Marc,
Sounds good. We can stay in touch on the list. BTW, have you communicated with Andrew Joslin of Jamaica Plains. Andrew is one of the arboreal Ents. Gotta get him out this way again to climb a few more of the Mohawk pines that I am having trouble measuring from the ground because of nested crowns. The laser returns are almost always from the tips of outstretched branches that mask the true top farther into the crown. When the accuracy limits of the equipment under controlled conditions plus the unpredictable patterns of long vs short shots due to lighting are considered, the range of ground-based measurement results is +/- 2.0 feet. That error range precludes me from firmly proclaiming the John Brown Tree (the Narragansett Chief, not the abolitionist) a confirmed 160-footer. Bummer! Please let us know when you and your wife become parents again so all us Ents can celebrate with you. Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marcboston" <[email protected]> To: "ENTSTrees" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 7:38:15 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [ENTS] Re: ordinary versus extraordinary forests Yes Bob, I definitely want to hook up with you to check out the Dunbar grove! I would love to set a date with you today but my wife and I are expecting our 2nd any day now. Perhaps this fall once the dust has settled we can meet. I know I have said this before but the last few years have been crazy with work, kids and the economy meltdown. That said I really appreciate the invite and will say YES but just not sure when. In the meantime, I will keep checking out your posts. If you are ever in the Metro West section of Mass, I want you to check out my white oak. Not as stately as the Granby Oak but a very nice specimen. There are a few trees of interest here (White Oak and Sycamore), not record breakers but good representatives to their species. I would like to get your take on how old you think they would be. On Aug 19, 12:10 pm, [email protected] wrote: > Don, Marc, et al: > > Here are six more images of Dunbar. > > Of late, I have been trying to capture the artistry encountered by the yellow > birch-rock interfaces that I see as well as photographically explore the > intricate root structures of both small and large birches. The first three > images speak to this mission. > > Yellow birches do things with their roots that I don't commonly see with the > other species in the Berkshire woodlands. I have come to accept the yellow > birch as a consummate forest architect. Large birches stay upright in boulder > fields for two and sometimes as much as four centuries, all-the-while meeting > their challenge in artistically compelling ways. Everyone is entranced who > comes face to face with an ancient yellow birch extending its Octopus-like > roots around a Volkswagen-sized boulder. What about the old birches is it > that is so appealing to us Ents? Ed? Don? Beth? Others? > > Naturally, I have to include at least one big tree photo in every submission. > Image #4 gives us a peek at a big white pine that has gone nameless. I think > Roland first asked me about it. I sheepishly admitted to having previously > blown it off because it didn't meet the height criteria I was applying at the > time. I've since seen the light. In the image, Roland and Tanya are > stretching as far as they can and Monica is filling the remaining gap with a > foot and a half span of her hand and forearm. Why this method? I had lost my > D-Tape (still stuck in the aspen?) so I couldn't get the big pine's CBH, but > it is close to 12.0 feet. In July of 2000, I measured that pine and got 11.6 > feet and 125.5 feet in height. My guess is that now it is at least 130 feet > tall and 11.9 feet around, possibly 12.0. That would make sense - appealing > to the growth rates of other huge field pines in lower Dunbar. Place your > bets, folks. Incidentally, there are three other white pines in the vicinity > with girths of 12 feet or more. Two are quite tall (Grandfather and Thoreau). > The other has lost its top and is short (106.0 feet). I consider 106 feet to > be very short for a white pine. Am I spoiled or what? > > Image #5 returns to the imaginative assortment of rocks and trees that one > encounters throughout the forests in the Deerfield Gorge. Image #6 reinforces > the rock-forest theme. The dark monolithic form in the center of the image > has the shape of a Native American Manitou stone. I doubt that it served that > special purpose because of its location, but I could be wrong. > > Those who discover the hidden corners of Dunbar fall in love with the big > rocks and the old yellow birches. If one is inclined to believe in woodland > spirits, this is the place to make their acquaintance. Although being > predominantly of scientific persuasion, I especially enjoy sharing Dunbar > with people who relate to the magic of the elfin haunts through their > spiritual convictions. These gentle souls have the capacity to experience a > level of forest appreciation that broadens my own and gives me pause to > contemplate the essence of energy forms other than our own. Regardless of > whether one approaches special woodland haunts from a mythological > perspective or through solemnly held spiritual beliefs, the potency of the > magic of the forests is immeasurably strengthened. At least, that is my > observation and personal experience. > > Marc, > > You've got to see Dunbar. I'd be happy to take you to the big trees, share > the high-canopy old growth areas, explore the hidden corners with the > tree-rock sculptures, etc. Sound like something you'd like to do? Just say > the word. The invitation is open to all Ents. > > I'll close by repeating some of Monroe SF's forest and tree superlatives, > most of which are contributed by the Dunbar area. > > 1. Largest single-stemmed white pine modeled in Massachusetts (Grandfather > Pine at 970+ cubes), > 2. One of two Massachusetts sites to have a tree measured to 160 feet in > height (Thoreau Pine at 160.2 feet), > 3. Largest forest-grown white ash measured to date in New England (14.7 feet > in girth, 123.7 feet in height), > 4. Largest eastern hemlock in Massachusetts modeled for trunk volume > 4. Third highest Rucker Index in Massachusetts (123.7), > 5. One of the three sites in Massachusetts with white ash trees surpassing > 130 feet in height (MTSF, Ice Glen, MSF), > 6. Second largest yellow birch measured in Massachusetts (13.0 x 98.1), > 7. One of only 3 Massachusetts sites with five or more species of trees > reaching heights of 120 feet or more, > 8. Site of second tallest bigtooth aspen in Massachusetts (124+ feet), > 9. One of only 3 locations in Massachusetts with yellow birch measured to > heights exceeding 100 feet, > 10. One of only 2 sites with striped maple close to 60 feet in height, > 11. One of two sites in Massachusetts with 4 or more white pines reaching 12 > feet or more in girth, > 12. One of a handful of Massachusetts sites with hemlocks confirmed to nearly > 500 years in age, > > And the list goes on ........ > > Bob > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "DON BERTOLETTE" <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:17:55 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: [ENTS] Re: ordinary versus extraordinary forests > > Bob- > Looks familiar! > Oddly enough I especially liked the last photo with the mushroom standing > proud in the beaming ray of sunlight that made it to the forest floor!! > -Don > > > > BirchRootCluster.jpg > 426KViewDownload > > ArchingBirch.jpg > 570KViewDownload > > SnakingRoot.jpg > 372KViewDownload > > NamelessGiantAndGroup.jpg > 477KViewDownload > > PathWayintheRocks.jpg > 518KViewDownload > > Monolith.jpg > 521KViewDownload- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
