and purity about both the leaves and the flowers that is captivating.

Although I said I would concentrate on the waterlilies, I must include these extraordinary, totally mad plants, growing by the walkway following the perimeter of the pond:

I have not yet found out the name of these last plants- perhaps you can enlighten me?

Sunsets in Kelston

2011-07-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

Kelston is a tiny village near Bath, by the River Avon. There is nothing much there apart from the village pub, an organic farm and a scattering of houses. It is totally- and delightfully- rural.

I recently stayed there with a friend and revelled in the very unspoilt land. Although not Samuel Palmer country, going for an evening walk when there was that miraculous reflected sunset glow on the landscape I was reminded of his paintings. Here is Kelston Hill:

And here is another very English scene, including English Oaks!

From up on Kelston Hill there are wonderful views of the surrounding landscape. I found the undulating curves of these fields fascinating:

On another evening, taking the two charming whippets for a walk, we were suddenly aware of a blast of colour- this was no gentle evening glow:

And here one was reminded of Rothko rather than Samuel Palmer:

Trees silhouetted against a sunset are, to me, always nostalgic:

And I will conclude with two quiet images, showing the last remnants of the sunset:

Meadow: Helen Ganly

2011-07-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

It is always encouraging to hear of environmental success stories and here I am writing of an exhibition held to celebrate one. In 2006 Oxford's Warneford Meadow, a piece of open space enjoyed by the community, was under threat from developers and was finally saved by an intensive campaign. The Meadow is now registered as a town green.

During the process, campaigners became intensely involved with all aspects of this invaluable threatened land, desiring to record all aspects of it. Out of this work grew Meadow, an exhibition held in Oxford's Art Jericho gallery. Here I must apologise for writing about it after the event, it having closed on July 9th....

The exhibition included paintings and installations by artist Helen Ganly, photographs by Andrew Carter and meadow sounds by Mari Prichard. As valuable as the work of her colleagues was, I am devoting this post to the work of Helen. Here another apology is necessary, for the poor quality of my photos of her paintings, distorted by reflections- I can only hope you get some idea of their charm and delicacy...

Having recently been involved in painting and photographing a meadow in full bloom in Wales, I related particularly to some of Helen's wild flower studies:

And here is the flower of a Horse Chestnut tree:

The following two images are of Helen's designs for mugs she created to promote the Friends of Warneford Meadow. First, the named wild flowers:

Secondly, the named Apples from some of the trees growing in the orchard. I was fascinated to learn that Dr Barrie Juniper had identified 14 varieties- all with delightfully familiar old fashioned names, such a joy in these days when you are bombarded in the supermarkets with little else other than Galas and Golden Delicious (to my mind, very tasteless and un-delicious!)...

For this project, Helen had also drawn from her country childhood experiences, and the following display holds a mixture of evocative insects and memorabilia:

Here are some of the studies she made of the insects:

For the exhibition, Helen produced a large meadow painting as (quote)"an attempt to conjure up the complex evocation of 'MEADOW', drawing on memories and a sense of 'place' ." Here are some studies for it, concluding with the final result:

It is great to think that this very English environment is still here to be enjoyed by Oxford's residents, thanks to the work of many grassroots activists...

Note: all the above paintings, drawings and arrangements are the work of Helen Ganly.

Welsh Stacks, Rocks and Cliffs

2011-06-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

Having in my last post shown photos of the rocks on Manorbier beach, I am now introducing some of the neighbouring dramatic, rocky coastlines. During my stay, kind friends took me West to Castlemartin to see the incredible Stack Rocks. Unlike the Manorbier Old Red Sandstone, these two vertical stacks, eroded from the cliffs, are formed of Carboniferous Limestone and covered in exotic orange and yellow lichens- wonderful against the sea when it is blue or green:

As if their structure is not exciting enough, this being Spring, we were immediately aware of great activity and deafening screaming coming from the rocks....

Drawing closer, one realized...

that this- what you might call the icing on the cake- was the noise of literally thousands of Guillemots- together with some Kittiwakes- nesting both on the summits and on every ledge and cranny of the stacks. Unsurprisingly, they are known as the Ellegug Stacks, the Welsh name for Guillemots. Here one of the Guillemots appears to be staking his position of "I'm the king of the castle":

And if you look carefully, you will see more nesting birds camouflaged on the almost vertical slopes:

From another angle, black against the light, you are no longer aware of the stacks' bright lichens:

Close by the two stacks, is an archway connected to the cliffs which is known as the Green Bridge of Wales:

Alongside the bridge, this next stack, which must originally have been connected to it, is also the home of numerous Guillemots:

Not far from here is St Govan's Head. At the foot of a steep cliff, reached by steps, is a tiny chapel. This was built on the site where St Govan, an Irish monk, was miraculously saved from attacking pirates when a fissure in the rocks opened up to give him sanctuary. In gratitude, he lived there as a hermit until his death in 586, the chapel being built in the 13th Century. From the window, you can see yet more dramatic rock formations:

and more still from below the chapel:

These charming white Daisies grow in many cracks in the rocks:

I am now going East of Manorbier, to Lydstep. All along this coast there are coastal paths with wonderful, varied scenery:

These next, final cliffs are at Skrinkle, just a stones throw from Manorbier, with Caldey Island on the horizon. I am ending this visit to Manorbier here, as this was where my holiday began when I was taken there immediately after stepping off the train, on a beautiful, sunny May afternoon....

May in Manorbier

2011-06-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it is now nearly the end of June- Midsummer Day as I start writing this- but I spent all May house/dog sitting for artist Philip Sutton and his wife Heather in Manorbier, in South West Wales. I have written of this Paradise previously- their house surrounded by wondrous trees, flowers, birds and even their own delectable meadow; a short walk through the small village, down a lane, past a castle and there is the sea! What more could you want? So I had a blissful time, drawing and painting the trees and meadow and photographing them all as well as the sea...

Having five weeks of rich experiences, I will divide this post into four parts:

PART ONE: TREES

Now, as I'm writing about May in Manorbier, it is only right that I should start with May blossom- so here it is, at the top of the meadow, first in the morning and then in the evening, lit with the sun's last "glow":

Here, we see the last of the sunset through a Sycamore tree...

