tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29894805603613975342024-03-13T14:25:48.566-04:00trees, if you pleasefor the love of trees.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-78081974507056773892012-01-02T17:53:00.000-05:002012-01-02T17:53:30.718-05:00Happy New Year, Happy Trees!Happy New Year, my darlings!<br />
<br />
Back to the trees. Since I haven't been out there too much with my own camera lately...but since it seems appropriate to start the year off with some breathtaking tree imagery...I have looked no further than <a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/">National Geographic,</a> since their photography is never anything short of fantastic. Feast with your eyes, as I have. These trees are enough to make you certain of a spectacular 2012.<br />
<br />
(I've listed the photographer under each image. Click the caption text to go to the Photo of the Day page where it was found, and for photo descriptions).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26VnHpr2rInVdM60twJDlov47CnhJmQ-mL2I8NPt7GhKwHRT2G9BII-13sy7kko2JBWmhBQCs0MY_EykFa9YdpF67QiVHNGC3R0oDUcehrbcWsQ7Mds1Bu4wf1oVtkqOnOKpBZ4PKuUM/s1600/nove-mlyny_40068_990x742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26VnHpr2rInVdM60twJDlov47CnhJmQ-mL2I8NPt7GhKwHRT2G9BII-13sy7kko2JBWmhBQCs0MY_EykFa9YdpF67QiVHNGC3R0oDUcehrbcWsQ7Mds1Bu4wf1oVtkqOnOKpBZ4PKuUM/s400/nove-mlyny_40068_990x742.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/nove-mlyny-reservoir/">Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, September 23, 2011. Photograph by Petr Cunderlik.</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheK9ZM7eBu0hAcp1ictjNAvzMFCEwcc_cJ2qKpVahVWHFFucSPxE-e0tNR-8wrMyvx4gDHEcIRhlvyxXit-twsl8jSrJgkDIYRMflnqIYZnNDICUmfNB02HjVY80bmJ4hgealJMw5UXns/s1600/blue-pond-japan_42696_990x742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheK9ZM7eBu0hAcp1ictjNAvzMFCEwcc_cJ2qKpVahVWHFFucSPxE-e0tNR-8wrMyvx4gDHEcIRhlvyxXit-twsl8jSrJgkDIYRMflnqIYZnNDICUmfNB02HjVY80bmJ4hgealJMw5UXns/s400/blue-pond-japan_42696_990x742.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/blue-pond-japan/">Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, November 10, 2011. Photograph by Kent Shiraishi.</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWi4D5x5ScFAf8qR0-zRvxKghWEIb4jk-4A4_3AmmlZ4zXBrBs4hRe6Ui7H6mBHIOCUtYI2OB08kkdAhVtYM_VrYZKPosBlRs3F1TGya_fBRCtG4H9CAZd7O4ajG7c8yVP4mf9n5KpoLA/s1600/tree-in-field_33996_990x742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWi4D5x5ScFAf8qR0-zRvxKghWEIb4jk-4A4_3AmmlZ4zXBrBs4hRe6Ui7H6mBHIOCUtYI2OB08kkdAhVtYM_VrYZKPosBlRs3F1TGya_fBRCtG4H9CAZd7O4ajG7c8yVP4mf9n5KpoLA/s400/tree-in-field_33996_990x742.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/tree-in-field/">Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, April 14, 2011. Photograph by Giuliano Mangani.</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrgSPpBCHP0l1ZnX4Ut8jdAZmEYSHsvf1m8zj3gQRX58kMRpVut__4zYJyPKRseMTOeIsWPXAySi0kghUwMcdeZjH_dEWeWzWZnuQRDh2ucMkAS8JYABOeggVTfc8otzDhmMpa_HIcdU/s1600/camel-thorn-trees-namibia_35259_990x742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrgSPpBCHP0l1ZnX4Ut8jdAZmEYSHsvf1m8zj3gQRX58kMRpVut__4zYJyPKRseMTOeIsWPXAySi0kghUwMcdeZjH_dEWeWzWZnuQRDh2ucMkAS8JYABOeggVTfc8otzDhmMpa_HIcdU/s400/camel-thorn-trees-namibia_35259_990x742.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/camel-thorn-trees-namibia/">National Geographic Photo of the Day, May 17, 2011. Photograph by Frans Lanting.</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1h6wpKZC6Kp53rlMlvmts7V9DK__pd2k0h68bhkMG3hRgPtrYKlMs5BI-Mw76zhyphenhyphenA41mlJF2SKaZIgRmrEs4H_zcCZEOW97FIeHIuIpMhhEBb4u4qBmaJ_1cE_T9vCUYxpabHEDenps/s1600/cornfield-sao-paolo_21069_990x742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1h6wpKZC6Kp53rlMlvmts7V9DK__pd2k0h68bhkMG3hRgPtrYKlMs5BI-Mw76zhyphenhyphenA41mlJF2SKaZIgRmrEs4H_zcCZEOW97FIeHIuIpMhhEBb4u4qBmaJ_1cE_T9vCUYxpabHEDenps/s400/cornfield-sao-paolo_21069_990x742.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/cornfield-sao-paulo/">Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, June 27, 2010. Photograph by Christiano Pessoa.</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N3GYVoZwxWczDngaB35X6A_rnzdrrMO-pHB3nJq1EczwjTpCVer7sDC6V3HaW94_4_1Az-LXEsvFT_lgGLLkMBTECOAYiftl4sPNDJlddMoHma72vyFq2cPSA4uzuSET5vjTIpHGVec/s1600/serengeti-sunset-tanzania_29424_990x742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N3GYVoZwxWczDngaB35X6A_rnzdrrMO-pHB3nJq1EczwjTpCVer7sDC6V3HaW94_4_1Az-LXEsvFT_lgGLLkMBTECOAYiftl4sPNDJlddMoHma72vyFq2cPSA4uzuSET5vjTIpHGVec/s400/serengeti-sunset-tanzania_29424_990x742.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/serengeti-sunset-tanzania/">Reader submitted National Geographic Photo of the Day, December 18, 2010. Photograph by Amnon Eichelberg.</a><br />
<br />
<br />
There you have it. Delicious photos, splendid trees! Top to bottom, these trees live in: Czech Republic, Japan, unknown, Namibia, Brazil, and Tanzania.<br />
<br />
Bring on 2012!<br />Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-73663217503734220562011-06-23T18:18:00.003-04:002011-06-23T23:27:37.465-04:00Spanish Trees<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaK3QnNP04MUhjXbsue7PCd-iR4OLLNH5MN5OLFaV8AWk17__aluFKMtfggt9Y-Pcn1V9VidKz0CMBHUSh1w5oiVByfzjo3cMgeG2nkY30TkiBIcZ-X2hiGgTvhKUHSm7Fq89V1bGHKYg/s1600/DSC_9768b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaK3QnNP04MUhjXbsue7PCd-iR4OLLNH5MN5OLFaV8AWk17__aluFKMtfggt9Y-Pcn1V9VidKz0CMBHUSh1w5oiVByfzjo3cMgeG2nkY30TkiBIcZ-X2hiGgTvhKUHSm7Fq89V1bGHKYg/s400/DSC_9768b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621618742392494018" /></a><br />Turns out there are palm trees in Spain. Which may not seem odd to many of you, but for some reason, I had never even considered this possibility, and so it took me by surprise. Especially when I was walking through the very narrow streets of Old Town Barcelona and came upon a palm tree there, just hanging out in a sunny corner, hugging the charming buildings where the cobblestone alleyway opened up just a little bit wider than too-narrow-for-a-car. I'm telling you. It was strange. And delightful. I think because I grew up in Central New York—and to this day have never been to Florida—that I still have this perception of Palm Trees as exotic and other-worldly and endlessly fascinating (as can also be noted <a href="http://treesifyouplease.blogspot.com/2008/03/palm-trees-if-you-please.html">here</a>). And this is why I took too many photos of palm trees on my recent visit to Barcelona and Bilbao.<br /><br />Here is the aforementioned tree, happy in it's cosy surroundings: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjy84etH75mQSjtiyFHtoaBjqwpzgubxZV7bRQExl9rRDFCbX2iIUKC90j5Yu6xmubcYKQlu9gCHv5y6YpjgSZHXIDAq_99vk0JYuaBFLNCLHEDpQXn8UTolX0XOYEanJxxdapHpXzFI/s1600/DSC_9751b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjy84etH75mQSjtiyFHtoaBjqwpzgubxZV7bRQExl9rRDFCbX2iIUKC90j5Yu6xmubcYKQlu9gCHv5y6YpjgSZHXIDAq_99vk0JYuaBFLNCLHEDpQXn8UTolX0XOYEanJxxdapHpXzFI/s400/DSC_9751b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621618414621060610" /></a><br />And a few more palm trees scattered around this beautiful city: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAVAXtxQKWB-C69JcbA_7jr5CfbRUUxyUQ4yVi9RahZKD5tO3jSsEbrko91QBl6hoOi1Ya0w8haDgpWXsNekViCfZpjPEYBRy-02sUuZpKz-o041V2mrlFZ7peLdQsywPwBvJ8ni2i_g/s1600/DSC_9953b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAVAXtxQKWB-C69JcbA_7jr5CfbRUUxyUQ4yVi9RahZKD5tO3jSsEbrko91QBl6hoOi1Ya0w8haDgpWXsNekViCfZpjPEYBRy-02sUuZpKz-o041V2mrlFZ7peLdQsywPwBvJ8ni2i_g/s400/DSC_9953b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621618753969474930" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEDDo3VWr2E11PsX0okbvLv-MXqZeheudkkOKSgf7fUXfuoaVZAtL_A84YkZevcGv-IyxzEvyzok3_7rAOvncAR_4lB__3IdyGTdqGe9KBOK1MDsW15W8OH3VMruJiY3pL5bdfok5Ghc/s1600/DSC_0329b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiEDDo3VWr2E11PsX0okbvLv-MXqZeheudkkOKSgf7fUXfuoaVZAtL_A84YkZevcGv-IyxzEvyzok3_7rAOvncAR_4lB__3IdyGTdqGe9KBOK1MDsW15W8OH3VMruJiY3pL5bdfok5Ghc/s400/DSC_0329b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621618403544758258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelqAgVJFvg7fIKNzus29CkXaVQmv4gZ7vP4XHukgPfx5Wlva0AY83qJGvVPO1yWzpwR1SqorAMmLVgeTGpvHLBNFpNzY04qXsxJIc_VdMn0jxN0ayDJSDtOIjI2-_yF4mc1fF5RyQz9A/s1600/DSC_0115b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelqAgVJFvg7fIKNzus29CkXaVQmv4gZ7vP4XHukgPfx5Wlva0AY83qJGvVPO1yWzpwR1SqorAMmLVgeTGpvHLBNFpNzY04qXsxJIc_VdMn0jxN0ayDJSDtOIjI2-_yF4mc1fF5RyQz9A/s400/DSC_0115b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621618392875323570" /></a><br />Peeking above the buildings! So great. And because I wanted to bring them home with me, here are a few more that made me smile. For your enjoyment, as well. The final tree (below) lives in the mountain town of Bilbao, and was enjoyed with a glass of red wine, of course.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9AYbXSvS8hn3ew4vumSQ2IuYfijdHKXQluVZjwYVmXksO6sp1wswC3smvIJAgvNRD9X-EWwF_hbPDTGcsdfH7GcUmyMc18I5K2thBulyVCKT2QJ8BwSDacAdTadbkZKDEcLteQZe8n0/s1600/DSC_9845b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9AYbXSvS8hn3ew4vumSQ2IuYfijdHKXQluVZjwYVmXksO6sp1wswC3smvIJAgvNRD9X-EWwF_hbPDTGcsdfH7GcUmyMc18I5K2thBulyVCKT2QJ8BwSDacAdTadbkZKDEcLteQZe8n0/s400/DSC_9845b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621618753386239042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYL5W4byBOnvCZvLDDrldfwD1TxXu3lr4j8IxPmqsiEO0Pw4qsIkKcKumC831c9deI_gh-K7pOoL9HgNycS8baimoHvKsy6oQW-dTS3ikLTJfSQ24Q3LafKD9lPzTf3RuvVyg_k_Gsn0/s1600/DSC_9774b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYL5W4byBOnvCZvLDDrldfwD1TxXu3lr4j8IxPmqsiEO0Pw4qsIkKcKumC831c9deI_gh-K7pOoL9HgNycS8baimoHvKsy6oQW-dTS3ikLTJfSQ24Q3LafKD9lPzTf3RuvVyg_k_Gsn0/s400/DSC_9774b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621618750248473074" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHH85IyLZtejQiIa-p0FxaGfsPjN8ca2qvNtzCARuiCwhbcPC_iJL4sxIEaNARSU3Yv2se_g3b6zH8uFiB0FN-9wx-3Gl3WdCRzHLiSmQRYX4PZJFDiDlcYDSUX5VpWbnY6ypKcozokg/s1600/IMG_0744b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHH85IyLZtejQiIa-p0FxaGfsPjN8ca2qvNtzCARuiCwhbcPC_iJL4sxIEaNARSU3Yv2se_g3b6zH8uFiB0FN-9wx-3Gl3WdCRzHLiSmQRYX4PZJFDiDlcYDSUX5VpWbnY6ypKcozokg/s400/IMG_0744b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621619063249683442" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirx_ebcwft5KQ4HE8jngmLvyi5OCuX2JvcZxCCQs0pzeCXQ0e5IBPPck8nXwXWtQAPgdSqO5gQqhqdccQXEbqkLhQErECYsDEIG-YA1eOXF1ky4xntL07mvRRgKWvd1rFFu2GhBRMgt6c/s1600/DSC_9981b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirx_ebcwft5KQ4HE8jngmLvyi5OCuX2JvcZxCCQs0pzeCXQ0e5IBPPck8nXwXWtQAPgdSqO5gQqhqdccQXEbqkLhQErECYsDEIG-YA1eOXF1ky4xntL07mvRRgKWvd1rFFu2GhBRMgt6c/s400/DSC_9981b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621619056801381330" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUN2rMX9IdQ8wx0TypDfNEtF2c8QbfyExlH3EGgOW9SBRyoLUm3S9VJlCnBEMkq02nctTJTqrvRiSJlL3tpWO7CyRhdth2EOQc6o-EaKtMMWAon98VPsScH1UlLqs6fX9Ynj1hmTwbqJk/s1600/DSC_9965b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUN2rMX9IdQ8wx0TypDfNEtF2c8QbfyExlH3EGgOW9SBRyoLUm3S9VJlCnBEMkq02nctTJTqrvRiSJlL3tpWO7CyRhdth2EOQc6o-EaKtMMWAon98VPsScH1UlLqs6fX9Ynj1hmTwbqJk/s400/DSC_9965b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621618758786533650" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRyIbwlj9WgR8h6oooMlJHaSKAFNqLjLHcMTy43qAVuBQ8gV3cBDWK_Udr6GN0cCysA-ZAw5RRhSuDQswQfzllI3XRUPWwZIC6TnQrhkqFZjQK8SH8PantsvllZJmlW_1CNNKSGx6410/s1600/DSC_0261b.