The Lorax (and his Truffula trees)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:



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...
"grickle grass...grickle grass...street of the lifted lorax...grickle grass...grickle grass...somebody lifted the lorax away..."

I can't stop singing it.

And now go plant a tree!

Update: if you're having trouble with the video, you can view it here.

Christmas in May June July!

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)...
...

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.

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.

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.

Turns out there is a North Carolina Christmas Tree Association (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, here, 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.

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.




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):

Pink trees

If you're into PINK trees (which is oh so Dr. Seuss-like), I hope you got a chance to check out Hanami 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!

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 BBG 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.)

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.

I used to hate HATE pink, I admit. And too much pink still makes me cringe. But on fluffy trees, it's bliss...

Fluffy Trees!

If you've been following my blog since the beginning, 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?

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.

PS. More flowery fluffy tree posts to come...

Spring!

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.

Today I just soaked it all in for myself. Perhaps tomorrow I'll get out there and snap some more photos.

New Year of the Trees

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!

Best state quarters

While 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 here. (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).

Bonsai - the smallest trees of the new year

Have any of you noticed that I've never posted about bonsai? How can this be? I think I was waiting for the perfect bonsai situation to present itself, which it did – this past weekend at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Though, from the looks of the photos on their site, I'll have to visit again in April and again in the fall. Even bonsai trees bloom in the spring and change colors in autumn!

What's not to love about bonsai?
1) they are miniature
2) they are works of art
3) they are trees
Plus, they usually come in cool ceramic pots and frequently have tufts of spongy moss growing at the base.

They are beautiful. And cute! Bonsai are so exquisitely manicured and pruned so that some of these less-than-two-feet-tall little trees are actually over 100 years old. It's really quite amazing. Looking closely at a bonsai, I sometimes wish I were the size of a fairy so I could sit underneath one of them and take a nap. That moss would be so soft! bonsai surely must be the smallest trees of their kind in the world.

"Bonsai" refers to little trees in pots...and the art to coaxing a tree to age without growing big has to do with trimming both the leaves and roots. But there is more than just careful clipping involved: Bonsai "demands a spiritual involvement" by the artist. Julian Velasco, curator of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden bonsai collection, says that "the stronger the connection between artist and tree, the more the artist can bring out in that particular tree." The creator has a very intentional role, using wire to gently guide the trees into position.

There's much more to be said and learned about bonsai, but for now let's just enjoy them as works of art, shall we?

final trees of 2008

My dear friends. I've let time get away from me once again. I'm going to stop apologizing for it, starting now. It seems inevitable that I will have huge lapses in posting from time to time. I still love trees. It's a new year.

Christmas in the city was delectable. Holiday cheer, lights, spice cookies and trees! I was pleasantly surprised by the tree in Bryant park - I think I preferred it to (dare I say it) "The Tree" at Rockefeller. Of course, our own little Christmas "tree" was more of a bush this year, as all things "household" have had to downsize considerably. I made tree cookies this year. There's a first time for everything.

Here's to the best year yet.

Green-Wood

OK, I discovered the absolute Mecca of amazing trees and it's completely exciting. Seriously, this is my new favorite 478 acres ever. It took a couple months for us to get around to visiting Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, but once we did, we instantly realized we'd found one of the most beautiful spots in Brooklyn. Perfect for walking, thinking, playing guitar, writing, drawing, taking photographs, and ghost hunting. (note the charming funereal piano interludes when you visit their Web site).

I do believe there may be enough trees to keep me happy forever.