And now we come to some of my very favourite Sycamore trees, that I am totally obsessed with, loving their strange, sculptural qualities:

And lurking under this last magnificent Sycamore, we find Le Maestro- artist Philip Sutton- at work!

This pretty little Apple tree was in blossom in the Allotment- behind it you see the meadow:

These Bay trees were recently pruned to give more light in the house, and now remind me of Italian paintings:

PART TWO: ROCKS

Now to see the wonders of Manorbier's beach :

I spoke of the Sycamores being sculptural, but what could be more sculptural than some of these extraordinary, ancient, folded and eroded Old Red Sandstone rocks, of layers of Devonian mudstone and thin sandstone (Click here for more details) :

PART THREE: SEA AND SAND

Still on the beach, here the freshwater stream approaches the sea:

and then makes patterns in the sand:

And now patterns are formed by the sea water:

The excitement of walking down to the beach every day was that moment of anticipation, not knowing exactly what magical sights you would see. You were very rarely disappointed.

PART FOUR: FLOWERS, BIRDS, BUTTERFLIES

Walking back, away from the sea, there were many charming wild flowers; here are a few of them:

And the odd butterfly- here a Tortoiseshell enjoys a hawksweed flower:

Back in the garden, a Red Admiral rests on the bark of an Elm tree:

The Meadow was just beginning to bloom:

Plantains delighted me:

Leaving the meadow, in the garden are the aromatic flowers of a Myrtle tree:

In the Allotment, the Chard gives one another visual shock:

Poppy's are also always rewarding:

Though this next pink one was actually in a neighbour's garden:

but not this pink rose:

I have already mentioned how important the birds are there- they have an elaborate array of nut-baskets etc which are constantly fully occupied! As with the sea, it is always exciting to watch. While I was there, I was delighted to see this Greater Spotted Woodpecker (apologies for the poor photo- he caught me unawares!) :

This pair of Goldfinches were regularly there, later bringing their fledgelings to a nearby tree (I always love the fact that a flock of these brilliantly coloured birds is called a "charm"- they are undeniably charming! ):

I will end this post with a bird who forever both charms and moves me with his most melodious song- the Blackbird. It is always the Blackbird's song that I miss most when I am in Los Angeles and it was the Blackbird's song that contributed to my bliss as I stood in the Meadow painting the wildflowers and feeling I was in Paradise:

April in Bath

2011-05-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

I am giving the City of Bath it's own April post because when I was there for Easter I was knocked out by the outstanding statuesque trees in Henrietta Park. The 7 acre park was originally laid out to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and is tucked away near the City centre.

You are first confronted with an overwhelming avenue of enormous Horse Chestnut trees, so here are some of them:

I loved the sculptural symmetry of this Cherry tree:

But this extraordinary sculpture of a tree is my very favourite. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what kind of tree it is- the leaves are similar to those of an Ash....does anyone recognize it?

This next tree is a Dawn Redwood (thanks Georgia!), a native of Central China:

Here is another characterful Plane tree- what wonderful, monster-like trees they are:

Now this Beech tree really puzzled me: it seemed to be a Hybrid- half Copper Beech and half regular, green leaved Beech!

I am showing this Silver Birch because I was fascinated by the very graphical bark:

Now I am leaving Henrietta Park to conclude with two photos of one of my Conker babies in the garden of my brother's house in Bath. To read the history of my Conkers, click here.

April in England

2011-05-18T04:54:00.000-07:00

"O to be in England now that April's here...": hackneyed as that line of Browning's is, there's nothing as emotional, nostalgic and exquisite as an English Spring and I was so happy to be back here from Los Angeles in time for it. Here is a glimpse of April in Ilford, divided in two parts between trees and birds:

Part 1: Spring Trees

Yes, ideally in April I would like to be wandering round country woodlands- sprinkled with Wind Flowers and Violets- but here I was in Ilford and, as always, found Valentines Park totally rewarding. The trees had that lovely, delicate early haze of buds that I find so entrancing:

Because we had that unusually hot weather at the beginning of April, the leaves shot out really quickly, each day showing more solid foliage. You will notice the difference in the same trees in the next two photos. Incidentally, the Oak tree to the left of the image is fulfilling the prophesy "The oak before the ash and we shall have a splash" (you'll have to believe me- without the proof of a photo of an ash!) as we certainly have only had a splash so far, which is causing endless problems:

The leaves on this Copper Beech are growing fast:

And here you see them again behind a warty Plane tree:

I am always excited to find Oak Apples, and thought this one was exceptionally apple-like...

And here are some oak catkins, the flowers that prelude the Acorns:

These catkins- in the next two photos- are those of a Hornbeam:

And these are the fresh lime-green leaves of a Lime tree:

Now we come to a favourite of mine, the Horse Chestnut,or Conker- first, the flower buds just forming and the leaves unfurling:

followed by the full array of "candles":

I have never thought the Red Horse Chestnuts were in the same league as the white flowered ones: the leaves are crinkly without the delightful lines and the flowers do not have the same elegance. That said, they are a great colour!

