Take a walk on the wild side.....

Discussion in 'How's It Growing?' started by pmurphy, May 29, 2020.

  1. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    2,531
    Likes Received:
    1,336
    Location:
    Nanoose Bay, BC Canada
    Here's a favourite old Mother Goose rhyme (or song):

    The north wind doth blow,
    And we shall have snow,
    And what will poor Robin do then?
    Poor thing!
    He'll sit in a barn,
    And to keep himself warm,
    Will hide his head under his wing,
    Poor thing!
     
    Acerholic likes this.
  2. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

    Messages:
    15,599
    Likes Received:
    13,025
    Location:
    Hampshire England Zone 8b UK
    That takes me back Margot. I love it.
     
  3. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    981
    Likes Received:
    792
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    We've been going to Central Park in Burnaby lately (we find it peaceful compared to some of the other parks) and got some nice photos after it snowed.....I also managed a photo of a pair of hooded mergansers that showed up in the lower pond.
     

    Attached Files:

    Nik, Acerholic and Margot like this.
  4. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

    Messages:
    15,599
    Likes Received:
    13,025
    Location:
    Hampshire England Zone 8b UK
    Today was a beautiful day and I thought some of the wildlife along the River Itchen, obviously not the Alpacas, so people can see that life is just as it was before the pandemic. Nature carries on !!
    River Itchen 706.JPG River Itchen 707.JPG Mute swan River itchen 707.JPG Trout fry River Itchen 706.JPG Alpacas River Itchen 706.JPG
     
    Nik, pmurphy and Margot like this.
  5. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    981
    Likes Received:
    792
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    We were back at the dog park with our new dogs and I notice a tree that I had to take a photo of - I guess it's always been hidden by leaves and other trees (which have since fallen in the wind storms). Not sure what sort of tree it is but I like it.

    Thought I'd also share a couple of very unusual photos taken from the park as well. They are not really that exciting but first image shows some mountains (zoomed to see the hills). The second image is the same view the very next day and there are no mountains. Both photos were take about the same time of day (9:30AM) from the same outlook. The unusual thing about these photos is that the view is looking southwest towards the mouth of the Fraser River and there are no mountains located there - the second image is the correct view.
    I believe there are some sort of atmospheric conditions that create this optical illusion. And the funny thing is that we have seen this phenomenon several times over the past year, sometimes even seeing snow on the mountains.
     

    Attached Files:

    Nik, Acerholic and Margot like this.
  6. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

    Messages:
    15,599
    Likes Received:
    13,025
    Location:
    Hampshire England Zone 8b UK
    I've seen some amazing carvings from Burs or Burls, think this one is nearly at the stage of going that way.
    What a strange phenomenon in the photos. Sort of thing that would test your sanity when not there the next day !!!
     
  7. Nik

    Nik Contributor

    Messages:
    843
    Likes Received:
    1,172
    Location:
    NA
    This reminds me of something I read recently, probably unrelated phenomenon...
    Walker 'stunned' to see ship hovering high above sea off Cornwall
     
    Acerholic, Margot and pmurphy like this.
  8. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,779
    Likes Received:
    269
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    The Guardian article discusses refraction during a temperature inversion, but you don't need an inversion to see the effect. Refraction normally makes all objects near the horizon to appear higher than they actually are, and the amount of refraction increases with the density of the air in the view. So, it could be that the photo with the mountains in the background was taken on a day with lower temperatures and higher air pressures than the other day. However, I suspect that the main reason for the difference is due to unusually clear air on the day of the first image and more normal murky (and polluted) air in the second image. Arctic air, such as we had back in February, would provide ideal condition for both effects to allow the visibility of distant mountains in Washington.
     
    pmurphy, Acerholic and Margot like this.
  9. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    2,531
    Likes Received:
    1,336
    Location:
    Nanoose Bay, BC Canada
    What a beautiful, incredible tree! This is a total stab in the dark but something about it makes me wonder if it could be a Robinia pseudoacacia. Please, @pmurphy, would you post some photos when it comes into leaf so we can find out what it is?

    upload_2021-3-25_23-14-49.png
     
  10. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    981
    Likes Received:
    792
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    You could be right.
    If I recall the first photo was taken on a cool day, then we had some clouds and overnight showers so it was not only cloudier but warmer for the second photo. And I also recall that the "mountains" appear on clear days during fall, winter or spring when a temperature inversion is more likely and always in the morning.
     
  11. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    981
    Likes Received:
    792
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    I will keep an eye on this one!
     