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRyIbwlj9WgR8h6oooMlJHaSKAFNqLjLHcMTy43qAVuBQ8gV3cBDWK_Udr6GN0cCysA-ZAw5RRhSuDQswQfzllI3XRUPWwZIC6TnQrhkqFZjQK8SH8PantsvllZJmlW_1CNNKSGx6410/s400/DSC_0261b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621618398473588738" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-51057935229943061552011-03-10T09:00:00.001-05:002011-03-10T23:06:05.491-05:00Tribute to a Magical Winter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWdEgXyK_0_8slcVEVDl3utURYSLRQwJeFtn-DdVpVyUgxO16lA_ebyny8YAqxAuvEhBHg9nKMrEZYk6j7cZzkfV2aueKcgM_bF2EvGwf0DhBRVT19zIqb9UyuNztYHPPPcQ8ymp5ojs/s1600/IMG_0316.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWdEgXyK_0_8slcVEVDl3utURYSLRQwJeFtn-DdVpVyUgxO16lA_ebyny8YAqxAuvEhBHg9nKMrEZYk6j7cZzkfV2aueKcgM_bF2EvGwf0DhBRVT19zIqb9UyuNztYHPPPcQ8ymp5ojs/s400/IMG_0316.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580654875176685634" /></a><br />And by "magical," I mean long, cold, bitter, miserable, blah. But it has come to my attention that it is now mid-March, and this means that spring is just around the corner (right??). So here's a look back at a couple picturesque "tree" moments from this endless winter. The above photo was taken out my kitchen window on a particularly pixie-land-fairytale sort of morning. (Also, introducing my <a href="http://hipstamaticapp.com/">Hipstamatic</a> obsession).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFOI56oFOWanG8R3ZFqE14gE0jSusdZmJPIdZc-Z0FDe0tgFsngqR7IK9rG5gOPCLb2W5pxbx8Nlgxm-XTTff9vx2EbojOlXU2ppha62spC3xNfR0wiMrU-s8IE5V5r6fCYOWFeVo_Yg/s1600/IMG_0404.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFOI56oFOWanG8R3ZFqE14gE0jSusdZmJPIdZc-Z0FDe0tgFsngqR7IK9rG5gOPCLb2W5pxbx8Nlgxm-XTTff9vx2EbojOlXU2ppha62spC3xNfR0wiMrU-s8IE5V5r6fCYOWFeVo_Yg/s400/IMG_0404.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582438976249030370" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyweb1k28y-NkJMIiCruto6GHdVCaCZ-2KGJ0NAQItSzl7ehJGaw1PVCq9HdpjV5qT4PAqmuM22fuJeMF2ZNzVRBSEXZNiWRkCyDW7WHXQpnukqiD71boDTEghisYSZPat2-JKD4dYc94/s1600/IMG_0414.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyweb1k28y-NkJMIiCruto6GHdVCaCZ-2KGJ0NAQItSzl7ehJGaw1PVCq9HdpjV5qT4PAqmuM22fuJeMF2ZNzVRBSEXZNiWRkCyDW7WHXQpnukqiD71boDTEghisYSZPat2-JKD4dYc94/s400/IMG_0414.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580655078204792354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TUhdUYjLePMMy6lZH8-31H_K2hNhGu_jV2i81Bl3a9CVBY7WgM6AP_AETQHf9phBXzyejygGEGr1D1rwvD1U-zOZlKK0hl8zkYEXYfel-U2Gl2fUmQPFw-d3TDY79tiggsCw5jJfDag/s1600/IMG_0413.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TUhdUYjLePMMy6lZH8-31H_K2hNhGu_jV2i81Bl3a9CVBY7WgM6AP_AETQHf9phBXzyejygGEGr1D1rwvD1U-zOZlKK0hl8zkYEXYfel-U2Gl2fUmQPFw-d3TDY79tiggsCw5jJfDag/s400/IMG_0413.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580655073763843202" /></a><br />I went snowboarding in Vermont (above), and spent a good deal of the time at the top of the mountain, just looking around like a kid in a candy store. Seriously. I think these trees were plucked right off a german gingerbread house. I couldn't get enough!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fg_abncHKJ9-qGNV_fCVE9Un7V8SBKja884xUDP6A8nB4YZ5hTlEQLT4mOUXGh1HfqLpCLymecIzHCNQh9LJO4LFL5sKECpMhoJrnnPL1eGsXFOYgmSvbQoejKEt8PDRBcob7HBVcv8/s1600/IMG_0376.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fg_abncHKJ9-qGNV_fCVE9Un7V8SBKja884xUDP6A8nB4YZ5hTlEQLT4mOUXGh1HfqLpCLymecIzHCNQh9LJO4LFL5sKECpMhoJrnnPL1eGsXFOYgmSvbQoejKEt8PDRBcob7HBVcv8/s400/IMG_0376.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580655068333267794" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1aAI1Zxp8uKN6hhOQ8v_GueDIIVjQuP0Zy_rhTGeI-L-aGX8owMbaIr7ZLEa5F44T-6nH4HOntG-UKre6gl216bJhW8PGb7RkX4S0_Lm6CDLEGPdHXkhMg6tJ9h8ThdIY0Z1tBJ0M4Y/s1600/IMG_0371.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1aAI1Zxp8uKN6hhOQ8v_GueDIIVjQuP0Zy_rhTGeI-L-aGX8owMbaIr7ZLEa5F44T-6nH4HOntG-UKre6gl216bJhW8PGb7RkX4S0_Lm6CDLEGPdHXkhMg6tJ9h8ThdIY0Z1tBJ0M4Y/s400/IMG_0371.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580654883605884162" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5ezAvW7XG2_OaTXVHbcvSkoqq_1uiiGz9sA86S5m1hd8TsuSUe0atL5yVkcE0sbR4svy09NYO8qyKUQvAw3xFEnAD7s837qQcepSAHj5OzJ_2ZypKsoqorKDQimz1PSkLLiwc2f84Ok/s1600/IMG_0383.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5ezAvW7XG2_OaTXVHbcvSkoqq_1uiiGz9sA86S5m1hd8TsuSUe0atL5yVkcE0sbR4svy09NYO8qyKUQvAw3xFEnAD7s837qQcepSAHj5OzJ_2ZypKsoqorKDQimz1PSkLLiwc2f84Ok/s400/IMG_0383.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580655066694138290" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6k21MYlIuYIo51f26QpitZbz4r6nnASXUByxokfeznkYn0sPC9fGHi0jtRoxghzPeNY07P0pKQyoV3OVvmV5IPUWgkuhOUOxODbt4sgLOfyNcOYIjd1OY1MiKdNTp6kEEycqYXoFvnw/s1600/IMG_0322.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6k21MYlIuYIo51f26QpitZbz4r6nnASXUByxokfeznkYn0sPC9fGHi0jtRoxghzPeNY07P0pKQyoV3OVvmV5IPUWgkuhOUOxODbt4sgLOfyNcOYIjd1OY1MiKdNTp6kEEycqYXoFvnw/s400/IMG_0322.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580654877094425122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyufwU1CtAtkdfIHfA65TZB89eqJ1Ub3VHYFkY4V8Y6eL_YAzz_7gvp00I9N0D1vwcsx_ESc8UKvQg8MVtnOua1UpwG9yQK-QtLGIc4S5W6XmNO-AZ_yq7CH8xSEz7kWeli4RAwaRrA1U/s1600/IMG_0291.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyufwU1CtAtkdfIHfA65TZB89eqJ1Ub3VHYFkY4V8Y6eL_YAzz_7gvp00I9N0D1vwcsx_ESc8UKvQg8MVtnOua1UpwG9yQK-QtLGIc4S5W6XmNO-AZ_yq7CH8xSEz7kWeli4RAwaRrA1U/s400/IMG_0291.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580654873542224306" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwiu8E8nCBssoWDQxKPhD7j7RIn02GqQJ73c2iWq8QANGVNp2HIkXLt2oqgaRRCSypa5VskLMLsb7mezOIbQbaHqlPGHSR2-2OsBRW8BCD4CprAoiKdlU7cdg5PCmOIofubeaKbcFJPfA/s1600/IMG_0287.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwiu8E8nCBssoWDQxKPhD7j7RIn02GqQJ73c2iWq8QANGVNp2HIkXLt2oqgaRRCSypa5VskLMLsb7mezOIbQbaHqlPGHSR2-2OsBRW8BCD4CprAoiKdlU7cdg5PCmOIofubeaKbcFJPfA/s400/IMG_0287.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580654869365665602" /></a><br />And always, I adore the beauty of trees against the backdrop of my beloved Brooklyn or Manhattan. How many blizzards did we have this year? I don't even remember. But the trees were perfect.<br /><br />Also, a warm, exciting welcome to all my new friends and followers! I've had so many new visitors and comments over the past 6 months, and it makes me so happy that Trees, if you please can bring delight to others. And of course, my dedicated old friends who have been waiting with baited breath (yeah right) for a new post. This is for you.<br /><br />xoxoxo.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-1526313107427519302010-06-16T09:52:00.003-04:002010-06-16T10:06:50.320-04:00Thank you!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxQQFYti1o9V_S98ZxS498kK2giY3Q4Ez6iNL6Uuj5bxRKVW3ZiIdcBTciUJV8vtAPx2QIZBXH81CkyWWKouTmp2TYD5ASxgNViWSkYykaCf92TpiX8ykjGTkBg04zuvSPopxgF3lWwc/s1600/DSC_7390_lr.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGxQQFYti1o9V_S98ZxS498kK2giY3Q4Ez6iNL6Uuj5bxRKVW3ZiIdcBTciUJV8vtAPx2QIZBXH81CkyWWKouTmp2TYD5ASxgNViWSkYykaCf92TpiX8ykjGTkBg04zuvSPopxgF3lWwc/s400/DSC_7390_lr.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483372340527771922" /></a><br />I want to send a big public THANK YOU to <a href="http://www.earlyforest.com/">Early Forest</a> for the wonderful prize pack they sent me for winning their <a href="http://www.earlyforest.com/2010/04/happy-arbor-day.html">photo contest</a>. The bag and water bottle have already been put to good use already, and I can't wait to go out and identify new trees with my new guide. Is that super dorky? Who cares?!<br /><br />I've been on "tree hiatus" due to multiple life changes....But stay tuned for updates. I'll be back soon.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-85994020868791693322010-04-21T14:20:00.003-04:002010-04-22T10:19:54.295-04:00Afternoon in the park<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERVyn7qZZlqUdxsAR5Golo4-j3-M424Wu5H7035-kRkPESoFft48jxA1pg9-YFIvjp133qJwQGSuZJZyPNVoNB9JOuYNoSlsGOYgedOXzK1-3m7B9HeA5QqQDozSoAqN6qh9EWwKt9uQ/s1600/photo-759716.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERVyn7qZZlqUdxsAR5Golo4-j3-M424Wu5H7035-kRkPESoFft48jxA1pg9-YFIvjp133qJwQGSuZJZyPNVoNB9JOuYNoSlsGOYgedOXzK1-3m7B9HeA5QqQDozSoAqN6qh9EWwKt9uQ/s320/photo-759716.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462657490414786002" /></a></p><br /><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNu0UETEYtphQfx2ql5qTibUMm32zhyphenhyphenDu2CLQhNXww_n1ZXuA7eXKI4wdv8ElQLJBrvxnSKqPvZPHouwH2Rk3GhTQ5pdGtfEHp7_bd0fR02y4kaFpeDuHTyU9F0-R3iufk7Nd5HTVSqI/s1600/photo-711462.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNu0UETEYtphQfx2ql5qTibUMm32zhyphenhyphenDu2CLQhNXww_n1ZXuA7eXKI4wdv8ElQLJBrvxnSKqPvZPHouwH2Rk3GhTQ5pdGtfEHp7_bd0fR02y4kaFpeDuHTyU9F0-R3iufk7Nd5HTVSqI/s320/photo-711462.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462646974812283714" /></a></p><br />(uploaded by phone)Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-10844972490774004782010-02-17T17:36:00.008-05:002010-02-17T18:13:32.976-05:00Portrait of a Tree<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIEuRicDQPuXktIl8WzyQGMEUPvxWLYcFTSMpG7RTROmslaawE_1FIrDeiWxRwaJAr4P7W0kbefToUKW4jf-jSsn6aHDYxJMQIBT7VyH9tK1AqMEQaj_cRmzplfK0W0JWWl_71FyhXE8/s1600-h/Picture+12.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIEuRicDQPuXktIl8WzyQGMEUPvxWLYcFTSMpG7RTROmslaawE_1FIrDeiWxRwaJAr4P7W0kbefToUKW4jf-jSsn6aHDYxJMQIBT7VyH9tK1AqMEQaj_cRmzplfK0W0JWWl_71FyhXE8/s400/Picture+12.