I am equally snobby about the difference between wild Cherry blossom- Gean blossom- and the double cultivated species. The Gean is so fragile and innocent:

But pink Cherry blossom against a blue sky is always seductive:

These pink petals among the daisies are from another Cherry tree:

Part 2: April Birds

One thing I get homesick for when in Southern California, is our British Songbirds, in particular the VERY familiar Robin and Blackbird. Now, neither bird can really be called an"April" bird: they are both residents and the robin sings its fresh, charming little song all year round whereas the blackbird stops singing for the Winter starting its unbelievably melodic song again in February. Regardless of this, I am including them here because when I returned in April I became obsessed to photograph these two birds while singing. Of course, they immediately became elusive, both skulking in dark Holly bushes in the park whenever they sang. My Blackbird would not move out of the Holly, but eventually I caught a Robin in a Willow tree...:

Another evocative Spring sound is the drumming of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker (also, of course, the "laugh" of the Green Woodpecker):

Now, followers of this blog may remember how last year I became totally obsessed with the three chicks in a Heron's nest in Ilford's Valentines Park, this being the first time herons had nested in the London Borough of Redbridge for over a hundred years. Their nest was built on the shore of an island in a decayed sycamore tree which finally- after the chicks had fledged- fell into the lake. It had been a wonderful location for observation. Well, I soon learned that in my absence the heron's had returned, this time building their nest high up in a Pine tree on the mainland shore. Unfortunately, this time visibility was NOT good, the three new chicks being obscured by branches. When I got back to Ilford they were already very mature and nearly ready to fledge- here is one of them:

The Mute Swans in Valentines Park were again nesting on their island, but these two are actually nesting on an island in South Park, also in Ilford. As you can see- and as I was able to see when they performed a change over for their egg-warming shift- they had laid a good clutch of eggs:

Coots always amuse me with their rubbish-dump nests...

and their babies are both weird and adorable!

and what could be more adorable than this little Gosling?

Or this Mallard duckling?

Another success story: Last year, a pair of Egyptian Geese in Valentines Park twice successfully hatched a brood but twice sadly lost them- to Crows? However, this year all seems to be well: three hatched babes are growing fast and are hopefully now strong enough to resist predators:

As the next two images show, their plumage is now very similar to that of their parents:

Another bird that followers of this blog will recognize as being one of my obsessions is the Great Crested Grebe. I was thrilled to find three Grebes on the lake again and even more thrilled to see one pair doing their exotic, abandoned display dance:

Unfortunately, nothing seems to have come of it as yet... the stripey baby riding on its parent's back in this next image is on South Park lake:

I will conclude this Spring story with a Tree AND Bird photo: two daft Mallard drakes going for an Oak tree climb on the island of Valentines Park Fish Pond:

Kew Gardens

2011-05-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

Catch-up time yet again; it's always a quandary, should I write about what I'm doing NOW or should I deal with some of the back-log? Well, I love Kew Gardens- and have since I was a student in London many years ago- and so although this last visit took place a few days after I returned to the UK from LA at the end of March, here goes:

As it was a cold day and trying to rain, I first made for the wondrous glass Palm House, built between 1884 and 1848. Immediately, my camera lens was obscured by the tropical rain forest humidity- but I did manage to take some photos, relishing in the patterns everywhere:

I next explored the Princess of Wales Conservatory. Both here and in the Palm House, it was quite strange to see palms and cacti that grew happily outside in Los Angeles- it made me feel I was still there! I loved the snake-like look of this trunk:

and the coils here:

and the insect-like look of this Mangrove:

It was hard to believe that this was not a plastic flower!

The Orchid section came next- always amazing...

and then the Carnivorous plants: I have been fascinated by this sinister concept since I was a child on the Scottish moors, where carnivorous Sundews and Butterworts were abundant. This particular one had a wicked art nouveau elegance:

Now it was time to leave these tropical exotic delights and enjoy some of the trees outside. After all the tree destruction I have been witnessing, it was good to see this Black Locust Tree- planted in 1762- being still held together!

and what wonderful bark it had...

This monstrous tree is a Weeping Beech, the first I have come across:

While this is a Cucumber Tree, a member of the Magnolia family:

I will conclude this visit to Kew with some Magnolia flowers. Although most of them had lost their bloom I found some that entranced me:

Hollywood Junipers Destroyed:

2011-05-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

May 5th, and I still have a lot of catching up to do...

A month ago, on April 5th, Santa Monica City Council yet again sanctioned the destruction of healthy, useful trees for "design" purposes- this time 45 Hollywood Junipers- so named because they have been very popular and successful in the area.

When I first came to Santa Monica I was immediately attracted to photograph these crazy trees (described by one person as "Drama Queens"!), their dark green colour and mad misshapen, sculptural shapes making a great visual note in an urban setting.

These particular ones bordered Reed Park's tennis court on Wilshire Boulevard, between Lincoln and Seventh Street and I always enjoyed walking past them. However, the powers that be decided to re-design the park and this involved the removal of the trees, in spite of the fact that they are drought tolerant as well as environmentally invaluable- and have a life expectancy of 300 years! They were to be replaced by vines growing up the tennis court fence.

When Santa Monica's Treesavers learned of these plans they immediately took action, gaining the support of the local Wilmont Neighborhood Group as well as many individuals. City Hall's reaction was to say that these trees were a threat to pedestrians who found them "spooky", providing shelter for homeless people. Apparently, the trees obscured visibility of the tennis courts and area from the police- which seemed strange, as they were high upon a bank, with a clear view of the courts between their trunks...Next, it was decided that the Cities' own severe pruning had made them lose their structural integrity...

Although the battle was lost, at least the City climbed down in that it asked the Designers(!) if three trees could be incorporated in the design. This was a agreed, and 3 out of 48 trees were spared. Regardless that this was a nesting time for birds, the 45 Junipers were felled on April 5th...by Santa Monica, Tree City USA, in the Year of the Forest...

I just cannot get my head round this: every day we are made aware of the necessity of our tree canopy to fight global warming and yet every day City Councils all over the World- for no good reason- destroy them.

And who can seriously think that a few vines climbing up this fence will compensate for the loss of the Junipers?

First 4 photos taken by Cosmo Bua and 5th by Monica Mejia

Holly Becker: Decorate

2011-04-17T15:55:00.001-07:00

PART ONE:

Although I still have not finished my catching up on Los Angeles, I now want to do a bit of UK catching up. In my last post I wrote about a book-signing by Alicia Silverstone in Santa Monica, and now I'm eager to write about one by blogger extraordinaire Holly Becker in London. Holly is the founder and editor of the groundbreaking blog Decor8. Although the main theme is decorating it covers many other aspects of life, helping one to enjoy one's environment- apart from in itself being a visual joy!

Together with author Joanne Copestick, Holly has just written an amazing, very personal book, Decorate, full of stunning photos by Debi Treloar.

