Vinny and Nina wanted to get a Christmas tree yesterday, so they went out and chose a young balsam from our land. It's nice to not have to go too far to find a nice tree, and not to have to pay $30 or more for one.
Sunday, December 09, 2012
Testing Blogger's new iPad app
In my never ending quest for the ideal way to blog from the iPad (Computer? I believe we have one of those, but I rarely see it!), I found an upgrade for Blogger's own app, which was difficult to use before. I'm not seeing options to change photo size, but then again the Blogger app did not have that before.
Vinny and Nina wanted to get a Christmas tree yesterday, so they went out and chose a young balsam from our land. It's nice to not have to go too far to find a nice tree, and not to have to pay $30 or more for one.
Vinny and Nina wanted to get a Christmas tree yesterday, so they went out and chose a young balsam from our land. It's nice to not have to go too far to find a nice tree, and not to have to pay $30 or more for one.
Sunday, December 02, 2012
In praise of big pines
Longtime readers of Sand Creek Almanac probably know that my land has many white pines ranging in age from seedlings to old growth. This recent post shows a nice view of part of the pine forest. The old growth pines were a big part of our decision to buy this land in 1994. I still enjoy the voice of the wind as it whispers through the high boughs.
In the 1890's, at the height of the pine logging boom in Minnesota, this land was the site of a logging railroad siding, most likely with some structures, and possibly a logging camp. While the logging companies managed to do a remarkably thorough job in removing the old growth pines and permanently altering the landscape, loggers tended to leave a few big pines at camp and operational sites. A 1939 aerial photo of this land shows a dramatically cleared landscape, but a few large white pines are clearly visible. I have often wondered how long those pines had been standing before the logging era, and how old the largest pines are today.
A few weeks ago, during deer hunting season, Vinny wanted me to come out and see a large white pine he had found while scouting for deer sign. The pine is at the southern border of our 40 acres, and an old strand of barbed wire still meanders among the trees, some of which have completely grown around it. I do not make it to this part of the property as often as I should.
The sky was overcast, not good lighting for a photo, especially one taken with an iPhone, but if you look closely you can see my 6'2 son up in the branches of this massive tree. I knew there were giants here, and I had probably seen this one, but only that day did I realize this was probably the largest. It is still a picture of health, with a full crown and thick growth of soft green needles.
Over Thanksgiving weekend I borrowed a flexible tape measure from work. I had found a formula online for estimating the age of a white pine based on its diameter. The circumference of this tree measured a full 11 feet, which gives it a diameter of 42 inches. Multiply this by the "growth factor" of 5 for this species, and you get...
210 years.
Wow. I knew this tree, and several others were old, but I had never quite grasped the idea that this tree began its life around the year 1800, 58 years before Minnesota became a state, 90 years before the logging railroad came through, roughly 170 years before I was born.
I have a great respect for these elders, who have stood for generations, bearing quiet witness to the changes our civilization has brought upon the land.
In the 1890's, at the height of the pine logging boom in Minnesota, this land was the site of a logging railroad siding, most likely with some structures, and possibly a logging camp. While the logging companies managed to do a remarkably thorough job in removing the old growth pines and permanently altering the landscape, loggers tended to leave a few big pines at camp and operational sites. A 1939 aerial photo of this land shows a dramatically cleared landscape, but a few large white pines are clearly visible. I have often wondered how long those pines had been standing before the logging era, and how old the largest pines are today.
A few weeks ago, during deer hunting season, Vinny wanted me to come out and see a large white pine he had found while scouting for deer sign. The pine is at the southern border of our 40 acres, and an old strand of barbed wire still meanders among the trees, some of which have completely grown around it. I do not make it to this part of the property as often as I should.
The sky was overcast, not good lighting for a photo, especially one taken with an iPhone, but if you look closely you can see my 6'2 son up in the branches of this massive tree. I knew there were giants here, and I had probably seen this one, but only that day did I realize this was probably the largest. It is still a picture of health, with a full crown and thick growth of soft green needles.
Over Thanksgiving weekend I borrowed a flexible tape measure from work. I had found a formula online for estimating the age of a white pine based on its diameter. The circumference of this tree measured a full 11 feet, which gives it a diameter of 42 inches. Multiply this by the "growth factor" of 5 for this species, and you get...
210 years.
Wow. I knew this tree, and several others were old, but I had never quite grasped the idea that this tree began its life around the year 1800, 58 years before Minnesota became a state, 90 years before the logging railroad came through, roughly 170 years before I was born.
I have a great respect for these elders, who have stood for generations, bearing quiet witness to the changes our civilization has brought upon the land.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)