I have a crow habit. I know them: Crow, Crowie, and Croatia. There are more but I can’t remember their names. Some have asked me to paint them as they see themselves. It’s hard to describe but they don’t see themselves like we see them. They can be oversized black squares of energy that talk… Continue reading Crow habit
Category: trees
Social Hermit
I wrote about trees for a while- five articles: pacific yew, gingko, cottonwood, madrone, myrtle wood. It’s hard to write about trees without getting religious. They simply embody holy elements and essence without doing anything. My neighbor’s tree consistently pours out gallons of sweet apples and they do absolutely nothing for it. They always give… Continue reading Social Hermit
Myrtlewood
At a low point during the Great Depression, banks closed. When that happened, people got creative with money. North Bend, Oregon, got really creative. In 1933, they made a tree into wooden coins to use for money. Specifically, they made $1, $2, $5, $10 wooden coins out of myrtlewood. Other towns were more traditional and… Continue reading Myrtlewood
Madrone
Touch the bark of a madrone tree sometime. Put your whole hand on it, skin to skin. The tree’s covering is a blend of copper and green. The copper peels, the green stays. If you are in the United States, it’s called madrone, possibly madrona. If you are in Canada, it goes by Arbutus. In… Continue reading Madrone
The Yew
(Published in Take Root magazine, Winter 2020) The Pacific Yew is a quiet, understated tree. In fact, it is considered an “understory” tree. It doesn’t get that tall and is beneath what are called “overstory” trees (the tall ones). Maybe you are reading the recent novel about trees, The Overstory, by Richard Powers. Throughout history… Continue reading The Yew
Wild Iris Ridge
Half the group waited at the wrong trailhead. After an hour of walking, we found the group we were looking for. Wild iris ridge opened in 2017 and is part of Eugene’s ridgeline trail system (though not actually connected). Many large oaks, madrone clusters, and bushels of poison oak decorate the landscape. The views are… Continue reading Wild Iris Ridge
Cottonwood trees
Cottonwood trees are the fastest growing hardwood tree in North America. The eastern cottonwood is Nebraska’s state tree. The black cottonwood is what we see around here. Black cottonwoods range from southeast Alaska down to Baja California, from the Pacific Northwest to the Dakotas. They usually grow along rivers and streams, avoiding dry ground. Cottonwood… Continue reading Cottonwood trees