Liberty- since I was an art student, one of my very favourite London stores- launched Decorate last Wednesday. As part of the launch, Holly organized a demo of table decoration in Liberty's new Dining Room, using their tableware and fabrics. She also held talks and book signings on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Having enrolled in her first Blogging Your Way on-line course in 2009, I felt I already knew Holly, who was a wonderfully generous teacher, so I was delighted to go to both the demo on Wednesday and the talk in Liberty's Heritage Room on Thursday. I will start with the Demo in the Dining Room:

Arriving early, the Table Setting was still being titivated:

This gave me time to wander round appreciating and photographing the details and the subtle differences in the elegant, stylish, very Decor8 layout:

Soon the room filled up with eager Bloggers and followers of Deco8. A glowing Holly arrived, proving to be the incredibly warm person that we knew on-line!

She gave a brief talk about the display, saying how thrilled she was to have Decorate's launch at Liberty's and how she wanted to incorporate their fabrics. Here she is describing how the collages in the notebooks under the napkins were made and how they served as both decorations and pretty gifts for your guests to take home:

She then introduced her colleagues, Sania Pell- photographic stylist and author of the Homemade Home:

and Leslie Shewring- photographer and stylist who writes Color Me Pretty, a monthly column in Decor8:

Holly handed us over to these two ladies, to describe how they had styled the Table Setting and made the decorations, including the Liberty fabric rosettes and this elaborate, exotic overhead piece:

Now it was Book Signing time. It was such a great pleasure to meet this lovely lady when she signed my copy.

PART TWO

The next evening I was back in Liberty's, this time in the Heritage Room. I felt extremely lucky as we were a very small group (20 maybe?) so it was an intimate gathering and everyone had a chance to talk- thanks to Holly's handling. I was really impressed yet again by her warmth and the fact that she clearly likes and cares for people.

She talked at length and in detail about the conception and structure of the book and about working with her colleagues- including co-author Joanna Copestick (who was there) and photographer Debi Treloar. It was very illuminating- such as when she said how she wanted it to be a book that you wanted to read, rather than just flicking through the pictures, so included quotes to draw you in.

The evening was next opened up for questions, starting with us all introducing ourselves. Holly's answers to questions were always thought provoking and she has many interesting ideas about fulfilling yourself- it was a fascinating evening.

And then a further Book Signing:

After which Holly took us to the Dining Room to see and discuss the Display:

Holly went into some detail about the development and construction of everything. Here she is showing how for the tablecloth it was necessary to have an under layer of linen beneath the thin Liberty print dress fabric:

And here talking of ideas for place settings:

Here she describes the concept of the mobiles above the area where she signed the books- how they introduced the neon ribbons as a foil to the subtle Liberty fabrics and to introduce a contemporary element:

On or way to the Dining Hall, Amy Butler- designer of exquisite fabrics- had arrived. Holly was delightfully excited to meet her in the flesh and here they pose together:

And here they are joined by co-author Joanna Copestick:

We finally left, all having spent an inspirational evening with the warm (I have to keep repeating that word!) and generous Holly Becker.

THANK YOU HOLLY!

Alicia Silverstone

2011-04-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

Following my post on Animal Acres, I have another Vegan topic: before I left Los Angeles at the end of March Alicia Silverstone- actress and writer of The Kind Diet, a vegan Bible- came to give a talk and book signing at Santa Monica Public Library. You might wonder what this has to do with trees, but Silverstone is known to be an environmental activist and one of the aspects of the book is how vegan-ism helps with "saving the planet"...

She has a lovely personality and is a very charming, sympathetic speaker who gave an excellent talk. Here is our Vegan gang with her at the book signing, including my daughter Molly, granddaughter Violet, son-in-Law Mike and friend Lisa. It was a pity Molly's vegan dogs- Bella and Gonzo- could not be there too , but I was able to show Alicia a photo of vegan Bella on my cellphone!!

Animal Acres

2011-04-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

Animal Acres is a wonderful animal sanctuary situated on a 26 acre hacienda ranch in Acton. a mountainous region about 45 minutes from Hollywood. There they rescue farmed animals and run a learning centre for their protection.

In March my daughter- a dedicated animal lover and Vegan- decided to celebrate her birthday there, making it a happy outing for her friends and their children. The farm caters for birthdays, providing a vegan birthday cake (and allowing you to bring your own vegan food) and including a two hour "meet the animals" tour of the farm, invaluable for both City children and adults.

Arriving, you are aware of the surrounding mountains in this peaceful (apart from animal noises!) setting:

And here Violet, my Granddaughter, arrives for a new experience:

You are met at the gates by a lot of pushy goats (as well as very friendly, welcoming staff) and soon find yourself surrounded by apparently hundreds of poultry, including turkeys who look as if they are animatronic, alien beasts from a sci-fi movie. What I really appreciated was knowing that these birds were not lying-in-wait to be roasted for Thanksgiving or Christmas...

Hungry, we ate right away from tables set out in the Rose Garden accompanied by this noisy, equally hungry, collection of birds- hens, geese, ducks and, of course, turkeys:

Unsurprisingly, some of the children- and adults too!- were intimidated by these pecking, scavenging birds, this goose in particular:

After lunch it was the birds' time to be fed and the children were encouraged to feed them lettuce by hand, under supervision:

Now it was time for the tour, led by Cameron- one of the team who was excellent with the children. First he led us to the cattle. Before entering the field he pointed out this very fierce looking bull on the far side, saying we should be prepared to make a fast exit if he approached!

Sure enough, he DID start to move in our direction, so we didn't spend too long stroking the cows there....

Needless to say, the donkeys were very popular and it was lovely to watch the children's faces as they made physical contact with them:

Pig time next:

Here we were warned to be cautious not to alarm these very large beasts. So we all stood back while Cameron supervised the semi-slumbering sow being given "belly-rubs". Again, it was a delight to see the children's expressions:

After this we wound our way to the Goat section. Personally, I have always been a bit wary of goats (inspite of being a Capricorn!) as I have known some pretty vicious ones in my life- but apart from a bit of butting these were all civilized- and some undeniably cute!

