Trees of Color

As many of you know, I love the colors and textures that can be found in bark. I am always awestruck by what I see in tree bark. My imagination comes to life with each tree that I look at! So let’s take a look at some trees that are full of color!

Tell me if you can see the butterfly that I found in this bark!

Golden butterfly

I just love the way the colors swirl around the area where a branch had been cut. Do you see the dancer?

Swirling color

There is still a lot of gold here in the Sierra Foothills as we can see in this photo!

A scattering of gold

With all the many patterns and textures that you have seen in the photos above, I found this tree to be very simplistic. Simple is good – right?

Shades of gray

I am throwing this photo in as it really sparks the imagination. Tell me if you can see these branches swaying in a gentle breeze, and if you can smell the light fragrance of cedar…

Shades of green

So, what do you think? What did your imagination tell you? I would love to hear what you saw!

Thank you for the visit today!

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Growing a Walnut Tree

Last year my neighbor EB gave me a lovely bag of English Walnuts that she and her husband got from a grower in the valley. I was told that if I wanted a walnut tree, this was the one to grow! So last fall, I took 5 of the walnuts and put them into pots so that they could do their thing!

A walnut seed is planted

This is when the waiting game began. From what I have read, it can take up to 5 months for these things to sprout. Well, it took longer than that for me. It took about 7 months! Welcome to the world little seedling!

It’s starting to sprout!

It was suggested that the seed be planted in the ground due to the huge tap root, the main root of the tree, that the tree develops. If we got lucky with these seeds, then we figured we could plant them in the dormant season when the rains comes and the tree is sleeping.

Here is a baby tree that has been up now for about 3 weeks.

About 3 weeks old

I found out that it will take 10 years for these trees to produce! These trees get to be about 30 feet tall! And they have a huge canopy. Can you just imagine that from this little tree? And, doesn’t it have a pretty leaf?

One young tree!

Well, we are patient people, and hope that these survive transplanting! We have a black walnut that is growing rather rapidly, and hopefully this will too!

Have a great Monday, and thank you for visiting!

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Barking at the Zoo!

As you might have figured out by now, I love the textures and patterns that can be found in tree bark. The San Diego Zoo has an unusual array of shrubs, trees and flowers. So for today, I thought that I would share with you some of the amazing bark that I captured while visiting the zoo! Shall we take a look?

Let’s start with the amazing bark on the Sycamore tree. I love the contrasts that can be found on this tree’s bark.

Sycamore

The Eucalyptus is best known for its peeling bark, each shred showing off the inner beauty found at its core!

Eucalyptus Bark

Another shot!

After visiting the elephants we came across this tree. I am not sure what the name of it is, but I can say that this tree was definitely looking at me! It kind of looks like an owl doesn’t it?

Eye see you!

I also came across a tree with a lovely rust colored bark. There was an interesting knob on this tree that caught my eye!

Knobby

Then I found this one that actually had spines!

Spiky bark

Tree barks are mostly shades of brown, gray and rusts. But I did find this one with a green colored bark!

Green

Stay tuned for some of the amazing flowers I discovered at the zoo! Now go out and have a great Monday and may the week be a good one for you! And, of course, thank you for stopping by!

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Art in the Bark!

Trees are extraordinary creatures! Each has its own personality which comes through if you look closely at their bark. Just like a fingerprint, the bark on each tree is unique. They vary in color, patterns and textures. Each and every bark that I come across is just art in the bark! Tell me if you do not agree! Here are some recent photos with a couple of older photos from previous posts of the art in the bark!

Here are the beautiful patterns found in a Ponderosa Pine.

Rusty

And another view of this magnificent bark.

Melting chocolate ice cream

The State Tree of California is the Madrone. It has beautiful peeling bark with a variety of differing colors. Each tree is a work of art, and here are a couple of shots of one beauty that I had to takes photos of!

The torn dress

Check out the variety of colors in this next shot.

