Now would not be a good time to be canoeing down the river. But even when the river is lower, the abundance of trees that fall into it can make navigation a challenge.
My Great Basin Wildlife Safari
1 week ago
This blog reports events and interesting tidbits from Rensselaer, Indiana and the surrounding area.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The tree in the river
At the west end of Weston Cemetery and near the west end of Bicentennial Park, there is a large silver maple tree that has fallen across the Iroquois river. I expected it to be more of a dam than it seems to be--the water level below the blockage seems to be only a inch or two lower than the water level above. However, if we were having a really serious flood rather than a minor one, that extra inch or two might be a problem.
Now would not be a good time to be canoeing down the river. But even when the river is lower, the abundance of trees that fall into it can make navigation a challenge.
Now would not be a good time to be canoeing down the river. But even when the river is lower, the abundance of trees that fall into it can make navigation a challenge.
Christmas tree week: tree of life
Some of the evergreen trees are hard to identify. The spruce and the hemlock and the firs all have needles that look pretty much alike. But there are some that are distinctive, and those are the ones I can recognize. One of those is white cedar or arborvitae--tree of life.
Mostly they are grown as shrubs, and they are often pruned. But they also grow to be small trees, and here is an example by the Delos Thompson House on Front Street. There are a couple others in the neighborhood.
There are larger examples in the oldest part of Weston Cemetery. The freezing rain of December 19 did a lot of damage to one of these fine old trees, and it may not not survive.
I think the row of trees at Brookside park that is just to the west of the running track is arborvitae. Here they are after the same freezing rain. (Yes, I did take a lot of pictures after the ice came.)
Here is a close up. I guess it does not help much with identification, but I thought it was a pretty picture and that was reason enough to include it.
I found another row of them near Merritt and McKinley that had considerable damage from the ice.
The white cedar is native to extreme northeast Indiana, but you probably will see only planted specimens. (It is not sold commercially as a Christmas tree, so maybe I am cheating a little to include it this week. I am sure many outdoor white cedars are decorated with lights, so maybe I can justify including it with that use.)
Mostly they are grown as shrubs, and they are often pruned. But they also grow to be small trees, and here is an example by the Delos Thompson House on Front Street. There are a couple others in the neighborhood.
There are larger examples in the oldest part of Weston Cemetery. The freezing rain of December 19 did a lot of damage to one of these fine old trees, and it may not not survive.
I think the row of trees at Brookside park that is just to the west of the running track is arborvitae. Here they are after the same freezing rain. (Yes, I did take a lot of pictures after the ice came.)
Here is a close up. I guess it does not help much with identification, but I thought it was a pretty picture and that was reason enough to include it.
I found another row of them near Merritt and McKinley that had considerable damage from the ice.
The white cedar is native to extreme northeast Indiana, but you probably will see only planted specimens. (It is not sold commercially as a Christmas tree, so maybe I am cheating a little to include it this week. I am sure many outdoor white cedars are decorated with lights, so maybe I can justify including it with that use.)
Monday, December 29, 2008
Christmas tree week: Colorado spruce
This continues Christmas tree week on this blog, which started yesterday with the Norway spruce.
The Colorado Spruce, often called the blue spruce, is probably the most common evergreen you will see in Rensselaer, though most of them are not very big. It is not native to Indiana--as its name suggests, it comes from the Rocky Mountains. The biggest one I have seen in Rensselaer is at the corner of Jay and Monnett. There are hundreds of smaller versions around town. Usually the bluish tint to its needles makes it very easy to identify.
The cones of the blue spruce are high on the tree. In the picture below, the two cones that are shown completely are blue spruce. The bottom of the large cone on the left is Norway spruce. Notice that it is smoother than and also larger than the cones of the blue spruce. Here is a site that has cone identification for some of the trees we have. And if you really want to get thorough with conifers, here is a good site.
Yes, the blue spruce is used as a Christmas tree.
Update
On the Friday after Christmas, while I was out of town on an unexpected trip, Rensselaer had severe storms that toppled a number of trees. One of the trees down was a medium-sized blue spruce on Bunkum road just opposite Weston Cemetery. Until it is cut up, it gives an excellent look at a Colorado Blue Spruce.
The Colorado Spruce, often called the blue spruce, is probably the most common evergreen you will see in Rensselaer, though most of them are not very big. It is not native to Indiana--as its name suggests, it comes from the Rocky Mountains. The biggest one I have seen in Rensselaer is at the corner of Jay and Monnett. There are hundreds of smaller versions around town. Usually the bluish tint to its needles makes it very easy to identify.
The cones of the blue spruce are high on the tree. In the picture below, the two cones that are shown completely are blue spruce. The bottom of the large cone on the left is Norway spruce. Notice that it is smoother than and also larger than the cones of the blue spruce. Here is a site that has cone identification for some of the trees we have. And if you really want to get thorough with conifers, here is a good site.
Yes, the blue spruce is used as a Christmas tree.Update
On the Friday after Christmas, while I was out of town on an unexpected trip, Rensselaer had severe storms that toppled a number of trees. One of the trees down was a medium-sized blue spruce on Bunkum road just opposite Weston Cemetery. Until it is cut up, it gives an excellent look at a Colorado Blue Spruce.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Icy Christmas
On Christmas morning a small ice rink had formed on the Susan lot next to St. Augustine School. It was no surprise that a couple of youngsters found the ice enticing and decided to play on it.
And they found that ice is just as slippery this year as it was last year and the year before.
The ice on the Susan lot and on the city streets is gone now, part of the flood water. The gaging station on the Iroquois River says the river is above flood stage.
And they found that ice is just as slippery this year as it was last year and the year before.
The ice on the Susan lot and on the city streets is gone now, part of the flood water. The gaging station on the Iroquois River says the river is above flood stage.
Christmas tree week: Norway spruce
This week I decided to write about trees that are used or maybe could be used as Christmas trees. I have already written about the eastern white pine. But there are other trees around Rensselaer that are grown for that purpose. In addition, winter is a good time to identify the conifers, while it is not such a good time to identify most non-conifers. We start with one of the most common of the conifers, the Norway spruce.
The Norway spruce is not native to Indiana. In fact, as the name suggests, it is not even native to the U.S., but it is widely planted both as a city tree and in forests. It is one of the most common evergreens in Rensselaer. There a number of very large trees, such as this one on the corner of College and Jackson.
Two things help identify this tree. One is the very large cones, which are three or four inches long. The other is the dropping branches on the older trees.
The Norway spruce is not native to Indiana. In fact, as the name suggests, it is not even native to the U.S., but it is widely planted both as a city tree and in forests. It is one of the most common evergreens in Rensselaer. There a number of very large trees, such as this one on the corner of College and Jackson.
Two things help identify this tree. One is the very large cones, which are three or four inches long. The other is the dropping branches on the older trees.
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