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439346439722112354" /></a><br />While this post takes a look at some incredibly stunning tree photography by artist Myoung Ho Lee (tree art posts are some of my favorites), it is personally devastating. Let me explain. For some time now, I have been cultivating a super-secret idea for a photography project that I'd like to undertake "some day" when I get the time and funding. Just last week, I disclosed my idea to Kevin and we were discussing the feasibility. After I listed off all my hang-ups and excuses, he said "apply for a grant! just go for it! do it!" And I was pleased that he liked my super-secret idea. But that's when it first occurred to me to do a Google search for "tree portraits." <br /><br />Trees have personality! Character! They communicate. And they are immensely beautiful. And to attempt to capture their beauty and form by constructing an enormous backdrop and then photographing the solitary tree – as if in a studio, but still out in the middle of nature – well. There you have it. My secret creative project idea. Laid out to you before it's even been done...er...except that...It HAS been done. <br /><br />A quick internet search brought me to the <a href="http://www.yossimilogallery.com/exhibitions/2009_03-myou_ho_lee/">Tree</a> exhibition at <a href="http://www.yossimilogallery.com/">Yossi Milo Gallery</a>, and there I saw these wonderful photos by Myoung Ho Lee that I wish I had taken. Here was my own idea, already executed - beautifully - by a South Korean gentleman just 4 years my senior. I was devastated. AND. To make matters just a little bit worse, I realized the show was last year, right here in New York. I could have gone. <br /><br />I don't know. I guess I'm being overly dramatic. I'm just sad I'll never be able to see this project through and get credit for it. Or, maybe I'll do a similar project some day - but would it be seen as copyright infringement? Whatever. You heard it here first. I had the idea before I saw his work, though it will never seem original to the world. Oh well. <br /><br />This has NOT kept me from truly appreciating the beauty of Mr. Lee's photography. I love it. Read more about it <a href="http://www.lensculture.com/myoung.html#">here</a>.<br /><br />Bravo, fine sir. Your trees are lovely. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ugb69zyUYvGjGXUIqYrAqSVNFSXAjBGD1Ep6pOGWDgHTHRiS_r_EEqtML_VFbU-usnDfLrg921BJmZdRnVpjsdELWCKUie4J_gZfxKv3ZZHjAy62X5-4UIa7rm7jh9heojOCkWdI_sI/s1600-h/Picture+29.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 322px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ugb69zyUYvGjGXUIqYrAqSVNFSXAjBGD1Ep6pOGWDgHTHRiS_r_EEqtML_VFbU-usnDfLrg921BJmZdRnVpjsdELWCKUie4J_gZfxKv3ZZHjAy62X5-4UIa7rm7jh9heojOCkWdI_sI/s400/Picture+29.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439351378660112578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifNkjH49lzUrc1xqbGmctlbzhxvGb1sK1qjVS2I91r83GXBwsBsA04ddEvv7G8xsZSrQCmrUqY5nDpAikryhbCQciAyQkM1mtYtvSatk6lf9hVAvYJGhHizvKGvhEofkt3S6b9y9r-hTQ/s1600-h/Picture+20+copy.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 325px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifNkjH49lzUrc1xqbGmctlbzhxvGb1sK1qjVS2I91r83GXBwsBsA04ddEvv7G8xsZSrQCmrUqY5nDpAikryhbCQciAyQkM1mtYtvSatk6lf9hVAvYJGhHizvKGvhEofkt3S6b9y9r-hTQ/s400/Picture+20+copy.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439351366343146818" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-57807863430209071172010-01-20T17:13:00.002-05:002010-01-20T17:24:48.660-05:00Sun and Shadows<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BPZpPMuxSb0SSpn1ie2ib4oaOG6SA5ISNf104CLJPC9H2-9j7hWTnHxk8q9VnyLC0ks3Tss_pKYHOCHUuFGMBjhIY5ryxAuaqcAte1plNshTX5A-Bms-xjaHjcwTyEsuKJFL4tDxJws/s1600-h/IMG_0631a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BPZpPMuxSb0SSpn1ie2ib4oaOG6SA5ISNf104CLJPC9H2-9j7hWTnHxk8q9VnyLC0ks3Tss_pKYHOCHUuFGMBjhIY5ryxAuaqcAte1plNshTX5A-Bms-xjaHjcwTyEsuKJFL4tDxJws/s400/IMG_0631a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428938706927152050" /></a><br />MLK day was beautiful! It was warm enough to flavor the air with a hint of "spring" and the ground was all squishy. I walked through muddy fields in the <a href="http://www.prospectpark.org/visit/places/longmeadow">park</a>, inhaling the earthy breeze and stepping on shadows. The sun was working it's magic, painting stretchy dark extensions of the trees across the grass. I couldn't help but admire and photograph them, looking down at the trees, rather than up. Enjoy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib64HAxMmSoWAw6-z6T02gQCB8dkia_fmOWkUg3z1RXELgOE9UFQPjPWXVDv3tWykuAAeBjPHutpWJCH46PJQsF-_NctB2z_Um2gUCJj5y_xap47sTFzN10dJmcahMVxhflURxt_b9yZA/s1600-h/IMG_0617a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib64HAxMmSoWAw6-z6T02gQCB8dkia_fmOWkUg3z1RXELgOE9UFQPjPWXVDv3tWykuAAeBjPHutpWJCH46PJQsF-_NctB2z_Um2gUCJj5y_xap47sTFzN10dJmcahMVxhflURxt_b9yZA/s400/IMG_0617a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428938201164276050" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGanPc3dgZFax7notU_LF-37NrPKzQA_vZ_-r8Zw7zxdWjPXS9Nfl3ZAcZuyz1179R4sZJbpwY1oa-IArEsdyiBGwI7WvxRte8pkErxmXG5ve-EIXA1u7SmRRS9C4ZlzZMQtHEHcsGBM/s1600-h/IMG_0626a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGanPc3dgZFax7notU_LF-37NrPKzQA_vZ_-r8Zw7zxdWjPXS9Nfl3ZAcZuyz1179R4sZJbpwY1oa-IArEsdyiBGwI7WvxRte8pkErxmXG5ve-EIXA1u7SmRRS9C4ZlzZMQtHEHcsGBM/s400/IMG_0626a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428938704567990914" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqWASB6nKtxJa8ihZBCAZZkKdsN4iAoFW6iRNSrnjwoUp-zDlnDAXo43cybmwUtU1zeNOedFJMjyZzHlZLOrkhWnEboLmRO8kPlSRTaMC4GUBNotA4qn9M51f50wHq1DQzxT0sWMv64w/s1600-h/IMG_0625a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqWASB6nKtxJa8ihZBCAZZkKdsN4iAoFW6iRNSrnjwoUp-zDlnDAXo43cybmwUtU1zeNOedFJMjyZzHlZLOrkhWnEboLmRO8kPlSRTaMC4GUBNotA4qn9M51f50wHq1DQzxT0sWMv64w/s400/IMG_0625a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428938224022552530" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxx3NPLt8In8ctH4Z4a_f-odh9CZ8P4s0zQgHtFBQRJsFEMzJbA3XaUK6dontg1EZ-qm8HOMjxQ9_AxwpVdnaBtO3j_OCmP2Iby566gEeJNzXrQFT5OyzJfEkQrxhlkV-ISYz782UWZQ/s1600-h/IMG_0628a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxx3NPLt8In8ctH4Z4a_f-odh9CZ8P4s0zQgHtFBQRJsFEMzJbA3XaUK6dontg1EZ-qm8HOMjxQ9_AxwpVdnaBtO3j_OCmP2Iby566gEeJNzXrQFT5OyzJfEkQrxhlkV-ISYz782UWZQ/s400/IMG_0628a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428941717445595426" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43zSg1xGYCLNBgR3sgahTU5Qnc6swmUoDYBPyq-xWdhjgTO10cXw9eZU2HbkQowSZY3x9FjUKRq6U22yltlT9rMdpBKI-EkjOqLEW-TOGEFcGd_j1jtd2HWCDL1lDd1IZX3yBLK1s3T4/s1600-h/IMG_0620a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43zSg1xGYCLNBgR3sgahTU5Qnc6swmUoDYBPyq-xWdhjgTO10cXw9eZU2HbkQowSZY3x9FjUKRq6U22yltlT9rMdpBKI-EkjOqLEW-TOGEFcGd_j1jtd2HWCDL1lDd1IZX3yBLK1s3T4/s400/IMG_0620a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428938218146532018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhBdT6nvcnGJn4A7F9-UwY8E6r3dRheWj-CtTGh6oEOjGhzxXl7urtRGppR_Nv8FoGfaW2waNZ1V60Sw1H35T9IpfGy9L7IFnw-Ky0vySx5JkmdpvuFRpTj-VkjgNzWTzb-iZoSdk0lI/s1600-h/IMG_0618a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhBdT6nvcnGJn4A7F9-UwY8E6r3dRheWj-CtTGh6oEOjGhzxXl7urtRGppR_Nv8FoGfaW2waNZ1V60Sw1H35T9IpfGy9L7IFnw-Ky0vySx5JkmdpvuFRpTj-VkjgNzWTzb-iZoSdk0lI/s400/IMG_0618a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428938203382557266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pH7SWeOQ8VRXaLXMwLAHvwCsaIQQuuZB6-SjDzST1hew6QA0NNOZII6BiaKcN1nNHRlkjGgRra_vHFnQEmNzlvfy31dvtjX4jeWG3fxW2M4Kg4noQbhqfppf4Yt1snt8eKOv9p3H7CY/s1600-h/IMG_0622a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pH7SWeOQ8VRXaLXMwLAHvwCsaIQQuuZB6-SjDzST1hew6QA0NNOZII6BiaKcN1nNHRlkjGgRra_vHFnQEmNzlvfy31dvtjX4jeWG3fxW2M4Kg4noQbhqfppf4Yt1snt8eKOv9p3H7CY/s400/IMG_0622a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428938220109204674" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJozl2r49y0zUMJkCAZFJfUjr-c8lSEmEfSJVEoLlIdRH7_rb-0430jC6nSERSLYBDuXaG_dFqM7osbJuk5Jj_2g0zwryZgVVU_-iH03oBH1AcVAP7uu3W6ZK0mQDokuBH73gWXZLDLxw/s1600-h/IMG_0632a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJozl2r49y0zUMJkCAZFJfUjr-c8lSEmEfSJVEoLlIdRH7_rb-0430jC6nSERSLYBDuXaG_dFqM7osbJuk5Jj_2g0zwryZgVVU_-iH03oBH1AcVAP7uu3W6ZK0mQDokuBH73gWXZLDLxw/s400/IMG_0632a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428938711141557010" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-23207617727523931782009-12-30T08:56:00.000-05:002009-12-30T08:56:00.703-05:00The Grandpa Tree<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rlo0kyfltla71gVD8kO-74YbnJYvmzJ47CX6QjXa678uqGA6AF99Rh5XwUkY9i36hfJrjfG6g5pu9LEGfyE0wiY7rPoFoVtmHxg-LtMAvI1LY7uGK0c6kMw8Hn5PGhgsIJ8CnxAv8qA/s1600-h/berrytree1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rlo0kyfltla71gVD8kO-74YbnJYvmzJ47CX6QjXa678uqGA6AF99Rh5XwUkY9i36hfJrjfG6g5pu9LEGfyE0wiY7rPoFoVtmHxg-LtMAvI1LY7uGK0c6kMw8Hn5PGhgsIJ8CnxAv8qA/s400/berrytree1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420708328262233042" /></a><br /><br />This wonderful little tree has popped up in this blog <a href="http://treesifyouplease.blogspot.com/2008/02/winter-wonderland.html">before</a> – <a href="http://treesifyouplease.blogspot.com/2008/01/happy-new-year.html">more than once</a>, in fact – and so I suppose I should admit that I have a distinct fondness for this little crabapple tree that sits in my parents' back yard, overlooking a corner of the deck. We call it the Grandpa Tree, because it was planted in honor and in memory of my mom's father. Every time I venture home it provides new smiles and photos. This past weekend the berries were glistening in the sun and looked particularly perfect. Enjoy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTlofQnUFBp4VCb3SpA8VPRUYJtx37fseMHD-E-Da-vvOrfIDJNJUiLuhUoS7r2hbuUsHo0BLPLLn74-0rNmMMsK4pflaiuJcKIFQp7yM4HcA1RfN1q3PqBS243PBLaraawgDC-0F8nA/s1600-h/berrytree3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTlofQnUFBp4VCb3SpA8VPRUYJtx37fseMHD-E-Da-vvOrfIDJNJUiLuhUoS7r2hbuUsHo0BLPLLn74-0rNmMMsK4pflaiuJcKIFQp7yM4HcA1RfN1q3PqBS243PBLaraawgDC-0F8nA/s400/berrytree3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420708342212902722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSQ45VTLwuf9_MyRbYDLKWY39FZats5Giq4NEXf5_Zm0kzRs_q1hfQ125IRZhn1bsiPKfBAxuf8egLCAcieL0-A_SHBgHhTl7cxr5Qs36v72RwjqcSTmMdqx401OraRPvMhOxCHZWtlc/s1600-h/berrytree2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMSQ45VTLwuf9_MyRbYDLKWY39FZats5Giq4NEXf5_Zm0kzRs_q1hfQ125IRZhn1bsiPKfBAxuf8egLCAcieL0-A_SHBgHhTl7cxr5Qs36v72RwjqcSTmMdqx401OraRPvMhOxCHZWtlc/s400/berrytree2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420708335368523298" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-13214391119541749932009-12-29T11:33:00.004-05:002010-02-04T22:50:52.887-05:00Tree of the day - stunning silhouette<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdVdAniK5GlyFnugYN0z_QaO6v4QoqzPGV6GUmLDGZYe-uPgJXgARNSdPlr48IykG68zXas4kqczjp2Kj_hmepqTpkUPdxBLRBL9F8esujLuNEVmc3qLsBEZfv5xlgqfsz3_jc75qTtI/s1600-h/Park_trees_fall8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdVdAniK5GlyFnugYN0z_QaO6v4QoqzPGV6GUmLDGZYe-uPgJXgARNSdPlr48IykG68zXas4kqczjp2Kj_hmepqTpkUPdxBLRBL9F8esujLuNEVmc3qLsBEZfv5xlgqfsz3_jc75qTtI/s400/Park_trees_fall8.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420697717640460738" /></a><br /><br />I love this tree. I took the photo about a month ago in Prospect Park. Glorious tree, no?Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-79758204545525312652009-12-27T23:59:00.002-05:002009-12-29T11:45:16.597-05:00A Partridge in a Pear Tree<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdtzojQz8XJtlsRLKHW46DBKgLjnlDA238UqBeUEmc4Jf6rAxQGy2B5NmmfwTWee9Dzxek8lc0sHzcPsexzudht660GAIWW4F7avnSXCJygpZx0H1Kj1HrMugLddlpqMJ3y4V3sZ_7-Xo/s1600-h/pear+tree+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 321px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdtzojQz8XJtlsRLKHW46DBKgLjnlDA238UqBeUEmc4Jf6rAxQGy2B5NmmfwTWee9Dzxek8lc0sHzcPsexzudht660GAIWW4F7avnSXCJygpZx0H1Kj1HrMugLddlpqMJ3y4V3sZ_7-Xo/s400/pear+tree+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420186642178386370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2MA7Q5UJn1h4w1FUlQ_xDTL_9nC7VsO6374qUL28R-JYZRM7xuJJo2ZjW3S_MzvK6EBbfnItXXOinQTm3mpB4Htgw6e0OFK-XIDl8FY3NniBuizbpH0ijXrKrQ1bK1JfVtsIhS83mTg/s1600-h/pear+tree+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 308px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2MA7Q5UJn1h4w1FUlQ_xDTL_9nC7VsO6374qUL28R-JYZRM7xuJJo2ZjW3S_MzvK6EBbfnItXXOinQTm3mpB4Htgw6e0OFK-XIDl8FY3NniBuizbpH0ijXrKrQ1bK1JfVtsIhS83mTg/s400/pear+tree+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420186636304991986" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQ623o_XqP0o3dQfrSJFIKsedig9_J7uxfptyAv4G_ToRWjQR4_qiblG0R4q8RlyqqOhbPb9YVDZ27RZNLX3LkzzfmAavISezr-cjSKpuX04ueMVnbYGX8pykPpALOpY2Sson_-n6sRw/s1600-h/pear+tree+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQ623o_XqP0o3dQfrSJFIKsedig9_J7uxfptyAv4G_ToRWjQR4_qiblG0R4q8RlyqqOhbPb9YVDZ27RZNLX3LkzzfmAavISezr-cjSKpuX04ueMVnbYGX8pykPpALOpY2Sson_-n6sRw/s400/pear+tree+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420186633263563170" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The holiday season is a time when you may hear an awful lot of singing about Pear Trees. With Partridges in them. I don't know why. There are conflicting stories about the origins of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and I don't want to join the debate. <br /><br />But I do want to share my discovery of an espaliered Pear tree that lives in the glorious <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_Of_Art/the_cloisters">Cloisters</a> in Manhattan. What, you may ask, is an espaliered tree? Well, I've just now learned that to espalier is to train a tree (generally a fruit tree, it seems) to grow in a pattern or shape, flat against a wall or lattice. A 2-D tree! Basically this might be perfect for my future Brooklyn garden. But it also seems to have been rather popular in medieval times. In any case, the Cloisters is a wonderful secret haven in northern Manhattan that is a home to amazing medieval European art and architecture. And trees. The gardens are not particularly big, but they are immensely charming and satisfying. And peaceful. Oh, to be a monk. And there are pear trees. Also, you can follow the Cloisters Garden blog <a href="http://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/">here</a>.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-64011673689762628212009-12-25T13:57:00.000-05:002009-12-25T20:05:56.339-05:00Merry Christmas!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJOnIzWufpjOw9VnXMXI_z6J9g8fByqEJjxyKIpwZi8YVBuWP0YT4lqCVffiLeTAWohj1A-NoByhIdw6VUg_Es2dw6deS9AYCdapccyjfLp7p47Tee-jJ-xilzzON4YwMrEtYVWUfOOs/s1600-h/IMG_0553.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJOnIzWufpjOw9VnXMXI_z6J9g8fByqEJjxyKIpwZi8YVBuWP0YT4lqCVffiLeTAWohj1A-NoByhIdw6VUg_Es2dw6deS9AYCdapccyjfLp7p47Tee-jJ-xilzzON4YwMrEtYVWUfOOs/s400/IMG_0553.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418508343308094402" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcM5N7KHHOns33-t-xAfvk1q95-NwWwAgZ3R3UvtDluUyTXpF85LO5Eg5eZ6gdVhr70LHul9mxRK23qDTWZUwPlChGXuk9R9ibzKv_69PchDS4t6t92CU3qU_BVn6o6Oxan0Bk0iLCFc/s1600-h/IMG_0554.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgcM5N7KHHOns33-t-xAfvk1q95-NwWwAgZ3R3UvtDluUyTXpF85LO5Eg5eZ6gdVhr70LHul9mxRK23qDTWZUwPlChGXuk9R9ibzKv_69PchDS4t6t92CU3qU_BVn6o6Oxan0Bk0iLCFc/s400/IMG_0554.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418508340130738690" /></a><br /><br />Merry Christmas to all! I have been enjoying the various trees of the season - mostly Christmas trees, of course - but the storm that rolled through last weekend blanketed the neighborhood trees in delightful piles of snow. For now...may you all take as much pleasure in my miniature apartment Christmas tree as I do. It has brought many smiles to my face so far this December...<br /><br />:)Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-67572810642440150902009-12-03T16:24:00.000-05:002009-12-03T17:45:21.371-05:00Ultimate Field Guide to the Trees of the Big Apple<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJaRhh7L28dOcax0FciIUg3dkOH9g4OoH8JEnhPhdJWRYF8TBQ-d6a6RBqNPUeRh1m_7FbDxjlljPs7YiG7z6DvjW6NxXjLGvZFBCcyi5_GHQ8sJ6zJtSSwvNGoLE1a1v_6_2bSJhZL_w/s1600-h/IMG_0548.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJaRhh7L28dOcax0FciIUg3dkOH9g4OoH8JEnhPhdJWRYF8TBQ-d6a6RBqNPUeRh1m_7FbDxjlljPs7YiG7z6DvjW6NxXjLGvZFBCcyi5_GHQ8sJ6zJtSSwvNGoLE1a1v_6_2bSJhZL_w/s400/IMG_0548.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411138610073232210" /></a><br />For a tree-lover and blogger-of-trees, I certainly don't know many scientific tree facts, nor do I know how to identify most trees. Thus, I picked up "New York City Trees, A Field Guide for the Metropolitan Area" at the <a href="http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/">Brooklyn Book Festival</a> in September. I'm super excited about it. The cover promises "How to identify trees;" "Best places to see trees;" "Official NYC Great Trees;" and "Ten tree walks." I can't wait to walk all ten. <br /><br />In other news: the Christmas tree lady arrived this week with her trees from Canada, and has parked herself, as usual, in front of the neighborhood Key Food. I love walking slowly by and breathing in the piney-wonderful air. It's holiday season!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDnUUZrSZxyc-mDHYPBih8WWmA7Y2cNO3YD1RBZ3erwtMZy5H0FumCGkdbU7FyW6KKwG4opFOUqonyFyGWxRShey2hL0oc6Bt2qYNDwx-cjReOae4U7SHXQjBgMaRQuTqKqXJkOIgre4/s1600-h/IMG_0546.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDnUUZrSZxyc-mDHYPBih8WWmA7Y2cNO3YD1RBZ3erwtMZy5H0FumCGkdbU7FyW6KKwG4opFOUqonyFyGWxRShey2hL0oc6Bt2qYNDwx-cjReOae4U7SHXQjBgMaRQuTqKqXJkOIgre4/s400/IMG_0546.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411144281043482914" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-36859961472095161822009-11-19T07:35:00.005-05:002009-11-19T07:53:07.508-05:00A crisp autumn day in BrooklynIt took me about two days after I came back from France to fall in love with Brooklyn again. The first day or so was rainy and I missed Paris. Then, I remembered why I live here. It's such a lively, wonderful place in the world. And oh man, do I love my park. Prospect Park. In the fall it's just perfect. A perfect place to be. The trees can be breathtaking. I snapped a few shots that don't do it justice. Autumn is on it's way out...and winter is fast approaching. But here's a glimpse of the autumn trees I saw this week in my neighborhood and "my" park.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWLQxVdtVmcKp72tqysva9uwsbOqtBm0Ha6GJcYmd_gdOloz9Nc2TXwrNr9DIHDUA5j04YQhOJ6VNOC7bijxpvTe-nxm7IhLavUuRxYR393GgPwOumEITs2oKKT0IheOOysWraL9kck6s/s1600/Park_trees_fall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWLQxVdtVmcKp72tqysva9uwsbOqtBm0Ha6GJcYmd_gdOloz9Nc2TXwrNr9DIHDUA5j04YQhOJ6VNOC7bijxpvTe-nxm7IhLavUuRxYR393GgPwOumEITs2oKKT0IheOOysWraL9kck6s/s400/Park_trees_fall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405794307097858962" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv66q0Oawij0npmIqo2QBmYClpTaNQWZIwLpk6zwOi4zPzQxp0HPw6XdmLpKjDcpjACJD57bVO9ambqtEmtxI6CFFMTQMSf2UQII53FpFbwrFBWPIA0XwLH3c0God9rVMrJICzzrQm4s4/s1600/Park_trees_fall5.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv66q0Oawij0npmIqo2QBmYClpTaNQWZIwLpk6zwOi4zPzQxp0HPw6XdmLpKjDcpjACJD57bVO9ambqtEmtxI6CFFMTQMSf2UQII53FpFbwrFBWPIA0XwLH3c0God9rVMrJICzzrQm4s4/s400/Park_trees_fall5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405793207262243474" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6F8mrg5W0F3-ffohDdmoFLu-BiMzSZjl-vmm56Dz-aNihc26TF7dPhm8T_79Rk48dCdHTovtfzx3joJyt6pjFj2QJsHqXfFvwHcgtDbJqfSzshf8-ZOudaQ6XLVUNCp-1ktzLR4EnMk/s1600/Park_trees_fall4.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD6F8mrg5W0F3-ffohDdmoFLu-BiMzSZjl-vmm56Dz-aNihc26TF7dPhm8T_79Rk48dCdHTovtfzx3joJyt6pjFj2QJsHqXfFvwHcgtDbJqfSzshf8-ZOudaQ6XLVUNCp-1ktzLR4EnMk/s400/Park_trees_fall4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405793201134628002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0KoX3zqZ3yr34QO4FNetlQA_1SIAFcI8wCA9PA5Vnmzmqzz0E2eFM7ON6KUwfO8LhUn2lN2jfTahX7gTjIjj6BPp_78F_jPclKDI_nXk4-IVYfuhmUe-xAWULAgh4XrJZBFZGTuj10o/s1600/Park_trees_fall3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0KoX3zqZ3yr34QO4FNetlQA_1SIAFcI8wCA9PA5Vnmzmqzz0E2eFM7ON6KUwfO8LhUn2lN2jfTahX7gTjIjj6BPp_78F_jPclKDI_nXk4-IVYfuhmUe-xAWULAgh4XrJZBFZGTuj10o/s400/Park_trees_fall3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405793198006659346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66y_y4krA7WpNLJgoar_tJ4JtCTXjO11UbmeWlnNEcaYV9BSgwhrC3dSyWya64Ug4xB5Inf0n4UPhW4P02_LLVMauBnO3ZVwT-bHKCPepCIw2T_LMKJaDdSxn1QMy-ukkFG-uVd_zm4k/s1600/Bk_trees_fall.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66y_y4krA7WpNLJgoar_tJ4JtCTXjO11UbmeWlnNEcaYV9BSgwhrC3dSyWya64Ug4xB5Inf0n4UPhW4P02_LLVMauBnO3ZVwT-bHKCPepCIw2T_LMKJaDdSxn1QMy-ukkFG-uVd_zm4k/s400/Bk_trees_fall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405793210468437154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXEXeVG4PhTqaktBXpHOW9rL-bZiHCG-IEvzfRW6PsPvWgino4grNV1g4Uz1pc4FDL1b61A6zsZ-v7VSIysDZn083JS4gLxF2CdJxCPTq2JNskyBO5dWTn1vXNjZBy3KlRCeEKxPfQ_M/s1600/Park_trees_fall6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXEXeVG4PhTqaktBXpHOW9rL-bZiHCG-IEvzfRW6PsPvWgino4grNV1g4Uz1pc4FDL1b61A6zsZ-v7VSIysDZn083JS4gLxF2CdJxCPTq2JNskyBO5dWTn1vXNjZBy3KlRCeEKxPfQ_M/s400/Park_trees_fall6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405794300003622258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5-GQG1m846ysk9SZFyJCUuhe5hpKVMW7Ez9ZY4zl_kVcUd5RO8kVLBOi2DWGe7TeUZmj1DSA01dzE1-MEdmc77LGquoCR8ulCuDIqVfKIebJJWHADC50lB9ZQZvPqnAQ6Ehg0Z9btFo/s1600/Park_trees_fall7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5-GQG1m846ysk9SZFyJCUuhe5hpKVMW7Ez9ZY4zl_kVcUd5RO8kVLBOi2DWGe7TeUZmj1DSA01dzE1-MEdmc77LGquoCR8ulCuDIqVfKIebJJWHADC50lB9ZQZvPqnAQ6Ehg0Z9btFo/s400/Park_trees_fall7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405794298073422946" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-61057889107834301572009-10-25T22:34:00.001-04:002009-10-26T13:44:07.622-04:00Paris, Je t'adore!Oh! My dear friends. I've just returned from a vacation with my friend Emily to the oh-so-enchanting city of Paris! It really is as wonderful as in the movies and your dreams. Here is a look at how the Parisians do "les arbres."