Now it was wind-down time:

Having seen quite enough animals today, how about just getting into a hole in the ground?

I have not mentioned all the animals we were introduced to, just the more memorable ones. What I have not told is the many horror tales we were told of some of the animals' previous lives before they were rescued by these amazing, dedicated people.

Post Script:

Before leaving I took some time out to look at the collection of photos displayed showing famous people who were Vegetarians: Tolstoy, Thoreau, Gandhi, Alice Walker, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Schweitzer, Albert Einstein, Bernard Shaw...surely these are all people worth listening to?! They all had great quotes attached to them- I will just show two:

Violet in Arcadia

2011-04-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

Following my last two posts- about Arcadia Woodlands- the title of this one might be misleading: I am not referring to the lost Woodlands, but to Arcadia's Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden.

First, I need to tell you that I am now back in the UK for the Summer. I am shocked to see that my last post was written on February 18th, and March is a blank. So now, before writing about my recent UK experiences, I am going to catch up on some of the events of my last weeks in Los Angeles.

I am starting with my Granddaughter Violet's first visit- with my daughter and me- to one of my favourite places, the Arcadia Arboretum.

Apart from the fact that I wanted to go there, I was longing to show her the Peacocks displaying their miraculous tails. Unfortunately, as typical "mad dogs", we arrived in the hot midday sun and the peacocks were preferring to lie in the shade of trees- either below them or in their branches:

Since Violet was a few months old I have been encouraging her to feel the bark on trees, so of course I then led her to a tree very special to me- a Silk Floss tree with its extraordinary, prehistoric bark. As you can see, Violet found this interesting:

Hot, we then went into the cool of the Prehistoric Forest, resting beside the Baldwin Lake:

Exploring, Violet discovered an interesting cast-off palm part:

And there were all sorts of other fascinating bits of bark and stuff:

Including a root:

But then, if you are a City Girl, what can beat a mechanical thing like a Water Sprocket?

Or, better still, a water Man-Hole?

Arcadia Woodlands Again

2011-02-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

The devastation of Arcadia Woodlands cannot be forgotten: over 200 ancient Native Oaks and Sycamore trees, not to mention the wildlife, lost forever for a load of mud. I previously wrote of how an "umbrella" group was emerging from the destruction. This has now been named Urbanwild Network, a network to enable all environmentalists to help each other in times of crisis and to create a powerful force to make people aware of the magnitude of what is happening to our land.

Learning that two of the four Arcadia Tree sitters, John Quigley and Julia Jaye Posin, were appearing for Arraignment at Alhambra Superior Court, I joined members of this new group to support them. This group included some Santa Monica Treesavers who- apart from being totally shocked by this needless carnage- feel a debt of gratitude to John Quigley, who tirelessly helped to train us during our Ficus Tree emergency. Julia Posin, as a young College student, became a Treesaver at this time, so it was great to see her continuing her battle.

Here are John Quigley and Julia Posin outside the Courthouse:

And here they are together with some supporters and their Attorney Colleen Flynn, left of John. To her left is Camron Stone, a prime mover in trying to save the Woodlands, who has provided us with wonderful photos of them:

They are facing charges of trespassing, disturbing the peace and delaying a peace officer. The arraignment was in fact postponed until March 23rd, when all four activists will need to sign a conflict of interest waiver so that they can be tried as a group.

And all they did was to try and protect us all by protecting our environment...

They have set up a website to keep us informed- click here.

We all feel the importance of keeping the momentum going- making it a worldwide issue, because it IS a worldwide issue, destruction of our wildlands and our invaluable, irreplaceable tree canopies throughout the world.

Just to remind you of what we have lost, two photos- "after and before"- by Camron Stone.

For Camron Stone's full collection click here.

And to experience the full horror of this unbelievable act from one of the Tree sitters, Andrea Bowers', point of view, watch her video here:

Camouflaged Among Trees...

2011-01-31T21:57:00.000-08:00

I was fascinated to read - in Stone Art's Blog - about this Chinese artist who camouflages himself into the environment. Please read his post yourselves on this link: Stone Art

Arcadia Woodlands Follow-up

2011-01-29T22:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a visual reminder- from Terry Miller's article and photos in the Arcadia Weekly- of what happened to the Arcadia Woodlands:

Further to my last post regarding their needless destruction, there have been some exciting consequences. There was an enormous emotional response not only in Arcadia but in other cities. This resulted in the activists who had been fighting to save the invaluable woodland realizing that if this energy could be harnessed something magically positive could grow from the tragedy. So today they organized a meeting, held in Eaton Canyon Natural Area County Park, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in Pasadena.

Together with a group of fellow Santa Monica Treesavers I participated in this meeting. The general idea- still to be finalized- is to set up a kind of "umbrella" group, enabling all the diverse like-minded groups and individuals to pool resources and help each other. Thus we would become a more knowledgeable, empowered force.

During the meeting we heard many moving stories from the speaker's of their tireless efforts to protect this land. It was good to hear of the experiences of one of the young tree sitters- Julia Posin- who had joined Treesavers as a student at Santa Monica College, when we were being trained by John Quigley to defend our Downtown Ficus trees.

Following this energising meeting, unfortunately we only had a short time to see something of Eaton Canyon- but it was delightful enough to make one want to return there. I will show a few images of what caught my eye, starting with a Native Oak- similar to those of the lost Woodlands:

And here is the remains of one that has rotted away but can still maintain a bunch of foliage:

On closer examination, I was fascinated by the intricate patterns that had formed in the decayed trunk:

Walking by the clear water of a mountain stream, here were yet more patterns:

Let's hope- figuratively speaking- that something wonderful grows from the acorns of those felled oaks...

Arcadia Woodlands Massacred

2011-01-13T00:39:00.000-08:00

Here we are in Southern California, supposedly one of the most ecologically aware States in the US, and here yet again we see mindless, pointless destruction of life enhancing trees.

