Recently I added a series of products to my zazzle store featuring my watercolor painting Oakridge Reservoir #2. The original is on Fabriano Uno 140lb hot press 100% cotton paper, 7 1/2″ x 11″, 2001. This is one in a series of four paintings based on some photos I took early in the morning while camping with my family in Oakridge, Oregon.  Done in an almost photo-realistic style, this painting draws the eye beyond the upended tree roots protruding from the shore of Oakridge Reservoir toward the mountain ranges and pale blue morning sky in the distance. A lone twig sticks up from the water, while algae and tree stumps seem to float  tranquilly and as the water deepens. Green and gold, the colors of the forest shimmer in the water as the cool blue Oregon mountains beckon as they glistening white shore in the distance. Many guests visiting my home have stared in amazement and asked, “is that a photograph?” because of how realistic it is.They are even more astounded when I tell them it’s a painting.

Oakridge Reservoir #2 by dlmtleArt
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The ragged tree stumps and roots, strewn over the seashore at Broughton Bay on the north coast of the Gower Peninsula, are the remains of a birch tundra woodland that once covered the ancient land surface. They lie in position, just as they were growing before they were inundated. Ten thousand years ago in the Pleistocene Period, a large river, fed by tributaries such as the Loughor, occupied what is now the Bristol Channel with its Atlantic waters. The last extension of the ice sheets in this area, during the late Devensian Period, had been about 8,500 years earlier. As the ice receded up into the valleys of South Wales, the climate had warmed up and allowed vegetation to flourish. The sea level at that time was about 22.5 metres lower than it is at the present.

By the beginning of the Neolithic Period 5,700 years ago, however, the sea level began to rise because of the increasing volume of global meltwater and  its accompanying land subsidence. The forests and peat bogs of the coastal margins were submerged and buried in sediment…..until the 1980s when the remains began to reappear on Gower shores as the surface sediments began to erode away. Now, large expanses of Broughton beach have been stripped of sand showing the strata and entrapped woodland beneath.

Wood from these ancient forests is visible on the seashores of  Swansea Bay and Port Eynon on the south Gower coast as well. Large blocks of peat dating from this time also wash up on the sand at Whiteford – the next bay to Broughton. The plant species already recorded include silver birch, hazel, alder, elder, deergrass, rushes, irises and spurges. As I understand it, no full investigation of this palaeo-environment has yet been conducted. I hope that full attention can soon be given to this valuable evidence before the rapid rate of erosion destroys all that is readily accessible between tides. 

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

Maybe created by a single artist, or perhaps evolved through the contributions of many beach strollers. This huge driftwood tree bole and roots, capped with a pyramid of pebbles and cobbles, looked spectacular and cairn-like on the seashore at Lyme Regis in Dorset.

© Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material, including both text and photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jessica Winder and Jessica’s Nature Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 Photographs in this blog are copyright property of Jessica Winder with all rights reserved

She sprinkled shells in her serpent hair and stared serenely at the sea.

The American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is a large and familiar tree found primarily east of the Mississippi River.  Many people recognize it by its mottled bark revealing patches of brown and white color.  Usually sycamore trees are found close to water and that is the case at the Falls of the Ohio.  I have a favorite stand of these trees, but they are remarkable for reasons other than their size. 

I can remember when I first came across these trees, I had the feeling that they were trying to uproot themselves and walk away.  The exposed root systems in these specimens are elaborate.  I wonder if the riverbank was more extensive at some earlier point in the development of these trees and eroded away due to flooding?  Sycamores can be fast growing trees, but these examples don’t appear to be that old.

Their roots snake across the riverbank nearly touching the water and are very picturesque.  I have used this location as a backdrop to photograph some of my sculptures.  I did this most recently for a work entitled “Audubon’s Apotheosis”.  Within the aggregate that makes up a sycamore’s seed ball is a small sphere that I have used for eyes in some of my figures.  I also like the yellow-green color of the leaves this time of year.  Here’s one last shot of a particularly “Ent-ish” tree, its dropped leaves swirling around its amazing roots.