<br /><br />These pretty smooth trees with the funny hanging fuzz balls are everywhere: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixp5Rr6TcvuSAvaHy_FCOT5Idv8X-WiweqG9x1BzfGqhOQuxQ6x9L7o11gPbEz7Ej_WjmPfAQM822PK17cplXAIM3JwuHoeHjHnIrGFiGiXFeGtVFBB10Vs_Fm4vAz6kBhX9cLq5gx2w0/s1600-h/Paris+tree+2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixp5Rr6TcvuSAvaHy_FCOT5Idv8X-WiweqG9x1BzfGqhOQuxQ6x9L7o11gPbEz7Ej_WjmPfAQM822PK17cplXAIM3JwuHoeHjHnIrGFiGiXFeGtVFBB10Vs_Fm4vAz6kBhX9cLq5gx2w0/s400/Paris+tree+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394877208095379122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjD2ODX0aeHT-PvGyvvK_RSnJcXXrdj8C-HUbLxAfG_tC_ErYWf3J5aCpQTbYsw5MuFTnSDW40EytjPJY8vb_Ny1m62hvpvnB33guy1KPDKs29N1DBShXkaeRHNih7tYECmU0qBWo6544/s1600-h/Paris+tree+1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjD2ODX0aeHT-PvGyvvK_RSnJcXXrdj8C-HUbLxAfG_tC_ErYWf3J5aCpQTbYsw5MuFTnSDW40EytjPJY8vb_Ny1m62hvpvnB33guy1KPDKs29N1DBShXkaeRHNih7tYECmU0qBWo6544/s400/Paris+tree+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394877204181755682" /></a><br /><br />And I do believe I've correctly identified them as "London Plane" trees - a close relative - if not a hybrid – of the American Sycamore and the "Oriental Plane."<br /><br />Next, Some beautiful October leaves at the Jardin du Luxembourg:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCrZTa2Huh9dgwleh2bZ53vvdK6DzpAsVxSxVvHRXpJ1I1ICn1XmCurt0KxfDyaKmyw3gM64pu7BEiLuQp4lkolIeJ3dYQR2kQ8wJB1dnLNULgCIqqlY0kmY0FUzucBxDqK3qTqPUAU0/s1600-h/lux+trees.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCrZTa2Huh9dgwleh2bZ53vvdK6DzpAsVxSxVvHRXpJ1I1ICn1XmCurt0KxfDyaKmyw3gM64pu7BEiLuQp4lkolIeJ3dYQR2kQ8wJB1dnLNULgCIqqlY0kmY0FUzucBxDqK3qTqPUAU0/s400/lux+trees.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396962293641485794" /></a><br /><br />The best place for tree sightings, however, was at the immensely beautiful and breathtakingly extravagant Palace of Versailles. In the gardens there were rows of citrus trees, "Dr. Seuss-like" clipped (topiary) trees (which should be considered "tree art," I think), "square" trees, tall graceful trees, and many more. (I don't know why the French are so obsessed with geometric trees. It's dreadfully unnatural, but fascinating, nonetheless). All were living amidst sculptures and fountains. Glorious! I could spend a week there! Indulge:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2_4eAxad3qIXP1Vm4uyeZwxraAjq1ARjX90tIDGN8f0niEocNyd5ZJx8iP4bwUn7BHAGZgrKYxFI4tVRZaFN8v-2macq4R2SIoVXKlzfG0zSeQA51uyu103XgO2srBXJNqJ2Cd3OOvU/s1600-h/citrus+versailles.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2_4eAxad3qIXP1Vm4uyeZwxraAjq1ARjX90tIDGN8f0niEocNyd5ZJx8iP4bwUn7BHAGZgrKYxFI4tVRZaFN8v-2macq4R2SIoVXKlzfG0zSeQA51uyu103XgO2srBXJNqJ2Cd3OOvU/s400/citrus+versailles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396962303442480434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwAvCpyCUySuMpwAArik8l1KuJUpWxYNy7x8j82QkdLARXLhZxNxpYuwl-NpqLrhMhgiddsBMdEt48cmBMrIIJCAFSFrXexSNa3ioyNHlNJtI2Vs4HrComnVG7akxenyJUTc0-a7utHk/s1600-h/goofy+trees+versailles.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwAvCpyCUySuMpwAArik8l1KuJUpWxYNy7x8j82QkdLARXLhZxNxpYuwl-NpqLrhMhgiddsBMdEt48cmBMrIIJCAFSFrXexSNa3ioyNHlNJtI2Vs4HrComnVG7akxenyJUTc0-a7utHk/s400/goofy+trees+versailles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396962299983066754" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXt3eDtOSDmWAkMCU0J_4AlQceeUtD6NMzCsmpXGth4rPdnBRb80svw2BqTSjXnttA5mZ2KCIXwRilHR6kBbstLvDCEPMNx8Hpij_XLgKpOn2tHfleMDaXeiraaLEVEsnNZNy_HTfkpQ/s1600-h/square+trees.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXt3eDtOSDmWAkMCU0J_4AlQceeUtD6NMzCsmpXGth4rPdnBRb80svw2BqTSjXnttA5mZ2KCIXwRilHR6kBbstLvDCEPMNx8Hpij_XLgKpOn2tHfleMDaXeiraaLEVEsnNZNy_HTfkpQ/s400/square+trees.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396962298733118946" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT-ryTM7zhK3b0MtkDr9BGOp3dpSKR3Wq8CK5_PJuUXu5gA-FLQVaw_dCY8YmglkXBzgWatld5sKWZnpDTEnFKvcgbQpHR0W3KnE8klnRliCK_ltNVIsNxk7RXyu0Uf5fAgpDE1gXp7bs/s1600-h/trees+versailles.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT-ryTM7zhK3b0MtkDr9BGOp3dpSKR3Wq8CK5_PJuUXu5gA-FLQVaw_dCY8YmglkXBzgWatld5sKWZnpDTEnFKvcgbQpHR0W3KnE8klnRliCK_ltNVIsNxk7RXyu0Uf5fAgpDE1gXp7bs/s400/trees+versailles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396962309878914658" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizA7vBRWEIQuhJBL3fQK2XjxlE0o_MlR_cP-oefoS5Wq8oA4NmHU8LKRPmjhiPtKl-fvO_uqhOmsW3VcouSFrM2JrGNgxvfbbfjUt2m1A-rJYJOdTSU1BBymQLoGM63RwGj-DWxRMgyn0/s1600-h/tall+trees+versailles.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizA7vBRWEIQuhJBL3fQK2XjxlE0o_MlR_cP-oefoS5Wq8oA4NmHU8LKRPmjhiPtKl-fvO_uqhOmsW3VcouSFrM2JrGNgxvfbbfjUt2m1A-rJYJOdTSU1BBymQLoGM63RwGj-DWxRMgyn0/s400/tall+trees+versailles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396962666012521874" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-62605020033465330832009-09-19T11:14:00.008-04:002009-09-19T11:34:15.736-04:00A look back<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL21gLV1cNZ-B7j7UdRCzgYQph2M60LS1UUagVyExERVxDnqe_UWQ4bTVfC6URx4jC4WdEVL41BYkZ7imbVITz24Pry86pZmzS-8QQv8SL2OM3Z2d5D2ReMe1X1SAPylxQ6capGl_Rlss/s1600-h/J3008x2000-63425.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL21gLV1cNZ-B7j7UdRCzgYQph2M60LS1UUagVyExERVxDnqe_UWQ4bTVfC6URx4jC4WdEVL41BYkZ7imbVITz24Pry86pZmzS-8QQv8SL2OM3Z2d5D2ReMe1X1SAPylxQ6capGl_Rlss/s400/J3008x2000-63425.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383201308770507042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBg08haFAa75E3uHDWLQxjF4lT8sD5Q_1NSfM54g_9y2c_lk22JWYETOjODaW3YJsmZj0yXRq9jh1j9vihozDAcxTWFv0fT8hx6g2UFZIVSSLOAgmyAR3UbFb3jBd72XnveRHTPiBVMw/s1600-h/J3008x2000-53551.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBg08haFAa75E3uHDWLQxjF4lT8sD5Q_1NSfM54g_9y2c_lk22JWYETOjODaW3YJsmZj0yXRq9jh1j9vihozDAcxTWFv0fT8hx6g2UFZIVSSLOAgmyAR3UbFb3jBd72XnveRHTPiBVMw/s400/J3008x2000-53551.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383199430738097650" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4R5PbyTS4pBcOLJncOJ3ew6SgZ1dhV73ycfT32-jDLJdOE1fGYKT86-8Ucv-_vHMqlBqClzmyyuaBOwo5Z7vMiSwysXZ2t_nfw4ZpJ6EeW-AnU9_NTMfnMkrqbOHizW5_ShwtZh2FhA/s1600-h/J3008x2000-56086.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4R5PbyTS4pBcOLJncOJ3ew6SgZ1dhV73ycfT32-jDLJdOE1fGYKT86-8Ucv-_vHMqlBqClzmyyuaBOwo5Z7vMiSwysXZ2t_nfw4ZpJ6EeW-AnU9_NTMfnMkrqbOHizW5_ShwtZh2FhA/s400/J3008x2000-56086.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383200078750127266" /></a><br /><br />A final taste of some trees from this past spring. Next...moving into delicious autumn! I get chills just thinking about it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnEvufIk2MRZKEmcMNvsRHGgOC0ZhAUQ2XNXBfdMCrXvv-6AkE_iqi_NYzidWCHjOBFsd5AqL2HBy1lHkidcM0zHeferGnYKVasSqv-8Lik8z2ehJSJYJPXd0eRu9zHI4FJVwRjKYyJs/s1600-h/J2000x3008-62994.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLnEvufIk2MRZKEmcMNvsRHGgOC0ZhAUQ2XNXBfdMCrXvv-6AkE_iqi_NYzidWCHjOBFsd5AqL2HBy1lHkidcM0zHeferGnYKVasSqv-8Lik8z2ehJSJYJPXd0eRu9zHI4FJVwRjKYyJs/s400/J2000x3008-62994.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383197657816778818" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vUO7SxM7Z0Dl50rnOu2xoTDKbq9DXNp6mT5_feNt_0AiWscktpAFflLWCFYbcO2IEdRIUn4vs503x-AJkU2dewIUYwXQtR0VGFe_w-FUMYYg92rvUEDD6rNuMWnoOpvX4ENwPhbmyAE/s1600-h/J2000x3008-56072.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vUO7SxM7Z0Dl50rnOu2xoTDKbq9DXNp6mT5_feNt_0AiWscktpAFflLWCFYbcO2IEdRIUn4vs503x-AJkU2dewIUYwXQtR0VGFe_w-FUMYYg92rvUEDD6rNuMWnoOpvX4ENwPhbmyAE/s400/J2000x3008-56072.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383198608012399442" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-9002464703571178842009-09-14T09:50:00.001-04:002009-09-14T09:50:00.355-04:00**YOUR TREES** [Jamie and Keith's crazy tree sighting]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDt7RppnZ-_WPAYtvXMqWX4W2lYmavFGT7xGAe6HGVlcyWzc2sagVDQjgwFEwtu0L5oXlZXEYW55vxXSWK0ytIJ0o7cBMhsT7ELVg7g0rL6XQcp2yiPMVV5O4bEmxioFPgyB8HA5ZTgQ/s1600-h/cool+tree.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDt7RppnZ-_WPAYtvXMqWX4W2lYmavFGT7xGAe6HGVlcyWzc2sagVDQjgwFEwtu0L5oXlZXEYW55vxXSWK0ytIJ0o7cBMhsT7ELVg7g0rL6XQcp2yiPMVV5O4bEmxioFPgyB8HA5ZTgQ/s400/cool+tree.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360919026788933586" /></a><br /><br />It's delightful when I hear that friends, family, or even strangers think of me when they see a fantastic, weird, funny, or beautiful tree. Several of you have sent photos or at least stories my way and it truly makes my day. I need to be better about posting them. I plan to go back through my emails and put more of them on the blog. <br /><br />This one made my awesome brother and sister-in-law think of me immediately. Because look at it!! So kooky and adorable and funny and straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. Which is quite possibly my favorite kind. I don't remember where it was taken (and I certainly don't know the oblivious folks who have been immortalized in the background)...but here it is. A fabulous tree. Tall and twisty and skinny, complete with a goofy hair-do.<br /><br />Thanks for sending!Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-43033603830246883272009-09-12T08:54:00.001-04:002009-09-13T14:06:29.001-04:00Tree Museum! And other tree works by Katie Holten<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.treemuseum.org/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2Vlx7oCJU7HL_EXPScbnOkQOcNWR-WHJi6N2QESx4ALwsV7ucCsVrkbZah_CBSsqawCY8E7xXzSzz1NTp33Cw0OpmvZM-KXS-j0mauK491wjzHUwBdABzxEKRKbuM9mJr_NwrjC0VZY/s400/logo.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380348810662293106" border="0" /></a><br />Terrific discovery of the day: A "<a href="http://www.treemuseum.org/index.html">Tree Museum</a>" that is also a public art project!! How incredibly perfect. So, of course, sometime between now and October 12th I'll be heading up to the Bronx to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/nyregion/07about.html">listen to the trees</a>. And then I'll share my discoveries.<br /><br />Here's what I know. The Tree Museum is a public art project by artist <a href="http://www.katieholten.com/">Katie Holten</a>, who seems to be at least as enamored with trees and art as I am. Perhaps more so. Her work ranges from drawings to installation art to public projects involving living plants. Her work addresses the themes of "permanence, disappearance and environment" and she is interested in "how people make sense of and cope with their surroundings" (see <a href="http://www.lmakprojects.com/artists_index.htm">LMAKprojects</a>).