October

 Malcolm says he’s ready to bypass Halloween and go straight to Thanksgiving.  He wants turkey!  Of course, he wants turkey every day.  And lots of other things that are only appropriate for him in very small amounts.  

Autumn is finally starting to get underway here in the San Bernardino mountains.  It’s arrival is very late this year, I think because it’s been so unseasonably warm.  This past summer was filled with brutal heat.  I hate it, but I suppose that’s the norm now in this time of Climate Change.

I hope everyone is having a joyous autumn, it’s my favorite time of the year.  

Patience

I took these photos in April of 2012.  I'm not exactly sure what kind of tree this was, but a safe bet is either pine or cedar.

I think the way this fallen giant weathered is so beautiful.

Some of the striations and grain make it look like it was almost under water.

Of course, it was never under any water since it's on the top of a mountain.  But, imagine how patient the wind and rain and snow must have been, working together, to create such a beautiful sculpture over hundreds of years...

Linking with:

Through My Lens

Janu-May

There was a lot more snow than this (about 5 inches), but I didn't have the heart to take any more photos.  I went to bed last night listening to the welcome sound of the rain ... some time during the night it turned to snow, heavy, wet, tree-killing snow.  I lost two lilacs, one cherry tree and one Ash Leaf Maple.  My husband and I pruned as best we could to try and save what's left, but only time will tell if the rest of the lilacs, cherries and maples survive.  I'm hoping the little cherry fruits on the unharmed trees will ripen for the birds.  Our high was only 34 today.  Tonight will be down in the twenties.  January in May ... a mixed blessing, that's for sure.

A Quote For Monday

When Trees Transform by William Carlos William

All the complicated details
Of the attiring and
The dis-attiring are completed!
A liquid moon
Moves gently among
The long branches.
Thus having prepared their buds
Against a sure winter
The wise trees stand sleeping in the cold.

A Quote for Tuesday

"The air is as cool as an old coin teaspoon and a faint tang of blue wood smoke spices the air.  The color of the great sugar maples is so dazzling it seems I must have dreamed it."  Gladys Taber 

These trees aren't sugar maples, but I think the colors of Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) trees are just as beautiful.  I didn't think we'd get much color this autumn because it's been so very dry, but there are spots of color here and there.  Thank goodness!  I can't imagine living, or being happy, where autumn brings no change...

Happy Arbor Day!

A new little oak tree (planted by Mother Nature) springing up by a middle aged Ponderosa pine. 

Wednesday's Winding Road

Dogwoods blooming along Kuffel Canyon road; it leads down into Lake Arrowhead.

Faeries Friday - In the Faery Forest

You can always tell when you've entered a part of the forest where faeries live, even if you don't see one.  How?  Sometimes there is a magical glow coming from certain parts of the trees and plants or perhaps that part of the forest looks greener than the rest.  There might be more flowers.  But for a sure way to tell, even when there are no other signs, look at the bark of the trees.  Oak, pine, dogwood, maple, whatever kinds of trees are in the forest where you live, you will see the shapes of faery faces or, sometimes, the outline of a faery wing or an entire faery.  How do the marks get there?  Love!  The trees love the faeries so much that, as they grow, they shape their bark into the images of faeries.  Of course, the marks aren't easy to see; the trees don't want everyone to be able to see them and know where the faeries live.  Soon the forest would be over-run with humans and the faeries would leave.  Faeries like humans, but not huge groups of them. 

So, the next time you're in the forest, sit down quietly and just gaze around randomly.  Soon you'll see the shapes. . . and if you're very lucky you might even see a real faery!

When I Am Among the Trees

"When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness,
I would almost say that they save me,
and daily.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, "Stay awhile."
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, "It's simple," they say
"and you, too, have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine."   ~Mary Oliver~

Sunday Sunlight - Sun Drops

I took this in August of 2011 and I had fun today playing around with it a little bit in Photoshop. (Left click to enlarge).  This tree is by the Subway sandwich shop in Crestline, but I have no idea what kind of tree this is; I've never seen one like it anywhere else up here.

Sanctuary

"Trees are sanctuaries.  Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth.  They do not preach learning and precepts.  They preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life."  Hermann Hesse

A Quote for Monday

"It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility."  Rachel Carson

Seeing Beauty...and Other Things

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." ~ Confucuis

This is a close-up of a Pepper Tree. They don't grow up here, but they grow all over down in the San Bernardino Valley. In the upper center of the hollow I see what looks like the little face of something...Other. I also see what looks like a tiny hand with one finger upraised. I didn't see it until I uploaded the photo. Maybe it's the tree's spirit, or its guardian spirit. Or maybe it's just a trick of the light. Hmmmm...

Never Ending

Just a few moments ago these trees were dancing and singing to the tune the wind has been playing, off and on, all day long. Right now, they are still and only bird songs can be heard. But, I agree with John Muir: "Though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease."