  12. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

    Messages:
    15,599
    Likes Received:
    13,025
    Location:
    Hampshire England Zone 8b UK
    @pmurphy and @Margot, I'm wondering if it is a Salix, the deep fissures in the bark is very typical of an old specimen.
     
  13. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

    Messages:
    10,574
    Likes Received:
    615
    Location:
    Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Those are crown galls creating the burls, likely Agrobacterium radiobacter

    As for the tree, the size (in our area) suggests cottonwood. Willow is also possible given the environment and bark, but we don't have any native willow species in the Vancouver area that get to be that size (and the rare cultivated tree isn't typical to find outside of urban areas).
     
  14. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

    Messages:
    3,621
    Likes Received:
    5,192
    Location:
    nr Orléans, France (E.U.)
    Last week, I went for a walk to a natural park I had been in my late teens, about 15 miles from where I live. I thought I might see a lot of flowers, but apart from a kind of buttercups there were none, not even wild hyacinths that are spreding in violet carpets in the woods nearby. But it's a nice place, with lots of river arms under the trees, it's called les Mauves. It's where I caught leech on my legs, scary at first, but when you approach a cigarette, they just fall off.

    I'll go back when the trees have completely leafed out, in the heat of the summer, it must be a cool place. And I won't forget to put on insect repellent...

    2021-03-21_Mauves-a.jpg 2021-03-21_Mauves-c.jpg 2021-03-21_Mauves-d.jpg
     
    Nik and pmurphy like this.
  15. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

    Messages:
    15,599
    Likes Received:
    13,025
    Location:
    Hampshire England Zone 8b UK
    Good evening Daniel, I wondered about that, but as it's known as the dog Park, I was thinking it was planted for that particular area.
     
  16. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

    Messages:
    15,599
    Likes Received:
    13,025
    Location:
    Hampshire England Zone 8b UK
    Very tranquil Alain, cool walks in the Sumner sounds lovely. They are
    Ficaria verna Fig buttercup btw. We have them everywhere here. Good luck for your team tonight. I'm sure you will be watching.....
     
    AlainK likes this.
  17. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

    Messages:
    3,621
    Likes Received:
    5,192
    Location:
    nr Orléans, France (E.U.)
    Yes, I remember now, someone (you?) has posted a photo not long ago.
     
  18. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

    Messages:
    15,599
    Likes Received:
    13,025
    Location:
    Hampshire England Zone 8b UK
    It was me, Lol.
     
    AlainK likes this.
  19. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

    Messages:
    10,574
    Likes Received:
    615
    Location:
    Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Oh, it very well may be. Though, for most of our walking parks like this one that are semi-wild, it would have been planted by residents of the property before it became a park.
     
  20. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

    Messages:
    3,621
    Likes Received:
    5,192
    Location:
    nr Orléans, France (E.U.)
    Dear Aloysius, ...
    ...
    ...
    Er, I can't remember what I wanted to say... ^_^
     
  21. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

    Messages:
    15,599
    Likes Received:
    13,025
    Location:
    Hampshire England Zone 8b UK
    Ah understood, suppose it's another intriguing one for the forum that P @pmurphy will let us all know in a few weeks when it leafs out. Great fun trying to work it out though.
     
  22. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

    Messages:
    3,621
    Likes Received:
    5,192
    Location:
    nr Orléans, France (E.U.)
    These ones must be endemic because there were other patches far from any garden or house.

    At the beginning of the walk though, there were Primula (Primulae, Primulas?) of different colours next to the fences of abandoned garden. I didn't take photos.

    Cowslips (Primula veris) though are flowering on the sides of the roads and in other places -once again, depending on the soil.
     
  23. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    981
    Likes Received:
    792
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    I got a few more photos of the tree today; no leaves yet but there are some seed pods. Based on these I feel I should know what it is but can't put a name to it yet, most likely some sort of locust.
     

    Attached Files:

    Nik likes this.
  24. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

    Messages:
    3,621
    Likes Received:
    5,192
    Location:
    nr Orléans, France (E.U.)
    Robinia pseudoacacia ("Locust") is one of the most common trees here, it's native and helps stabilizing the banks of the river Loire.

    It's the kind of wood that doesn't rot when buried, so a friend of mine made terraces on a slope with stakes taken around, there are so many.

    A traditional recipe is to make flowers dougnuts, but I haven't tried myself. So far.
     
    Nik likes this.
  25. Nik

    Nik Contributor

    Messages:
    843
    Likes Received:
    1,172
    Location:
    NA
    As a kid growing up in Southern Europe I remember eating the flowers, they were delicious.
    Also, honey from these flowers (acacia honey) is very light tasting, my favorite at the time.
     

Share This Page