<br /><br />Here are some examples of her works that involve trees, of course:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mT9tppN8x8RQ-vTGiQvyLf_d5LJAcC8s75B6iadfg5xNynIe2Ih82XDTBiAizee0_dfOTSzwTSgT8Wq5FkghS6LnRlP6rGg80ouLtGnfiU3HRhU5UMkI_bbmMI0PO3dDjtbHubtu6pc/s1600-h/NYTrees.1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mT9tppN8x8RQ-vTGiQvyLf_d5LJAcC8s75B6iadfg5xNynIe2Ih82XDTBiAizee0_dfOTSzwTSgT8Wq5FkghS6LnRlP6rGg80ouLtGnfiU3HRhU5UMkI_bbmMI0PO3dDjtbHubtu6pc/s400/NYTrees.1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380361645635767330" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">New York Trees I</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAN7QzG_8KHwKViwpQBv34L_GZEz7xJzeRYqdvra2Ja6F03EN0qnb3NwF9mgWXnHOMoBbVjV_uk57Bsz1DIfn7WLWwuNb4hrGBw4KsBId8op-AH3FTPS-4QCnFo6afZeQJTLTPV78fUGU/s1600-h/USTrees3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAN7QzG_8KHwKViwpQBv34L_GZEz7xJzeRYqdvra2Ja6F03EN0qnb3NwF9mgWXnHOMoBbVjV_uk57Bsz1DIfn7WLWwuNb4hrGBw4KsBId8op-AH3FTPS-4QCnFo6afZeQJTLTPV78fUGU/s400/USTrees3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380361641082498482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Trees of the U.S.A. III</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1MoGiHpqWMQxy87j25s7_UiDfji1uZPu1fSbEBotrWNxNFh8F1XrJgTC4O8wRN7-R8N_4wSgDWXdx72f4rn1sgDaxxZ9JcCerkwsRrpVgxi87xyvtMt0S9tH3ncOUa6RE9bo820WwqU/s1600-h/Paths.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1MoGiHpqWMQxy87j25s7_UiDfji1uZPu1fSbEBotrWNxNFh8F1XrJgTC4O8wRN7-R8N_4wSgDWXdx72f4rn1sgDaxxZ9JcCerkwsRrpVgxi87xyvtMt0S9tH3ncOUa6RE9bo820WwqU/s400/Paths.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380364043979889394" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Paths of Desire </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-Pn9-CE3IvS0DgyP5W-LcV7OW32IEuq-tV480JazhXkHMVQPt6V_AaBLOQ7TKfKStletC9jYvpjwTG2efhTjisjglMam7uxXNZKCEm9rk8Tj7dG8qpWpv4LkeSjO-oQ1792PSrkOgCI/s1600-h/G+G_GhostForest.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 331px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-Pn9-CE3IvS0DgyP5W-LcV7OW32IEuq-tV480JazhXkHMVQPt6V_AaBLOQ7TKfKStletC9jYvpjwTG2efhTjisjglMam7uxXNZKCEm9rk8Tj7dG8qpWpv4LkeSjO-oQ1792PSrkOgCI/s400/G+G_GhostForest.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380364047314894034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Ghost Forest</span>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-4735743456293726562009-09-11T13:50:00.010-04:002009-09-11T18:39:45.149-04:00A tree falls in Brooklyn<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41RUC-ypiIvDMz-N3tJE0KmN5Ye1wHUE59rBr2hwrP4_XgL2nhBOvziNdYvhzVAPvDybbSHMeH1mf5sSf002Y0-hOIFFfOL0o5QDRVsPFt1iWE4zP5eBxm5KfRbhStl4Q8QhHVuEusH4/s1600-h/IMG_0479.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41RUC-ypiIvDMz-N3tJE0KmN5Ye1wHUE59rBr2hwrP4_XgL2nhBOvziNdYvhzVAPvDybbSHMeH1mf5sSf002Y0-hOIFFfOL0o5QDRVsPFt1iWE4zP5eBxm5KfRbhStl4Q8QhHVuEusH4/s400/IMG_0479.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380319839206862706" /></a><br /><br />It's a sad day on my block. Some stupid beer truck backed into one of the beloved trees across the street, knocking off a huge tree-sized branch and chunk of the tree. Leaves and branches fell all over, stopping traffic, and then some work men arrived with chain saws to finish the job. Now it is a soggy, sawdusty stump. Though, if you ask George, who works at Mailboxes on 5th (which is the shop the tree used to live in front of) it wasn't the beer truck's fault. The truck has been backing up in that exact location for years and years. But the heavy rain made the branch sag, which made the tree lean, which made the branch sag even lower. <br /><br />George knows these things. Blame it on the rain.<br /><br />Actually, I've recently realized that an even more beloved tree is gone. The one that used to live more directly across the street. It must have happened the day my building may-or-may-not-have-been hit by lightning. We heard/felt an extremely loud boom at the same time we saw a flash...and the next thing we knew, we saw branches in the street. I just realized the tree is completely gone. This one makes me even sadder. It was just out front of Happy Cleaners. So pretty. Fluffy white in the spring. We had just one lovely spring together. I'm hoping these trees have become mulch and will help other urban trees to survive and flourish. Here are some photos to mourn our loss. (Pink arrows indicate our fallen friends.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNg3UCKUepbzggzvowAmeg2j3eELgi5xyFaAaqh-NNdYL4RQyYXL73llRzhQlhqT5s70Dyjn8kcDhysJGQABHqjfp1yba9YSrWqFle5zwxMV60OAcIudxwyWF3iCc9rTK3WZM9EG0CTjQ/s1600-h/tree+falls.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNg3UCKUepbzggzvowAmeg2j3eELgi5xyFaAaqh-NNdYL4RQyYXL73llRzhQlhqT5s70Dyjn8kcDhysJGQABHqjfp1yba9YSrWqFle5zwxMV60OAcIudxwyWF3iCc9rTK3WZM9EG0CTjQ/s400/tree+falls.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380336675459714674" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5TJAkyvzoC7B_KXJqW5vYRasOfTCfq1rF3PNOdQwU8qwZzKb_sjFMBHnW_acL08PRUeWfT_65BCCvv7FjnQMJ6kJIUMay2D51EqC-87DT2s8igJAzHErZ45dfdjlPh9RiBPShiBAHhQ/s1600-h/tree+falls2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5TJAkyvzoC7B_KXJqW5vYRasOfTCfq1rF3PNOdQwU8qwZzKb_sjFMBHnW_acL08PRUeWfT_65BCCvv7FjnQMJ6kJIUMay2D51EqC-87DT2s8igJAzHErZ45dfdjlPh9RiBPShiBAHhQ/s400/tree+falls2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380334703773971906" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa5tSwvZt-BHOE5UjZA1iVqdSGs7Y5MuowoCxgM8CKIE3-jEwbQtEFgfGfmfF0Toa4WCgzr-7ftgbdhhNuUuo_UNFftBBgnP19rMf3ec39o7Rz3o09_or6SK80GROoRCkzYa53Xb-E04/s1600-h/tree+falls3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDa5tSwvZt-BHOE5UjZA1iVqdSGs7Y5MuowoCxgM8CKIE3-jEwbQtEFgfGfmfF0Toa4WCgzr-7ftgbdhhNuUuo_UNFftBBgnP19rMf3ec39o7Rz3o09_or6SK80GROoRCkzYa53Xb-E04/s400/tree+falls3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380337504681779458" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-29699068155570354282009-07-31T13:44:00.004-04:002009-07-31T17:09:40.183-04:00The Lorax (and his Truffula trees)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHpROhqFYknrwncb9olzOcF80xxfokGORs1jl-umG4eST_GCktV9zxhRouzTVQQKKZUf4ior70UdqpViS_40dh047SXS5gIQpjmXiMhuZW8sJvdc8F29svMcJTTLIAEjpPzqE9KwojOA/s1600-h/lorax.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 232px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHpROhqFYknrwncb9olzOcF80xxfokGORs1jl-umG4eST_GCktV9zxhRouzTVQQKKZUf4ior70UdqpViS_40dh047SXS5gIQpjmXiMhuZW8sJvdc8F29svMcJTTLIAEjpPzqE9KwojOA/s320/lorax.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364477716457539586" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SVhlmt4YQgVGSdhlHTSECVfnS7rx_0jM9_TBaiVQTnNQ0Q3_C97VJOXwvTHnc_cIRG_P3eHWvdA1LyUf-vjCzXMjcfNbw-DCU1mDJUiMahXtnSWmq7cBHCaaq5_NJ8txZpGWrGlNvrM/s1600-h/Picture+5.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SVhlmt4YQgVGSdhlHTSECVfnS7rx_0jM9_TBaiVQTnNQ0Q3_C97VJOXwvTHnc_cIRG_P3eHWvdA1LyUf-vjCzXMjcfNbw-DCU1mDJUiMahXtnSWmq7cBHCaaq5_NJ8txZpGWrGlNvrM/s400/Picture+5.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364474996410195794" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgURmvIr-852yl-mNTghnLAkh6uTRoHx0P3MVu-sTyL-aXcqT04WiVK2hVglEABFK5MOeOCnxSmgl_NFGgjSyGroeND_OObPm58x_GlQXT4-lmcGYCs1HT9yQIBPEISNsF1eu3joY1yzQ/s1600-h/Picture+11.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgURmvIr-852yl-mNTghnLAkh6uTRoHx0P3MVu-sTyL-aXcqT04WiVK2hVglEABFK5MOeOCnxSmgl_NFGgjSyGroeND_OObPm58x_GlQXT4-lmcGYCs1HT9yQIBPEISNsF1eu3joY1yzQ/s400/Picture+11.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160044230439516322" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrjnRcimpsahz_JrYzq4Y3NbnJFsMmi2VmTKamYfR7wILaro09Jf_nzuyychEJfDQ9JSsRp27sS81gTP9okpCTfk0VdozVtNZ_V0E5PEQCTjDt5Mlk7mzmqQRn_nxflIkPNbbFmTeo-0/s1600-h/Picture+10.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrjnRcimpsahz_JrYzq4Y3NbnJFsMmi2VmTKamYfR7wILaro09Jf_nzuyychEJfDQ9JSsRp27sS81gTP9okpCTfk0VdozVtNZ_V0E5PEQCTjDt5Mlk7mzmqQRn_nxflIkPNbbFmTeo-0/s400/Picture+10.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160044234734483634" /></a><br />I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet. One of the best "tree books" EVER is a children's book. But it's not really a children's book. <br /><br />I am an enthusiastic, unabashed fan of Dr. Seuss and his work. I don't know what else to say about that. And one of most lovable tree advocates I've ever come across happens to be a little guy straight from the brain of Dr. Seuss...our friend, The Lorax. <br /><br />Our wonderful little friend, The Lorax, used to live in a Truffula (TRUFF-yoo-la) tree. Truffula trees have silky soft tufts and they come in colors like bright pink, orange, red, and yellow. These are trees you can't help but love. And, of course, they were home to our friend, The Lorax.<br /><br />But one fateful day, the Truffula trees were discovered by a money-hungry entrepreneur, who chopped one down and made the tufts into something (a "thneed") to sell. And then he chopped another. And another. And then he built a factory, and before long, every single fluffy Truffula tree was gone. The Lorax tried with all his might to stop it from happening..."I am the Lorax! I speak for the trees!"...but to no avail. And all the creatures were displaced, and all the trees were chopped.<br /><br />The Truffula trees, sadly, are gone, but the story is not without hope. Pick up the book and read the story! Or...watch the Dr. Seuss movie, based on the book:<br /><br /><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=6650219631867189375&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed><br /><br />If you hang on through (or skip) the credits, you will positively fall in love with the tragic, hypnotic intro song which starts at about the 55 second mark...<br />"grickle grass...grickle grass...street of the lifted lorax...grickle grass...grickle grass...somebody lifted the lorax away..."<br /><br />I can't stop singing it.<br /><br />And now go plant a tree!<br /><br />Update: if you're having trouble with the video, you can view it <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6650219631867189375&hl=en">here</a>.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-21796394457681958102009-05-31T23:08:00.013-04:002009-07-30T23:42:39.096-04:00Christmas in May June July!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdoFVSdBFBcTUHlzCWdOZ0nLGrpvZ5dE4P7__IGAb_OuftJWKp5TCKlzlfqFhRs_Cx_6a0iS3bDk270lp77rptAMuYIxIoaeqxNEqM3-1ZtwXmiYbqbXDDMDlYCSPRm7ko8MA7X_WNtM/s1600-h/J3008x2000-64469.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCdoFVSdBFBcTUHlzCWdOZ0nLGrpvZ5dE4P7__IGAb_OuftJWKp5TCKlzlfqFhRs_Cx_6a0iS3bDk270lp77rptAMuYIxIoaeqxNEqM3-1ZtwXmiYbqbXDDMDlYCSPRm7ko8MA7X_WNtM/s400/J3008x2000-64469.