Arcadia Woodlands- in the wash of the San Gabriel Mountains- has been described as a Paradise, with its up till now unspoilt area of ancient native Coastal Oaks and Sycamores, providing shelter for a multitude of wildlife apart from its environmental and aesthetic benefits to human beings. Because of its proximity to the Santa Anita reservoir, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has decided to destroy 179 Coastal Oaks and 70 Sycamores to accommodate 500.000 cubic yards of waste dredged from the reservoir. Apparently other locations have been available but for some reason- presumably, as always, based on money- this idyllic, 11 acre woodland has been chosen.

Credit: Mark Boster/ Los Angeles Times

Credit: Camron Stone
Click to see his album

Protesters have been working hard to peacefully save the trees, but today were ignored as the DPW's contractors moved in to bulldoze them down. Renowned tree activist John Quigley (who trained Santa Monica Treesavers in our efforts to save the Ficus trees in Downtown Santa Monica in 2008/9) was sitting in one of the Oaks at 4am, together with three other protesters in three other trees, but they were taken into custody at 8pm.

Self-portrait John Quigley, on limb of Oak in Arcadia. Credit: John Quigley

Daryl Hannah- another tree activist- came to show solidarity. Representatives of the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club also showed their support.

By nightfall today (Wednesday January 12th) about 90% of the woodlands were reduced to the aftermath of a battlefield.

I find this so hard to comprehend. We all- from schoolchildren to seniors- are constantly made aware of the necessity for trees in our fragile, collapsing ecosystem, so how can all this knowledge be ignored? Aside from the wonderful benefits of trees, how can we show them so little respect? Trees are living beings; scientists have proved how they actually react to pain and interact with each other when in crisis. I am more and more confused why humans should disregard the rights and importance of other forms of life, just because we are in a position to dominate them. Misused power is very frightening.

Today I regretted not being in Arcadia to show my support. I was in a pre-arranged meeting in Santa Monica City Hall between fellow Treesavers and Rod Gould, Santa Monica's new City Manager, who is commendably prepared to listen to Treesavers' concerns about our Urban Forest. Let's hope that by us maintaining a dialogue and co-operating with the City and with the Urban Forest Task Force we can help to create a better understanding of the value of trees within the whole community- including politicians .

To see what we have heartbreakingly lost in Arcadia, click on this link for Kevin Breckner of Time River Productions' recent video of the Arcadia Woodlands, filmed in spite of intimidation from guards.

Los Angeles Times report

Santa Monica Sunsets

2010-12-31T00:39:00.000-08:00

One thing I regret now that I am in LA rather than in Santa Monica is the accessibility of seeing the sunsets over the Ocean. Although it takes no time to get there, I am usually in a hurry to return home before the rush hour traffic, which means I miss the sunsets. However, I have made a point of catching them a couple of times recently so feel it is appropriate to end the year with the cliche of the sun going out of sight... at any rate, like most people, I love sunsets!

I will start with some images taken a few weeks ago, first walking towards Palisades Park:

And here in the Park is one of the Pink Melaleucas, framing some palms:

Now, just the palms against the sky and the ocean:

Then I became aware of the New Moon, framed by palms:

And here, just the Moon above the ocean:

Now just the sky and ocean...

Finally, to end the year on an up-beat note, here are a couple of more fragile, optimistic sunsets taken this week:

More Moreton Bay Fig Trees

2010-12-30T23:11:00.000-08:00

I have written often about one of my favourite trees- the Moreton Bay Fig. Having today yet again passed through the wondrous avenues of them on La Mesa Drive, I thought I would show some more recent and not-so-recent images of the trees there. The sculptural formations of their organic limbs never cease to astound me:

LA Trees on December Walk

2010-12-07T23:43:00.000-08:00

And now it is December...and the acceleration to Christmas is in full swing. However, simultaneously the Fall is taking place here in little pockets among the evergreens. Being in Southern California, one does miss the total dramatic effect of the changing seasons, so one gets very excited by these vignettes...

This morning when I took my granddaughter Violet to the nearby Playground, there was an amazing blue, blue sky and the reds and yellows of the occasional Maple and London Plane trees were exhilarating. It is never that easy to concentrate on taking photos when looking after a baby, so in the late afternoon I went out alone with a camera. By now, of course, there was a totally different light and those particular trees were no longer exciting - but that's the wonderful thing about changing light, you always find that something else now looks exciting, the unexpected...

At the start of my walk, the evening sun's reflected "glow" was burnishing the leaves:

And now it was lighting up the limbs of the trees too:

Next, as I walked down onto the Eastern side of a hill, the glow was no longer on the trees, but was reflected on the Eastern sky, the trees becoming silhouettes:

I then turned South-Westwards, and here was another sky. I have photographed these Palm trees many times against a clear blue sky, so was elated to see them in this evening light:

My next excitement was seeing a tiny slither of upside-down (to us from the UK) new moon, behind the trees:

And then a shaggy, bird-like Palm:

Finally, a completely different visual experience:- side-walk trees turned into magical Christmas Trees:

LA Trees on November Walk

2010-11-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

I am shocked to see that it is over a month since I have written anything here- not because I feel I SHOULD have to just for the sake of it, but because there have been so many things I have intended to write about but have not had the energy to do so. My pathetic excuse is that I have been too busy with Grandmotherly duties to do anything else....

That said, most days I take my Granddaughter to a little local playground and afterwards explore different routes home, thus getting visual surprizes from the very varied trees. Granddaughter permitting, I then have the added joy of photographing them.

Here are some images from a recent walk:

Eucalyptus trees inevitably delight me with their elegant, sculptural shapes, emphasized by the exciting colours and patterns of their peeling bark. I totally fell in love with the twist in the trunk of this one:

Pepper trees always fascinate me- with the extraordinary "carbuncles" on their trunks contrasting with the delicate patterns of their foliage:

Finally, here is another tree that gave me great pleasure with its twisted limbs. I believe it is a form of Carob tree, although others I have seen are not so entwined. If anyone disputes this please let me know as I always welcome other opinions, not being an authority on this country's trees!