Rectangles

Here are a couple of others. The first is the bark on a redwood.

A tree of color

And the sycamore that I captured in Arizona!

Amazing textures

This next photo is from a tree in Yellowstone. The exposed inner layer of the heart of the tree is caused by the buffalo or elk racking the tree.

Sappy tree in Yellowstone

What barks are in your neighborhood? If you stop and look closely maybe you will see some of the same beauty and art in the bark!

Thank you for stopping by, and have a great Monday!

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Broken Trees

At times here in the Sierra Foothills, during the winter months, we have some pretty heavy duty winds. The results of these high winds can bring trees down. Limbs just snap off the trees leaving the remains for us to clean up and clear. We value the wood when it is oak, but find ourselves sad when we see them damaged. The digger pines, contrary to the belief of some, do come down, and I wanted to share with you the aftermath of high winds here in the foothills.

These photos are after a storm where the wind speeds hit 80 m.p.h. I had been at work when the power went out around 3:00 in the afternoon. A co-worker and I watched as the rain was blowing sideways. With the power out, we all headed home. When I got here, my husband told me what the wind speeds were due to his trusty weather station, and then asked if I noticed the trees. Grabbing my camera I went out to walk around. The winds had died down so I would be safe.

This photo is from a digger pine in the front yard. The branch snapped and the branch came down just missing our neighbors well house.

One huge limb

The limb in the photo was about 40 feet long and had a circumference of 18 inches at the thickest part. Here is another view.

Another view

And one last view.

One more view

Here is a photo showing where the limb broke. This is up on the tree about 50 feet above the ground.

Where the limb snapped

Looking into the backyard, I see that another digger pine snapped. This one missed our back deck by about 6 inches. The tree is about 35 feet from our house. The branch took out part of an oak below it. It took out the fencing on the vegetable garden. The impact was so great that some of the branches impaled the ground. They were so deep we could not remove them and they are still there today.

A digger in the back

We have a grove of oak at one side of our yard, and taking a look in that direction you can see the debris of broken limbs laying on the ground.

Downed oak

It took us days to clean up. On the morning that we cleared the limb from our neighbors yard it was pouring rain, which then turned into a blizzard by the time we finished removing just this one.

Each year, while we look forward to winter and the snow, we hope that we do not have another wind event like this one!

Take care today! The week is almost over and there is the weekend to look forward to! Thanks for visiting and have a great Thursday!

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Barking in Arizona

I love the textures and colors that one can find in bark…as you might have noticed! We took a trip recently to Arizona and I wanted to share with you some of the amazing bark that I was able to find. The trees featured are the Sycamore and the Pinion Pine. Two totally different trees both with amazing looking bark! Are you ready for barking in Arizona? Let’s go!

Let’s start with the Sycamore! The colors and textures in the bark on this tree really pop after a rain!

Barking variations

Amazing textures

Shades of green

And a gratuitous shot of contrasting textures from the fallen leaves of the Sycamore!

Contrasting textures

I was checking out a Pinion Pine, and it was the red on the bark that caught my eye. So I had to maneuver through the branches to get close enough to take these photos!

Peeling bark

Dripping sap

Patterns in red

Lifting bark

Amazing barks – eh?

Well, I hope that you enjoyed my post today and thank you for visiting! Please do come back again! Now go and have a great Wednesday!

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Walk With Me Among the Trees

I told my husband I was taking him on a walk through a forest. Little did he know that the forest was “Big Trees State Park” located at the eastern end of Calaveras County. Maybe you would like to go with us?

We will start at the North Grove Trail. This is a photo essay, so if you want to see more, well, then, at the end of this post I will tell you where to find it. OK? Are you ready? Now make sure you click on the photos so that you can really see what we are seeing on the trail!

The Discovery Stump

Found in 1852 by Augustus Dowd.

Check out the marks on the downed tree

It took 5 men and 22 days to cut this tree down.