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359455950281362994" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuomSHQpnBLDWqPpzQXUfstwAFA2J4od1fSyfnDZnc5VrT22dCHqF6ez9xm6gH6egP0de2MchDCjap8jMyDdM6bzCYtXwVTjF47McsEyC7eIk31O2PqiFTERkj5oSuSovgXH2OWRsouQ/s1600-h/J3008x2000-64491.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuomSHQpnBLDWqPpzQXUfstwAFA2J4od1fSyfnDZnc5VrT22dCHqF6ez9xm6gH6egP0de2MchDCjap8jMyDdM6bzCYtXwVTjF47McsEyC7eIk31O2PqiFTERkj5oSuSovgXH2OWRsouQ/s400/J3008x2000-64491.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359455966353128514" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqO5Xpa8nGjT1I2trtv57rr8ucsdzeZKcF2IaBWlNp1oEF0Z3fABDZd8JXbbWhEg6WjwY1drnxEzr9sPX2WxNzpOoiEU1BJIjB5HMTOXftInMm8RaKDhGY8zSJuYTDyj_xhsiu8Wy8Zc/s1600-h/J3008x2000-64483.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqO5Xpa8nGjT1I2trtv57rr8ucsdzeZKcF2IaBWlNp1oEF0Z3fABDZd8JXbbWhEg6WjwY1drnxEzr9sPX2WxNzpOoiEU1BJIjB5HMTOXftInMm8RaKDhGY8zSJuYTDyj_xhsiu8Wy8Zc/s400/J3008x2000-64483.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359455959549521314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLHdrm3ulFMgVsjaqXttWO0yBUUgmWv7SX4sJRvguSoku-dDRou8_rxGajwYvCc2rrhJyeuC3D7OmNyWs6G_IerXPGbysRe15uYEq-ITYLDnh7odyJ-N6pLVWrROOCnJ_N_K4NlRmfD0/s1600-h/J3008x2000-64417.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLHdrm3ulFMgVsjaqXttWO0yBUUgmWv7SX4sJRvguSoku-dDRou8_rxGajwYvCc2rrhJyeuC3D7OmNyWs6G_IerXPGbysRe15uYEq-ITYLDnh7odyJ-N6pLVWrROOCnJ_N_K4NlRmfD0/s400/J3008x2000-64417.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454765853402930" /></a><br /><br />My hard drive died. And a bunch of other things happened. So...let's pretend it's the end of May, or perhaps the first week of June (when I started to write this post)...<br />...<br /><br />I've just returned from a mountain vacation during which we spent some time meandering along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The views are breathtaking on a clear spring day and endless photo opportunities await – either at the designated "lookout areas" or at any particular point if you dare pull over to the side of the sometimes frighteningly narrow mountain road and flash your hazard lights while you jump out to snap a photo of a perfect double rainbow with a mountain backdrop, which is exactly what we did as we were driving through sun showers one particular afternoon. <br /><br />After a grand time spent in and around Asheville, NC and then a quick stay in Boone, our journey homeward led us through more beautiful mountain roads where we found ourselves pleasantly surprised in the relatively remote region of Ashe County, North Carolina. <br /><br />There we were, driving through the mountains, when we came around a corner, and passed a Christmas tree farm. Not too unusual...but then another, and another! Ten! Twenty! Thirty! More! Acres and acres of Christmas trees everywhere! It was as if we'd stumbled upon the "Santa's workshop" of Christmas trees. They were on every hill, around every bend, speckling every field. It was joyous and curious. I had to take some photos and then Google the phenomenon when I returned home.<br /><br />Turns out there is a <a href="http://www.ncchristmastrees.com">North Carolina Christmas Tree Association</a> (NCCTA) and their mission is to "promote 'real' Christmas Trees through marketing and education." Hmm. This is a mission I can probably stand behind, though, while idealistic and charming, it seems vaguely wrong and definitely weird. The Fraser fir is the species that all the tree farmers seem to be growing (so that's what you see in my photos) and I learned that North Carolina has an estimated 50 million Fraser firs Christmas trees througout the state. I'm pretty sure we saw 30 million. There are all sorts of interesting Christmas tree facts and info about the Fraser fir at their site, <a href="http://www.ncchristmastrees.com">here</a>, like: North Carolina is 2nd in the nation for Christmas tree harvesting; and at least 10 North Carolina trees have graced the White House since 1966.<br /><br />Who knew there was such a flourishing tree industry in the mountains of North Carolina? You cut your own at many of the farms, or, there's the option to place a wholesale order for trees - if you happen to have a well-trafficked city sidewalk where you'd like to begin selling the "perfect" tree this December.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FOmeHAV9tgKVBvs1ONF7Uv3JoSKpT-4CXtXVvw_tOrOtbPt4LB2qYpY3aXNHhyphenhyphenffRCfIF6PTtRX18a8xQBRbR0z3guZ_CLr7-1TlwqL17h1pnLdCY0sap8jSyWerEDD3fYJCZmDhOHw/s1600-h/J3008x2000-64434.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FOmeHAV9tgKVBvs1ONF7Uv3JoSKpT-4CXtXVvw_tOrOtbPt4LB2qYpY3aXNHhyphenhyphenffRCfIF6PTtRX18a8xQBRbR0z3guZ_CLr7-1TlwqL17h1pnLdCY0sap8jSyWerEDD3fYJCZmDhOHw/s400/J3008x2000-64434.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454775442026530" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-cAxFxkV-hEqqhvDpyiLdEwNag7IU3vA3obP9uN7xpSaJ6JdJgxlwHzGRrSdWhyphenhyphenn_n-CnHap07XCqaD5leqJ6B-x7HAHmu_cn_SyYmdUy2Y9CgMdJzZAWEAG5GPi9T3aU4ZOhqSmp4w/s1600-h/J3008x2000-64423.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-cAxFxkV-hEqqhvDpyiLdEwNag7IU3vA3obP9uN7xpSaJ6JdJgxlwHzGRrSdWhyphenhyphenn_n-CnHap07XCqaD5leqJ6B-x7HAHmu_cn_SyYmdUy2Y9CgMdJzZAWEAG5GPi9T3aU4ZOhqSmp4w/s400/J3008x2000-64423.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359454767025805554" /></a><br /><br />Here's a screen shot of a search for Christmas tree farms in North Carolina (We drove straight through that upper left corner of the map):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxbI0OgdLdft8Dw8LTyvHBmsn5gOzgwqifybcDbUK8yg91oFaxmgzpecFrgnKZ_-PunJa-PBqZ2fQ-0N4R-RY3cgTP0HuJiXQbC81eJJghmtbX0uj_pwwTl3gnaUbh3SM0HuygvhkGQo/s1600-h/Picture+3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxbI0OgdLdft8Dw8LTyvHBmsn5gOzgwqifybcDbUK8yg91oFaxmgzpecFrgnKZ_-PunJa-PBqZ2fQ-0N4R-RY3cgTP0HuJiXQbC81eJJghmtbX0uj_pwwTl3gnaUbh3SM0HuygvhkGQo/s400/Picture+3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342467938512645666" border="0" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-56274900573187362992009-05-16T23:51:00.014-04:002009-05-17T01:04:00.257-04:00Pink trees<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyelj-S2RFEy2fJnaPFq_DzXEyAv0uPIp6In6XTCAihaihUxYl3V4MrPve2aPd7dK3Mz56dYv3adcbCK9BEu0a1fDnHVUS2xkgNU7jPdnGQigcHAiV1i5_3r_uPavckliLfQb4h8DEeIU/s1600-h/DSC_4700.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyelj-S2RFEy2fJnaPFq_DzXEyAv0uPIp6In6XTCAihaihUxYl3V4MrPve2aPd7dK3Mz56dYv3adcbCK9BEu0a1fDnHVUS2xkgNU7jPdnGQigcHAiV1i5_3r_uPavckliLfQb4h8DEeIU/s400/DSC_4700.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336642168369674546" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyx6FivOccNoYmXGh-wO0aTWL54GpC-Wt2ueKdY2jUEoQnB76f4a8_HMdtfWKw4kj7PCIga7v8evXhwS4wQ9PIIFfwKylzrQ2jU3zMOJysIcZd0QdiXvQVaCGZjuwZoFOmTRyCM-iSxE/s1600-h/DSC_4695kh.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxyx6FivOccNoYmXGh-wO0aTWL54GpC-Wt2ueKdY2jUEoQnB76f4a8_HMdtfWKw4kj7PCIga7v8evXhwS4wQ9PIIFfwKylzrQ2jU3zMOJysIcZd0QdiXvQVaCGZjuwZoFOmTRyCM-iSxE/s400/DSC_4695kh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336645499304836962" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpEgcS2LN4sIam3P7pM3j6zUJiVDp2FVaouOy9q62qCPiOJec2rDIswOmAfneleXecxCWNL1FziFcGIHqHwhajlLbzwJ7y6F__S3bKfLmKJqYDk3Tz0UlWig2zHi-IbLJRYP33wAq12c/s1600-h/DSC_4993.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpEgcS2LN4sIam3P7pM3j6zUJiVDp2FVaouOy9q62qCPiOJec2rDIswOmAfneleXecxCWNL1FziFcGIHqHwhajlLbzwJ7y6F__S3bKfLmKJqYDk3Tz0UlWig2zHi-IbLJRYP33wAq12c/s400/DSC_4993.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336637621678539474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcN1Udpeog81c8JrfMadJB0PtELVpsp6icOwMi-Ws7I32mueb7GnhN6SFJujW_q-93L2jSIahgYNHOIzaeiGx4FjNf6-O1m-SjGQ-Hult4y_sYtMSZXUXxuKvVlWkl1k_6eEY8aUj_gWc/s1600-h/DSC_4723kh.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcN1Udpeog81c8JrfMadJB0PtELVpsp6icOwMi-Ws7I32mueb7GnhN6SFJujW_q-93L2jSIahgYNHOIzaeiGx4FjNf6-O1m-SjGQ-Hult4y_sYtMSZXUXxuKvVlWkl1k_6eEY8aUj_gWc/s400/DSC_4723kh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336643808905193314" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If you're into PINK trees (which is oh so Dr. Seuss-like), I hope you got a chance to check out <a href="http://www.bbg.org/exp/cherries/index.html">Hanami</a> at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this year. Hanami is the "Japanese cultural tradition of viewing and cherishing each moment of the cherry blossom season." I realize this is an after-the-fact post, and if you missed it, all I can say is...go next year! <br /><br />Any time from early April through early May. PINK. TREES. Petals all over. So pretty, really, and once you realize that you've had enough flowery trees (or, more likely, before you realize it's too late) the flowers have fallen and died and the brilliant green leaves are here to celebrate spring. (A note on Hanami - in early May, there's a big festival at the <a href="http://www.bbg.org/">BBG</a> with long lines, lots of people, weird music and a bunch of events that I missed...along with scores of faux geisha in full attire. Personally, I recommend going to the garden without the extra thousands of people tragically shaking the tree branches to make the petals fall. Go in late April.)<br /><br />Of course, there are also the wonderful Magnolia trees in early April (top photo). They're incredibly beautiful with huge "thick" flowers that are sticky and gross when they fall off and coat the ground. But always so impressive on the trees. And the magnolia trees aren't ALL pink. Some are yellow, white, or other shades of pretty. <br /><br />I used to hate HATE pink, I admit. And too much pink still makes me cringe. But on fluffy trees, it's bliss...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8cKAf9aJ1nBcilMmhf3KfBoQIAw5sGJSpGLTbOj7RbN1YPRti5desLkD-SyXohFZgrwaPG-WYBQ4tfPjLBkZNtjuFZz_q42IbF2pHZA4K_H8gRwLjjdFiWCnaIkxY_CpDxWHYKRgqcU/s1600-h/DSC_5079.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8cKAf9aJ1nBcilMmhf3KfBoQIAw5sGJSpGLTbOj7RbN1YPRti5desLkD-SyXohFZgrwaPG-WYBQ4tfPjLBkZNtjuFZz_q42IbF2pHZA4K_H8gRwLjjdFiWCnaIkxY_CpDxWHYKRgqcU/s400/DSC_5079.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336639019165165890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2wirUk3LwNf3p7nZVhgYTpheH8I3cdHDvOA_pBMR21A5u8OAbIXtsN8s_AgzVRicREkK2XShDLmkZtKf_qnYmtB4uTW5k3uzUwtmPjPsr1QVnRLKtBnKY6JrYsQJM8dsDVQDfzzfFMPA/s1600-h/DSC_5034.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2wirUk3LwNf3p7nZVhgYTpheH8I3cdHDvOA_pBMR21A5u8OAbIXtsN8s_AgzVRicREkK2XShDLmkZtKf_qnYmtB4uTW5k3uzUwtmPjPsr1QVnRLKtBnKY6JrYsQJM8dsDVQDfzzfFMPA/s400/DSC_5034.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336638756805823426" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ge1ItuosgCd-jSsZVVBrMih-PZM3MIfj1v4W5HDWeFynB-QQbcPO-vmJGRAeNjmTvTHmhuDgsHrF2hPgpla-cNvp-tAyBuUtCEqHyVbgWmgP0k0qJd5OgxPNWQfZ3kswb_kmLhGw27A/s1600-h/DSC_5013.