"Sick-Amour": Blue Planet Fest

2010-10-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

I have been back in Los Angeles for three weeks. Having arrived in an excessive heatwave (temperatures up to a record 114 Fahrenheit), what with that, jet lag and re-bonding with my now nearly ten month old granddaughter, Violet, I have neglected Treeaware- so now to catch up:

In January 2008- while researching local Tree Artists for Treesavers' bid to get Santa Monica's Downtown Ficus trees Landmarked- I came across the website of Joel Tauber and his heart-warming video "Sick-Amour", annotating his love for a vulnerable, uncared for Sycamore tree sitting in the midst of the Rose Bowl's parking lot asphalt.

I was sorry to hear that the movie of Sick Amour was to premiere at the Los Angeles Downtown Film Festival on September 11th when I was still in the UK. However, last weekend the Blue Planet Film Fest- gave three showings of the movie in Santa Monica. To quote their Mission statement: "Blue Planet is the first animal-welfare/environmental film festival and forum to raise mainstream awareness and motivate people to action on the most important issues of our time: saving the earth and the biodiversity in it." So on Friday I was delighted to see the completed Sick-Amour (accompanied by fellow-Treesaver Louise).

It is a very moving, informative love-story, showing Joel's total dedication and resourcefulness to give this Sycamore tree a better quality of life- something that I totally relate to. It is quite amazing how much he accomplished- even persuading Pasadena's City Council to give the tree a wider surrounding asphalt-free area, with bollards to prevent destruction from vehicles. This is an environmental microcosm of what we should all be doing to respect and nurture trees without which we- literally- could not live. Please check out Joel's movie trailer and website here.

An important aspect of the movie is propagation- impossible for this isolated tree by itself. Joel has solved this by gaining the help of a nursery to germinate the seeds. Thus he has so far found homes for 140 "Tree Babies", both in people's homes and in public venues. Not having anywhere to plant a tree myself, it was gratifying to learn that Santa Monica was going to plant one of these Babies in Crescent Park by the Beach, following Friday's showing of the film. So here is the Planting:

First, Joel shows his love for his tree's offspring as it sits in the prepared hole:

And here he is joined by Mira Tweti, Executive Director of Blue Planet Film Fest:

And next Joel is joined by both Santa Monica's City Staff and Treesaver Linda Piera-Avila, representing Santa Monica's Urban Forest Task Force, set up by Santa Monica City Council largely due to the persistence of Treesavers during and following the Ficus tree crisis. It might seem surprizing that so many spades (gold ones too!) and bodies were necessary for planting this one little tree, but in fact earlier two native Torrey Pines were planted nearby, as part of an initiative to plant 1,000 trees and observe their environmental progress; besides, everyone wanted to be involved in the planting of this baby Sycamore tree:

Here Joel helps bed down the sapling:

And here as the final soil touches take place, you can see the tree's relationship with the Ocean:

Planting completed, the Baby sits in its neat water-retaining basin:

In Joel's movie, you learn of all the creatures and fungi that attacked his Sycamore, so it was good to see the healthy green leaves of this little one:

Joel gives his Tree Baby a last kiss:

Hopefully, this little tree will one day really grow up into the sky...

Note: English readers will be confused by the term "Sycamore", which there refers to Acer pseudoplatanus, rather than Platanus occidentalis, the American Sycamore, otherwise known as the London Plane tree- which in London is just referred to as a Plane tree! whereas in Scotland what the English call a Sycamore tree is sometimes called a Plane tree! All very confusing....and I have probably made it even more so!

More Valentines Park...

2010-09-20T17:21:00.000-07:00

At the end of this week I will be returning to Los Angeles, so I am spending as much time as possible watching my favourite Great Crested Grebe chick- because who knows where he'll be when I return?....

In my last post I wrote about my love of the patterns made by the birds' movements in the water, so will start with some more illustrations of this. First my Grebe chick rushing through the water:

And now just some bird-less water that I liked:

And here is a Little Grebe bobbing about:

And here is one of the parent Great Crested Grebes briefly allowing the chick to be near him (or her) as they both preen themselves:

And here the chick continues preening and showing off his elegant neck!

Now a Pochard preens himself, the sunlight catching his beautiful burnished head:

I'm always attracted by the comedy and craziness in birds- here the Pochard contorts himself:

And now it's the Grebe chicks turn to shake a leg:

And now try out his wings:

Herons are always cartoon birds and this one on the island does some odd preening poses:

Lastly, I will turn to pairs of birds: I find it fascinating how often they "mirror" each other. The Egyptian Geese constantly do this. First, they are standing together on the island's shore:

then they simultaneously turn round and retreat into the bushes...

I will end with the two adult Grebes who are constantly swimming together in unison now that they have rejected their poor,lonesome, cheeping offspring!

Valentines Park: Grebe Chick Again

2010-09-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

That Great Crested Grebe chick is a glutton for punishment. This evening he was continuing his hovering around one of his parents, cheeping piteously. When he got too close the adult finally was enraged and went for him yet again- and off he sped down the lake....

This didn't stop him trying again, but eventually he gave up:

When I arrived there were two Egyptian Geese on the Boating Lake island and two on the grass nearby. As I was leaving all four birds were on the grass. They were feeding quite peacefully until a Crow started "cawing" loudly. This alerted them and they started stretching their necks and making guttural noises and then displaying to eachother in this way:

More Great Crested Grebes!

2010-09-17T03:15:00.000-07:00

I can't keep away from the Valentines Park Great Crested Grebes- especially the chick, who is no longer such a chick. I will start by showing them as successful fisher-birds- here is an adult negotiating a very large mouthful:

And here is the so-called chick, proudly holding his catch:

His prowess is recognized by the Gulls. Yesterday, two of them were closing in on him and rushing up to him as soon as he emerged with a catch. He then would promptly dive back into the water...

He also seems to be developing his flying skills: several times I have seen him scooting rapidly across the water's surface- once being chased off by his parents. Although he is so mature, he still seems to hanker after their company, both swimming up to them and dozing in their vicinity- always at the risk of being rejected...