One more shot of The Big Stump

The fence is 4′ tall. Let’s go further…

Another tree near The Discovery Stump – A bit of perspective

The trail to the overlook

How big can this tree be?

Looking up the tree

Three photos of one tree

The father of the forest

This tree came down before the forest was discovered in 1852.

The root end of one tree

Can you see my husband?

One of the smaller trees

Calaveras Big Trees State Park is located on Highway 4 east of Angels Camp. The cost was $8.00 per car. Aside from the northern grove, there is a much larger southern grove. That hike is approximately 3 miles and the terrain can be difficult for some. There is a lot to see in this park, and if you decide to make the trip, bring yourself some bottled water, and take heed of the signs warning you about interaction with the bears!

This park has a visitor center that is chock full of information, and the docents can impart some amazing and unique facts about the region. We enjoyed the trip and I think maybe you might too! Tell them Barb sent you!

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What is With That Bark?

We made a trip into the forest close by and I captured some pretty cool photos of bark, which from a past post you might remember I find fascinating! I wanted to share these photos with you as the colors and patterns are pretty amazing! So let’s take a look at the art that I found right outside my door!

A tree of color

Redwood patterns

A man in the tree

Lovely bark

What do you see?

One shot of nature’s art

This final shot was looking into the root section of a downed tree. It looked really cool!

Splash!

I hope that you enjoyed these photos! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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What is Barking Up Your Trees?

I have always been intrigued by the unique patterns that are found in tree bark. And, I have taken a number of photos of tree bark over the years. I thought that I would share some of these photos with you. If you wish to see the unique details in these trees, then please do click on the photos and click on it again to see the amazing detail!

Flying Bird Scar Birch

A face in a Sycamore

A work of art at Stumpy Meadows

Y a tree?

Birch in Red River, NM

Digger Pine with sap

Tree bark in Yellowstone with Elk hair

Yellowstone Tree with Buffalo Hair

Unknown tree bark with amazing colors

What is barking up your trees?

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The California Buckeye

When we first bought our house we would come up on weekends to do some much needed work on the place. Once we got into the foothills we noticed as we drove in sad looking trees with browned leaves. We thought that they were dead. And there were loads of them. Once we got settled and started to investigate our new surroundings, we were told that these sad looking trees are the native California Buckeye. So let’s take a walk around the Buckeyes shall we?

A Buckeye in bloom

In the springtime, the Buckeye is the first tree to set its leaves, usually in early April. Right now most of these trees are in bloom, and glorious they are!

The glory of the flowers on the Buckeye

The blossoms are wonderfully fragrant. The leaves are a palmate compound of generally 5 leaves.

Buckeye leaves up close

Now let’s take a step under the wonderful shade provided by this tree while it is still green!

Under the Buckeye canopy

Its growing season is short, with the trees going into dormancy around the middle of July. Sometimes you will come upon a Buckeye whose leaves have already browned yet the tree is in full bloom, and the contrast is amazing!

One of the local tales here is that the blossoms on the Buckeye are poisonous to the honeybee. In all the years of living here, we do not see any honeybees around the Buckeyes, so nature must have some signal to let them know to stay away. However, the fact is indeed that the blooms are poisonous to the honeybees.

The seeds resemble a squat pear and hang from the empty branches. You can take the seed right off the tree, November being the best time, and stick in the ground, much like an avocado pit, and give it water. It will grow. You must take care that the light spot on the seed is pointed down as that is where the roots will sprout. Water it the first year, and it should be fine on its own thereafter. The tree will grow up to 40 feet in height.

Back in history here in the Sierra Foothills, the local Indian tribes made use of this tree and its fruit. The seeds were used as a source of food when other sources were scarce. They would pound the seeds into a flour and leach out the toxic saponins that are found in the seeds. The bark would be cut from the base of the tree and used as a poultice on snakebites. Shoots of this tree were used as twirling sticks for making fires.

Next time you are in my neck of the woods, stop and take a look at the beauty of the California Buckeye!

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