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Ge1ItuosgCd-jSsZVVBrMih-PZM3MIfj1v4W5HDWeFynB-QQbcPO-vmJGRAeNjmTvTHmhuDgsHrF2hPgpla-cNvp-tAyBuUtCEqHyVbgWmgP0k0qJd5OgxPNWQfZ3kswb_kmLhGw27A/s400/DSC_5013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336637632159884258" border="0" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-55254334345878578552009-04-16T16:30:00.009-04:002009-04-16T18:58:24.120-04:00Fluffy Trees!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01aKnNRqCXSfneEdBBuSGUv45a7vUY05m4tPh6sP37zlYsO8KIcYgZV5ABtyznsxegURvCIPCKQHa1ueNZP1vSvMOe2lDeg3QL1xiVjO4-O4eI5vOF9X4Hv2GrMO4BPjdSiRQ09uqgFY/s1600-h/DSC_4683a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01aKnNRqCXSfneEdBBuSGUv45a7vUY05m4tPh6sP37zlYsO8KIcYgZV5ABtyznsxegURvCIPCKQHa1ueNZP1vSvMOe2lDeg3QL1xiVjO4-O4eI5vOF9X4Hv2GrMO4BPjdSiRQ09uqgFY/s400/DSC_4683a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325416343468108578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FEbGvs_wyUd-3Z87B4T1XNiOYphLiG6GbnQq_nybHkDBOmeCvY9jtIU4Ti9VRm8jhyTsynfDYMhBuTGQTeNw_GwtQkp015xF4y0bj_z4xU2sYvRBQFPJLBj8CxkxFMIsDo2vp1_RYvc/s1600-h/DSC_4680a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FEbGvs_wyUd-3Z87B4T1XNiOYphLiG6GbnQq_nybHkDBOmeCvY9jtIU4Ti9VRm8jhyTsynfDYMhBuTGQTeNw_GwtQkp015xF4y0bj_z4xU2sYvRBQFPJLBj8CxkxFMIsDo2vp1_RYvc/s400/DSC_4680a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325416335603871298" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQJ8twKpivTFBFQEoCRCdkZvZbulBPDaBXgyF07J6JzSbirL8Zv0PRD6HNZQ6_eezG4iPIETJGQW2_t9TXWa7SCTx8iufZ0Rno9kuosNWHUIK8qomJptlANC5lv6BcCkDvHUtx8k2yWw/s1600-h/DSC_4650.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJQJ8twKpivTFBFQEoCRCdkZvZbulBPDaBXgyF07J6JzSbirL8Zv0PRD6HNZQ6_eezG4iPIETJGQW2_t9TXWa7SCTx8iufZ0Rno9kuosNWHUIK8qomJptlANC5lv6BcCkDvHUtx8k2yWw/s400/DSC_4650.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325413132374304226" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1bHE1EAx4YEazH_DzuqaPn6_UcZB-Ika5CO9ly4TZz4JfWRBPJsAy0ESeaAYxtOMrc0LTVqOjrmkQwQjOKTwSUMJG-4rjKX2PNr6RcBKLhQZeljWvbQ0LmDwcrHmYHkJtpLyOG-4fxQ/s1600-h/DSC_4691.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1bHE1EAx4YEazH_DzuqaPn6_UcZB-Ika5CO9ly4TZz4JfWRBPJsAy0ESeaAYxtOMrc0LTVqOjrmkQwQjOKTwSUMJG-4rjKX2PNr6RcBKLhQZeljWvbQ0LmDwcrHmYHkJtpLyOG-4fxQ/s400/DSC_4691.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325413122879313282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-fr21rWBHb-WuUCWg0_oIpDItNIAWo2vzqNFLGH48pgTSObrRD5SIBHGEL0rL5OhI0q8wWGn7VFneNYNckdI6Q5V7oioJ55XmIYbyjN8RAxt7oKU3kxhyo4j0DN68PG1bh8h2xjW2bQ/s1600-h/DSC_4673.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-fr21rWBHb-WuUCWg0_oIpDItNIAWo2vzqNFLGH48pgTSObrRD5SIBHGEL0rL5OhI0q8wWGn7VFneNYNckdI6Q5V7oioJ55XmIYbyjN8RAxt7oKU3kxhyo4j0DN68PG1bh8h2xjW2bQ/s400/DSC_4673.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325413128879193842" /></a><br />If you've been following my blog since the <a href="http://treesifyouplease.blogspot.com/2007/04/we-must-begin-somewhere.html">beginning</a>, you may know that I have sort of a "thing" for fluffy, flowery trees. But, I mean, really. Who doesn't? I love them. SO...imagine my excitement when I discovered that I actually live on a street of flowering trees! They're right outside my door! This is my first spring in this neighborhood (indeed, in this city) and here I am. Right in the midst of a delightful "white way of delight." (anyone get that reference?) What a perfect city street to call home. Would anyone like to come visit?<br /><br />I went away for the weekend. And came back. And here they are. Bursting with flowery life. LOVE IT. I think if I knew more about trees, I might have known these were the flowering sort, and then I may not have been quite as surprised when they bloomed. But. I like it this way. Ignorance is bliss.<br /><br />PS. More flowery fluffy tree posts to come...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oq8_5tx2jfr71mQayifan4XhsT9qA2eKlyUV_pJiROL-fH_RWvx_FJJK7TNX8QvAHlP8X7s1qRIdhOhmCz_RcHYW34fAPEXzSJ7uwUbpWneasEqfa6ZblOejbQCx3obHFMe7D5W5tOk/s1600-h/DSC_4678a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oq8_5tx2jfr71mQayifan4XhsT9qA2eKlyUV_pJiROL-fH_RWvx_FJJK7TNX8QvAHlP8X7s1qRIdhOhmCz_RcHYW34fAPEXzSJ7uwUbpWneasEqfa6ZblOejbQCx3obHFMe7D5W5tOk/s400/DSC_4678a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325418229016841442" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLAx8lpl2yF-3J45TMoUJ9dX6lQ11HozwkIkyim_YFT1wCtPvuYBuD0MuJjP0ZftIAOiCWUhg4ydLSKcJKGbBx5mSQRUQL_rTSahD6GAT9fQaMmICcUefGpu-FxEZocZ5_49IbBpN1Ik/s1600-h/DSC_4626a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLAx8lpl2yF-3J45TMoUJ9dX6lQ11HozwkIkyim_YFT1wCtPvuYBuD0MuJjP0ZftIAOiCWUhg4ydLSKcJKGbBx5mSQRUQL_rTSahD6GAT9fQaMmICcUefGpu-FxEZocZ5_49IbBpN1Ik/s400/DSC_4626a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325424105497187202" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-81614285208109085132009-03-31T23:46:00.006-04:002009-04-16T19:15:46.578-04:00Spring!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUDxEiBhHdzjdcc74-frMfzp2X-gHJ22N92bHBo674Pae_u4Qj2FbLxqx9RJvbheMIZVc-oJ8yw-lwBrb8bt7Jh2QkHSynkZTLYBNaevAouODlXUY-NPx0R_qlT6CoJRGY_Gpwp6GKIM/s1600-h/IMG_0252.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUDxEiBhHdzjdcc74-frMfzp2X-gHJ22N92bHBo674Pae_u4Qj2FbLxqx9RJvbheMIZVc-oJ8yw-lwBrb8bt7Jh2QkHSynkZTLYBNaevAouODlXUY-NPx0R_qlT6CoJRGY_Gpwp6GKIM/s400/IMG_0252.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319564880704823042" /></a><br /><br />I love LOVE when spring is in the air. As it was today. Daffodils are popping up in the forest and there are flowers on trees! Flowering trees are something to smile about.<br /><br />Today I just soaked it all in for myself. Perhaps tomorrow I'll get out there and snap some more photos.Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-1250828178024486402009-02-09T15:10:00.004-05:002009-02-09T15:29:25.666-05:00New Year of the Trees<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgos3c6OlYT_HFN-DZb3g_dz8YUINKLl1SJWZWfhyrayaPbm3oCDAnBW4LMUmw-TELxoOfKlhV3dLHQMYP4Z1Rvs4P4FALW-UUPHc11ueStSw8PG_RgH4fO8_d5LW0yZ6z27qEtqp8ZZp0/s1600-h/DSC_0069.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgos3c6OlYT_HFN-DZb3g_dz8YUINKLl1SJWZWfhyrayaPbm3oCDAnBW4LMUmw-TELxoOfKlhV3dLHQMYP4Z1Rvs4P4FALW-UUPHc11ueStSw8PG_RgH4fO8_d5LW0yZ6z27qEtqp8ZZp0/s320/DSC_0069.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300895932108618962" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MIWH1WGlgKTPJr6PYoEqnSjUh4-uGF9vrvRyQ9qtTl9e9QVjAjgtAumx-TrXxsv8gqQLFAy7r8PZfyWkWz1VflnXvsxHVFIpDqHZCv4_BPuuX87tI2IeeYgrQsyPS_VlMlctdHdMl4M/s1600-h/DSC_0071.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MIWH1WGlgKTPJr6PYoEqnSjUh4-uGF9vrvRyQ9qtTl9e9QVjAjgtAumx-TrXxsv8gqQLFAy7r8PZfyWkWz1VflnXvsxHVFIpDqHZCv4_BPuuX87tI2IeeYgrQsyPS_VlMlctdHdMl4M/s320/DSC_0071.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300895937400786434" /></a><br />I am not Jewish. I know almost nothing about most Jewish holidays. But in an effort to at least be aware of them, I've added the Jewish Holidays public calendar to my Google calendar which is how I discovered that today is the New Year of the Trees! I did very little research, but did learn that it is customary to eat fruit and nuts (which I will now do) and to plant trees. I've no place to plant a tree, but I will instead try to be particularly aware of trees today, on their new year. Happy New Year!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8h9nFiXaiMH5Y5NG8W5eBuoQM52K-2vv3m8ZSj8kkuwtpVvlGPSJqiplHS2vFNMAa3FqZEBlDaxSWc6R9idio4hNyk0DwUAAH9a7nfX8czUgbMXxxn_df5c9DB7ZD8C4lnHognybhXXI/s1600-h/DSC_0070.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8h9nFiXaiMH5Y5NG8W5eBuoQM52K-2vv3m8ZSj8kkuwtpVvlGPSJqiplHS2vFNMAa3FqZEBlDaxSWc6R9idio4hNyk0DwUAAH9a7nfX8czUgbMXxxn_df5c9DB7ZD8C4lnHognybhXXI/s320/DSC_0070.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300895934415779874" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989480560361397534.post-56214007404631794662009-01-19T00:09:00.006-05:002009-04-16T19:16:10.241-04:00Best state quartersWhile rummaging through a bowl of change to find laundry quarters the other day, I was pleased to see a large oak tree on the back of the Connecticut state quarter. This piqued my curiosity as to how many of our 50 state quarters are graced with the presence of trees. Here are the winners. Trees! You can view the rest of the 50 U.S. state quarters <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_State_Quarters">here</a>. (Granted, there are a couple other states with trees in the background – Colorado, for one – but I was much more impressed with the prominence trees were given on these four).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmPnqIiJuaTUvudzayaUtrF70JVm7hKbvJi89TEu2XJX6BxFUCZYx8cnYTS6ow3oprzeiPAyAfv-P1fzyk4T495fi5Mr4U4yAjrZYVCVX20XzL_KydSc1iCe1Nbi5lmPdcZtd346DpKI/s1600-h/Connecticut_quarter,_reverse_side,_1999.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmPnqIiJuaTUvudzayaUtrF70JVm7hKbvJi89TEu2XJX6BxFUCZYx8cnYTS6ow3oprzeiPAyAfv-P1fzyk4T495fi5Mr4U4yAjrZYVCVX20XzL_KydSc1iCe1Nbi5lmPdcZtd346DpKI/s320/Connecticut_quarter,_reverse_side,_1999.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292873343244833538" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16rA4I_eo0aQGsrB2N0L3PoBR1m9bEskiH9pDG7gsvOmI4DFy7k5JfxY9MEcgYVirS9tXuXasjXXdnOMmW0tQgz73ntCX5oO73JVDuVNZThnEwhb7Zc06VwWb7zMW4CGOuSFXwl8gnMM/s1600-h/2000_SC_Proof.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16rA4I_eo0aQGsrB2N0L3PoBR1m9bEskiH9pDG7gsvOmI4DFy7k5JfxY9MEcgYVirS9tXuXasjXXdnOMmW0tQgz73ntCX5oO73JVDuVNZThnEwhb7Zc06VwWb7zMW4CGOuSFXwl8gnMM/s320/2000_SC_Proof.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292873815293394562" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlQIvM9H5X5XTvU2wC7CIYs59pdkJ_Eia01qkxVA4SEpKLL8EfJfaSBVn5hTdi4XH01WXRX2U51mBfA2g9Od8Q5p9iqitHDy4HW3YCQB7VT278bopglw_dag5EUUEk2D8TOgJE3OPG58/s1600-h/2001_VT_Proof.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlQIvM9H5X5XTvU2wC7CIYs59pdkJ_Eia01qkxVA4SEpKLL8EfJfaSBVn5hTdi4XH01WXRX2U51mBfA2g9Od8Q5p9iqitHDy4HW3YCQB7VT278bopglw_dag5EUUEk2D8TOgJE3OPG58/s320/2001_VT_Proof.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292873789710162914" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4eehRHVugdzOm8rZGeM_lrqoQgEXWcANh-n_gD0wJC40HukT1MnJQQl9QTNAKQ1uk6DrrQZTB1pDJV8R4nXH97ub8HfT0MFXP0o_rJQBrT5qwjRCnHviX10EasNLvjtzX5AFDOPgqrQ/s1600-h/2005_OR_Proof.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 319px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4eehRHVugdzOm8rZGeM_lrqoQgEXWcANh-n_gD0wJC40HukT1MnJQQl9QTNAKQ1uk6DrrQZTB1pDJV8R4nXH97ub8HfT0MFXP0o_rJQBrT5qwjRCnHviX10EasNLvjtzX5AFDOPgqrQ/s320/2005_OR_Proof.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292873971140606498" /></a>Karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17092754233977106196noreply@blogger.com1