Cambodia

Angkor... you wait ages for a monk, and then 6 come along all at once

As part of the Jungles program on Human Planet we have come to Cambodia to investigate a place where nature has reclaimed the site of a former human civilization.  That place is the 200 square kilometre area of Angkor in Central Cambodia, former home to, amongst others, the great Khmer empire of King Suryavarman the second.  Satellite surveys suggest that Angkor once comprised an urban sprawl of some 3,000 square kilometres, making it by far the largest preindustrial city the world has ever known.  The notion that a place of this magnitude could ever become abandoned is a fascinating prospect, the concensus agreeing that it was a combination of the declining Khmer empire and one final conquest by the Thais in the 15th century that caused a shift of power over to Phnom Penh in the east, thus sealing Angkor’s fate as a forgotten city, destined to be reabsorbed into the surrounding jungle until its modern day resurgence as the seat for Cambodia’s most recent all-conquering empire, early 21st century tourism.

Control of this phenomenal stone-built metropolis has passed between nations over the years, most notably between the Cambodian Khmers and the Siamese (Thais), the modern day tenure currently residing within the hands of the rubber and petroleum giant Sokimex, who own the right to profit from Angkor’s highly lucrative tourist industry.  Ask any local and they’ll insist that Sok Kong, the owner of Sokimex is Vietnamese and therefore this deal represents yet another conquest of Angkor by a foreign invader.   Having never met Mr. Kong myself I can’t confirm this, but whatever the truth, it is certainly a bone of contention in this neck of the woods which will no doubt add more fire to Angkor’s intriguing history.

Angelina does backpacking in South East Asia

Yesterday we spent all day filming within the ruins of Ta Phrom, possibly Angkor’s most visually stunning ruin.  Many visitors before us have also acknowledged this fact, most famously Paramount Pictures, who used it as a backdrop for a number of scenes in the video game inspired blockbuster Tomb Raider, a production which appears to have employed almost every local resident of Angkor if they are to be believed.  I had a quick look at said scenes today and I must admit that I really love what they did with the lake in front of Angkor Wat - the largest temple in the complex, bringing it to life with a mass of boats and floating water lilies.  Large Hollywood productions invading ancient temple sites is definitely not to everyone’s taste I know, but you have to admit, it really does look absolutely amazing.

If you are planning on making a photographic pilgrimage to Angkor, be prepared to share your space with a number of like minded enthusiasts.  Don’t let this put you off however.  There are still loads of temples that get overlooked by the package tour groups who tend to stick to a well trodden route.  Similarly, if you turn up at sunrise or sunset you’ll not only be blessed with the best light, but also complete solitude in my experience, and Cambodia is a nation of early risers so you’ll have no trouble getting a tuk tuk to drive you out to the temple complex before first light.  

Whether you like it or not, the urge to photograph a monk amidst the overgrown ruins will no doubt overcome your sensibilities at some point, and when it does, make the most of the experience by spending as long as you can engaging in some friendly banter and cultural exchange.  The monks I have met here are very cool cats. They quietly put up with a hell of a lot of probing lenses and they aren’t all touting for dollars as many foreigners will have you believe.

The mysterious lost temple of Ta Phrom... well, kind of anyway

I am leaving you with this picture of 75 year old Kong Di, from Ta Phrom monastery (famously, background monk no. 7 in the scene where Lara Croft arrives at Angkor Wat by boat from across the lake) standing in another ‘famous’ Tomb Raider set location.  For those of you who are more photographically inclined, you might be wondering why I used a fisheye lens to shoot this picture.  Simple.  Last year, a raised wooden viewing platform was built just 3 feet away from the doorway, complete with security guard and a rope barrier to keep tourists from clambering onto the tree roots.  Using a 15mm lens was the only way I could get wide enough to edit it out of the photograph.  Beware the subjective eye of the photographer!

Tags: Dawna Morton , Oakridge Reservoir 2, Imagekind,

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When Robert left Friday evening, this area was smooth. (The man knows me pretty well. See where he’s laid plywood and a rug up in the right-hand corner? He knows my clumsy self will fall through the framework.)

Well, here it is Sunday, and guess what I got out and did yesterday afternoon? Well, I decided I’d dig up some more tree roots for him. I ended up breaking my spade, so I grabbed the sharp shooter. I wonder why it’s called a sharp shooter? Sounds like a Texan named it.

I don’t know what he’s going to say when he sees this mess. I dug out a huge lawn bag full of roots. I feel like a semi ran over me today, so this is how it shall stay until he returns. I have pains in my body where I didn’t even realize I had body parts. And this debacle is aside from the wretched thorn tree trunk we have to deal with somehow!