To me, this is also true of the huge, centuries old and hundreds of feet tall, trees that we lost to bark beetle. I still see them standing proud and strong, and I still hear their songs...only now, I see and hear them with my heart.

Wordless Wednesday - Strength

Winter Haiku

sleeping trees dream deep
escaping winter's cold grip
into a green warmth

Sculpting and Sniffling

Today the high temp is 50 F! The snow is almost all gone, although a little more is predicted for Sunday and Monday. But down by the creek, on the north side which is shaded even in summer and just plain dark for most of the day at this time of year, the trees are still wearing their ice jewels. If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you can see how the wind has sculpted the ice on each individual needle into an interesting shape. Some of the wind's sculptures are round, some are knife blade thin, some are wavy. I wonder if the wind has as much fun sculpting as I do when I'm making a painting?

I'm also wondering if the crazy up and down temperatures are responsible for this darn head cold I've been battling for 22 DAYS now. It's the worst head cold I've had in years, and it just won't go away! Grrrrr...

It's All Relative

All these gorgeous leaves are gone now. Winter, even though it won't officially arrive until December 21st, is holding us firmly in its ice gloved hand.

These two Band Tailed Pigeons weren't bothered by the small amount of snow (4 or 5 inches instead of the foot of snow the weather people had predicted) we received last week. What was bothering them was the lack of peanuts on the feeding tray. The look they're giving me most definitely says, "WELL? What are you waiting for? Get those peanuts out here NOW!"

The temperatures have been unseasonably cold, with highs for the past several days only reaching the low 20's Fahrenheit (-6 to -3 Celsius) and low temperatures dropping to as low as 4 degrees below zero (-20 Celsius). Add 30 mile an hour winds to those temperatures and that equals BRRRRRRR!

This morning when I opened the door to go battle the ice on the animals' water bowls I was pleasantly surprised by how warm it felt. I went back inside and opened a few windows to let the fresh air into the house and happened to glance at the thermometer on my way outside again.

The temperature was 39 degrees Fahrenheit (3 Celsius).

I guess it's all relative...

Going, Going...

But not yet gone, thankfully. This forest used to be full of enormous trees like the ones above (I don't know who the man is, but he gives an idea of how tall the trees are) which are a mix of Giant Sequoia, Ponderosa Pine and Western Red Cedar. This is near the Burnt Mill Beach Club, which is on the south side of Lake Arrowhead.

The trees on the hills on the north side of the lake, which actually would be south facing, aren't faring so well.

Before 2000, we had Pine Bark Beetle infestations every 100 years or so, and only a few trees were killed. One could not see the houses in the above photo because they were obscured by the huge trees. And, until the unfortunate building boom that started in the mid 1970's and is, insanely, still going on, most of the houses weren't there. (I'm not talking about families that build one home for themselves, I'm speaking of large scale builders). During the infestation that occurred from 2000 to 2004 the San Bernardino Mountain range lost over 1.5 million trees. There are many houses in the trees that are closest to the lake in this photo, but the trees hide most of them.

But...look closely. Most of the evergreen trees closest to the lake are starting to take on a brownish hue, or their needles are fading from a green so deep it used to look almost black when it was cloudy, to a yellowish-green. These trees aren't being attacked by Pine Bark Beetles; the summers up here have simply warmed too much for them to thrive anymore.

I keep hoping that climate change will give us more rain and snow in the winter than what was normal in the past. I hope that, maybe, more rain would help the trees to cope with the warmer temperatures.

Call it what you want; Global Warming, Climate Change. Whatever it is, it's happening. It's real. It's happening everywhere, whether it's dying forests or melting glaciers or something else. And I can't understand why the leaders of the world aren't making it their number one priority to stop it. Regular people in their daily lives can do a lot, but it isn't going to be enough unless governments around the world rapidly come up with plans to move their countries quickly away from dependence on fossil fuels, and provide viable ways to reverse the warming that has already taken place.

Because even though the forests and glaciers of the world are not gone yet, they are going.

Winter Soltice

This is a picture I took last December on the Winter Soltice/Yule but it seems to personify, for me anyway, this day.

There is very little snow here on the ground today. The sky hangs low and dark gray, seeming to balance on the tops of the Ponderosa Pines. There is a chill wind blowing from the north, telling me that it may bring snow by tomorrow night. I have kept a fire going in all my fireplaces all day long.

Early this morning, I brought in branches of holly and twined in some ivy. I left the pines, firs and Western Red Cedars (which are the only kind of cedar tree that grows in these mountains) alone, as they don't recover as easily from pruning. ESPECIALLY THE CEDARS; cut a frond or branch from a cedar tree and it will never put out new growth to replace what you have taken.

In this day of bleak mid-winter, may you have friends and family near, lots of good things to eat and drink, and firelight, whether logs or candles, against the dark. And, of course, lots of Yuletide blessings.