I delight in the patterns made by the displaced water as he swims:

And the patterns made on the water's surface by the wind:

And also the ever-present reflections in one form or another:

Acorns and Rodents

2010-09-14T06:17:00.000-07:00

There is something very charming about an Acorn- the fruit of an Oak tree- as it sits in its little embossed "cup". When I was looking for some to photograph in Valentines Park, I was disappointed to find most of them had been gnawed- by Grey Squirrels I guessed. Sure enough, I shortly saw the culprit sitting munching one on the branch of a lakeside Sycamore tree:

Acorns are rich in nutrients and popular with all Rodents as well as certain birds- Woodpeckers, Jays, Pigeons and even, apparently, some Ducks.

The name "Rodent" comes from the Latin word rodere, "to gnaw". This family of mammals all have two continually growing incisors in both their upper and lower jaws. The only way they can control the growth is to constantly gnaw.

Now, I was brought up with the delightful Red Squirrels in Aberdeenshire, with their wonderful red coats and bushy tails. When I first came across Grey Squirrels below the Malvern Hills I was very snooty about them, adhering to the idea that they were "rats with furry tails"- if you look at this next image of a Rat in a nearby Oak tree, you will understand what I mean!

I'm now ashamed to admit that I did not feel much sympathy for the one that had part of its tail removed by my Welsh Collie and which (the tail piece- not the squirrel!) sat as his trophy on our mantelpiece for some years...

Conkers

2010-09-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

I have written often on this blog about my passion for Conkers. The word Conker refers either to the Horse Chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum) itself or to the seeds of the tree, whereas the plural- conkers- can refer to the game played using them- a game involving finding the strongest conker- the "conqueror".

The tree was first introduced to the UK from the Balkans in the late 16th Century and the first recorded game was in the Isle of Wight in 1848. This once popular game among all country children is apparently today serious business. Health and Safety have crept in and children now have to wear goggles!

As a child I never actually played the game but used to collect the beautiful, glossy seeds to make into miniature chairs. They made perfect armchairs: forming the seats they looked like some wondrous mahogany- you then stuck pins in them to form the legs and the chair backs, weaving wool through these to complete the backs- a modern design in the late 1940's and early 1950's! The only sad fact was that- like so many things- they very soon lost their bloom...

I am still always happy to find them. Walking through Valentines Park (after checking on my Grebe family!) I was glad to see this tree holding a good crop of conkers:

I proceeded to search the ground for fallen ripe conkers. At first I rather despaired (as I am inclined to do prematurely!), as they had all been eaten by grey squirrels who frequent the park. Eventually I found this one, just beginning to ripen:

and then to my delight this perfect one:

Collapse of Grey Heron's Tree:

2010-09-06T02:53:00.000-07:00

Those of you who follow this blog will remember me writing endlessly about the first Grey Herons who nested in the Borough of Redbridge for one hundred years- on an island in Valentines Park. To jog your memories, here are the three chicks, on the branch of their lakeside, ivy covered, decaying Sycamore tree:

Well, having spent countless hours watching the birds on this tree, you can imagine how shocked I was to see it collapsed in the water, when I returned to Ilford:

You could just see the rotten base:

Ironically, a park representative had told me- at the time the birds were in the nest- that he had being thinking of felling that particular tree before they built their nest.

It is sad the nest has gone- and with it the hope that the Herons would return to that tree, but on the other hand how wonderful that it didn't fall down when the Heron family were inhabiting it....

Valentines Park: Further Update

2010-09-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

Having been away from Ilford for two weeks, needless to say the first thing I did on my return was to visit Valentines Park to check out the Great Crested Grebe family.

I found the two adults dozing side-by-side under an Oak tree:

After a time, one of them swam off. On his return, he approached the other bird and gave him- or her- a nudge with his beak:

Getting no response, he swam off again!

I was very happy to see the chick out and about on the lake:

It is interesting to see how he is maturing. He now has the definite beginnings of a black crest and more signs of the adults' russet-red in his plumage, although he retains some of his zebra-like neck stripes:

He may be maturing but he is still very much a chick, still trying to make contact with his parents, still making his piteous "cheep-cheeps". Today he yet again approached them:

but they raced off (a Cormorant simultaneously leaping out of the water):

He followed them. They settled under one of the Alder trees and he bravely drew closer to them- his cheeps getting more frantic:

But again he was rejected and chased off in a very unfriendly manner!

You know it's all part of growing up but you can't help empathizing with him- he looks so pathetic and "lonesome"!

Valentines Park: Herons and Cormorants

2010-08-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

I can't leave Valentines Park without mentioning the return of a Heron and Cormorant to the Boating Lake. Over the last few weeks a Heron has been frequenting the island on which the Swans nested:

One would like to think that he was one of the adults who nested on the Fish Pond island- but who knows?

After fishing in his usual upright manner, he surprized me by trying out a new technique: lying low on the ground- in the hopes the fish would not see him?

Two cormorants have also frequented the lake. Here one of them joins the Heron on the island:

And here he joins the Swan family:

Now he goes fishing in the water...

And now he returns to the bank...

And now he spreads his wings to dry them in the sunshine...

Apart from this, the Cormorant is a regular sight on the boats:

I will conclude with a pretty hybrid (?) Goose I saw on the lake's bank:

Valentines Park: Another Update

2010-08-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

First I will continue with the Great Crested Grebe saga on Valentines Park Boating Lake: since I last wrote, the two parents and the chick have been ignoring each other and the chick has developed into an efficient, independent diver for his own food. However, today was a bit different:

Quite soon I saw the two adults swimming about together but no sign of the chick:

After going round the lake at least five times, searching for him, I got worried. Finally I spotted him, to my relief. He was busy swimming and diving:

After a time he disappeared and I next found him under an oak tree on the South bank, resting and preening himself:

To my surprize, not far off- under the same oak tree- was one of his parents, dozing on the water. They were not paying any attention to each other:

Suddenly, the chick made a move towards his parent: he lowered and stretched out his neck down on the water, in a supplicating manner, cheeping at the same time. The parent made threatening head movements at him:

The chick tried to creep nearer, but the adult had had enough and frightened him off:

The chick returned to his original bit of water and the adult swam off towards the middle of the lake...