Tuesday with Alfie

[whippoorbill]

back to Bear Swamp

One more summer outing for Alfie and me today. We stayed close to home again, planning on an easy hike up a railroad grade near the Bear Swamp. But we found a lost trail that entered the swamp and were lured in.

Best season for 'shrooms in memory.

Sweetbay magnolia

Alfie spins his way out of a hole.

crossing a small stream tributary on the trail.

this one caused an involuntary "wow!"

braking for break

crossing Cedar Creek

cash-for-clunkers eligible, if you can get it out

the return

dreamtime return

photographer gets a little wobbly

the shyest turtle in the swamp

 

[Teegate]

Nice old truck! The spinning photo is great, and as always turtles are the best.

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

Dream time return is very well done Bill. The photo pulls you in.

Was that little stream the one we crossed Al? Looks like it.

No chigs?

 

[manumuskin]

Dream time return is very well done Bill. The photo pulls you in.

Was that little stream the one we crossed Al? Looks like it.

No chigs?

actually Bob we were in bear swamp east about three miles east of where we were that day. also a nice swamp but without the monster trees but the streams are even nicer in the east swamp but not as large of open areas.

I'm quite disappointed to see Bill cut out part of the first pic and fuzzed it.he truly is lacking in courage.
Alfie

ps we were permanone sprayed so no chiggers.otherwise I'm sure we would be full of em.very high chigger grass all down the trail

 

[oji]

I'm quite disappointed to see Bill cut out part of the first pic and fuzzed it.he truly is lacking in courage.
Alfie

What were you watering the grass? Whip always seems to bring out your best features in his pictures. BTW I like your signature poem, but it sounds like you have surrendered. Here are some words of encouragement.

 

[glowordz]

You two make such cool discoveries! Love the incredible liquid jewel tones of the water shots. And the spinning Alfie. And the ruffled apricot fungi. That turtle--the solemn gaze makes me feel like writing a story about a turtle who has this injured leg, see, and . . . never mind.

Glo

 

[whippoorbill]

Freed, my little mermaid -- these are for you -- thanks for finding the tree. More to be done here, in better light. Hoping the shelves remain strong until Monday.

Whip

 

[manumuskin]

it appears as if you were out there in the dark by yerself???? are you now that independant that you can brave the forest primeveal at night without Alfie for protection? How many times have i morphed into Alfreda and beat off assailants with a high heeled hip wader for you? I hope you know what yer doing out there alone at night.
Alfie

 

[whippoorbill]

monday's shelves

sorry about the soft focus, but the shooter prefers it this way

first tree I ever bowed down to, when walking away

tanks, freed

 

[manumuskin]

they were showing signs of yellowing and drying up today.
hey whip i notcied today they have a sign by an american chestnut out there.i had never seen a chestnut before,at least not in jersey.they have leaves that look exactly like our chestnut oakes but their bark is smooth like a beech only darker.it's a small tree about as thick as my wrist.the blight kills em before they ever reach the age of 30 but it only kills above ground level so the stumps can keep sprouting.if facing north up the main trail immediately take the small one to the right(foot trail) and about a hundred yards or so look for the sign about 30 ft off trail to the left.there is an american chectnut tree.totally awesome!

 

[Teegate]

You may want to view these two recent video’s taken by Barry from the Ghost Town site. The first one shows where he found Bald Cypress trees right by the Pleasant Mills Church, and the second one shows Hemlock trees that have just been cut down in the cemetery itself.







Guy

 

[manumuskin]

thanks guy,
i birds eyed that little vernal pond and can almost pick out the cypress foliage.there used to be one along the maurice river by the mauricetown bridge my friends dad put there.he stuck a cypress pole in the mud and it sprouted.it lived about 10 years and a bad freeze piled ice across the river and the tide movement girdled the bark off it and killed it.the stump is four ft high and still there.
Al

 

[LARGO]

Interesting links and nice of him to share, thank you Guy. It helps one to attempt to really "notice" what's out there and what is going on around them. Nature "existing" right before your eyes.
One can learn from even a little low budget youtube bit.

Seeing L.I.P. lurking about in those links was no treat though. To each his own I suppose. I viewed some things to remind myself of how screwed he really is.
(L.I.P., not Barry)

g.

 

[Teegate]

I was tipped off to this today. This came from the summer/fall edition of the 1979 Batsto Citizens Gazette. The surveyor most likely was Elisa Wright who I mentioned in my Augustus Richard's Canal article.

Guy

 

[glowordz]

monday's shelves

To me, this amazing tree resembles a living totem pole, each vibrant shelf differing from the next, perhaps each with its own story. The textures and colors of the close-ups are almost toothsome . . . why do I keep thinking of chapatti and pita and naan?

And the soft-focus, yes! I like this treatment because it takes a person past the hard edges of reality into the wonderland of "what if?" . . .

Thanks again, Whip.

Glo

 

[bobpbx]

And the soft-focus, yes! I like this treatment because it takes a person past the hard edges of reality into the wonderland of "what if?" . . .

I dig what you're saying. Good pot does that too.

 

[bobpbx]

hey whip i notcied today they have a sign by an american chestnut out there.i had never seen a chestnut before,at least not in jersey.they have leaves that look exactly like our chestnut oakes but their bark is smooth like a beech only darker.it's a small tree about as thick as my wrist.the blight kills em before they ever reach the age of 30 but it only kills above ground level so the stumps can keep sprouting.if facing north up the main trail immediately take the small one to the right(foot trail) and about a hundred yards or so look for the sign about 30 ft off trail to the left.there is an american chectnut tree.totally awesome!

That reminds me Al. Check this out. Sunday I'm hunting plants behind the church in Whiting where they've cleared some trees for houses and I come across this. This too is Chestnut I believe; American Chestnut. This shoot from the remnant is huge, at least 5" in diameter lower down the trunk.

I've seen a couple on an old farm near the Forked River Mountains......but not this robust.

 

[manumuskin]

yes Bob that looks like chestnut to me.I'd have loved to see what the old monsters looked like.I hear their breeding hybrids between our american variety and an asian variety that is more blight resistant in hopes of planting them and bringing a slightly different chestnut back to the deciduous forests of America.I know Chainas forest are remarkably similar to our appalachian hardwood forest and i believe the blight cam from there so it would stand to reason their trees would have developed more of an immunity to it then ours.I guess it's tree smallpox.I will be keeping a watch on the tree down here for signs of blight once i read up on it and see what the signs are.
Al

 

[whippoorbill]

I like this treatment because it takes a person past the hard edges of reality into the wonderland of "what if?" . . .
Glo

Glo ... this batch I dedicate to you, and to your wonderful way with words. I believe these fungi are called hen-of-the-woods. She's growing just outside our front door.

What a year for beauty of this nature.

 

[whippoorbill]

sunday's hen