If anybody needs good rich dirt, I have it. I’m tossing it in all parts of the yard. It’s a mixture of black and red and sand. The neighbors love my dirt. For some reason they don’t have it.

My yard looks like a nursery. Plants sitting everywhere. Not much rhyme or reason to it.

Something is eating my angel trumpet and potato vine and I don’t know what all. Greedy insect. Either my angel trumpet was ravaged romantically or just had a rough time of it. I don’t know which.

We’ve already had some rain this morning. Which will make my root mess even more of a job… Poor Robert. He tells me to stop helping him. Because he says I end up causing him more work in the long run.

Unfortunately, I’ve never been one to listen much.

I was right. When I woke up this morning, I felt like Tin Man after a soaking rain.

I still had to plant one more bush–paid too much for it to let it sit on the front porch any longer–but I confess that I moved the hole several times in order to avoid tree roots that were “bigger around” than me. In the end, the bush got planted and the area with all the tree roots was designated as the future site of a container garden. Seriously, I may be stubborn but I’m not totally stupid.

Another confession: I was also distracted by thoughts of the peach cobbler I made last night. Did I want to spend the afternoon digging up tree roots or resting on the sofa with a huge bowl of peach cobbler and ice cream?

I chose rest and peach cobbler. Can you blame me?

I may not be the most stubborn woman on earth, but I’m surely high on the list.

Look at that lovely new bluberry bush. Then look at the size of the tree roots I had to unearth in order to plant it exactly where I wanted it.

Jesus.

Tomorrow I may not be able to move. For today, the headline is “mission accomplished!”

It’s been raining upriver from us and so what happens in the northeast eventually flows down.  More rain is expected and so it wouldn’t surprise me to see the water completely cover the fixed wier dam that forms the park’s eastern boundry.  Massive piles of driftwood and debris are getting ready to flood the area under the Conrail Railroad Bridge.  Every time the river rises the landscape of the park gets rearranged and creates new novelties.  I was looking over recent images and found I had taken several shots of tree roots that speak not only of the power of water, but the tenacity of trees as well. 

These are the roots from a black willow tree.  This is an amazingly tough tree that grows in the poorest soil (essentially clay mud and sand) and frequently gets completely submerged during a flood.

The writhing roots from a cottonwood tree.  At the moment, fluff from these trees is drifting like dry snow through the air.

I believe this is a cottonwood tree as well.  I marvel at how the river will undermine a tree along the bank.  In places, canopies are created and you can sit underneath the roots of a tree which comes in handy when it rains or on very hot days. 

All these exposed roots are good catch-alls for whatever the river sends their way.  This tree has snagged a bit of frayed barge rope or cable.  Originally, these ropes are about as thick around as a man’s forearm.  The river has no problem dealing with them.  We will see how high the river gets.  I’m looking forward to making new works in this rearranged environment.

1. Use a shovel, mattock and rake to create and contour a weed-free area.
2. Use a mattock to dig a hole.
3. Hit lots of rocks, tree roots and heavy clay with enough force to break the mattock.
4. Partly fill a cavernous hole with gallons of a 50/50 mixture of soil and peat.
5. Repeat steps 1 through 4.
6. Plant and water two blueberry bushes.
7. Carry rocks to another part of the natural area.
8. Carry tree roots, weeds and debris to the trash cart and/or yard waste cart.
9. Spread several wheelbarrows of wood chips for top dressing.
10. Carry pavers from one part of the yard to another.
11. Remove grass and weeds to make room for pavers.
12. Position pavers.
13. Put away garden cart, tools, etc.
14. Collapse.

Roots, roots, and more roots!

Tree roots fascinate me.  Some roots are thick, some are thin, and some are around each other.  These tree roots are along the New River Trail, on the high side!  Many of them look as if they had been in a landslide, but are still hanging on for dear life.  How is that possible?  Well, as far as I can figure their roots must go pretty deep into the earth, as well as running straight for the source of life…water.  The deeper the roots, the stronger the tree.

We have a common bond with roots in our own walk with God.  The more we study, read, commit ourselves to living a godly life, repent, forgive,pray & obey, the deeper our roots are in Jesus Christ.   He is our source of Living Water and we too run straight for a refreshing drink to revive our thirsty souls.  I need to drink more often and more abundantly.  My roots need refreshing more than I think!   

Take a look at some tree roots today!

Blessings,

Donna

The tree roots were photographed in the main Darwin city area using a Nikon D2H camera and a 105mm telephoto lens.