Catalpa

There are a few Catalpa trees around the lake. These photos come from a little one that sprouted up in my yard just a few years ago. Although it doesn't color out with intense foliage, it does hold its own special beauty as the leaves go by.

Catalpa

Until today, the weather's been holding me back from a decent shooting session.


Yesterday I photographed Catalpa flower buds from a little tree growing on the yard's edge to the swamp. Already today the buds popped open.


From With the Trees:

"The catalpa blooms at about the same time as the mountain maple. This tree may be readily known, even in winter, by the long, slender pods dangling from the tips of the stout and somewhat clumsy branches. When youth was less guileful than it is now, and the deleterious cigarette was not so plentiful and cheap, these were furtively smoked by small boys, and the tree which bore them was called "smoking bean."


Long after the boughs of other trees are half hidden by the fluttering and shimmer of young leaves, the catalpa looks as if its days were done, but when it at last puts forth, its semi- tropical beauty compensates for its tardiness.

The large heart-shaped leaves are full grown by time the flowers appear.

Like the linden leaves they secrete nectar; it oozes out of groups of tiny glands, situated at the angles where the large side veins part from the mid-rib."


Going, Maud. With the Trees. New York, 1908. 232. Web. Google Book Search. 29 Jun 2009.

Buds Are Opening

Yes, indeed, the buds are opening, at least inside the house. I do not have identities for these first two photos but check out that gall! Soon I'll cut it open for a peek inside.





































Here's the Sassafras just getting underway. It is a slow mover.
















And lastly, the Catalpa. This one is really starting to grow! Only thing is that I don't know what to do with it. Can I get it to root? I need to dig out the rooting hormone gel, snip the branch at an angle, and set it into some rockwool or sand. Then cross my fingers.

The Little Catalpa Is Growing!

The last time we looked, this little Catalpa was all budded up. I'd been imagining that a single leaf would appear but there's a whole branch taking shape! How cool is that?

Catalpa

Not that all trees aren't beautiful but the Catalpa is somehow special to me. Maybe it's because I remember as a little boy picking its flowers for my mother and being disappointed because they spoiled so quickly. Within a day they were all withered and browned.




The leaves are so huge, the flowers so beautiful, and the long seed pods so eye catching.

I recently harvested a bunch of buds and twigs, some known and others mysteries. I placed them all in water, hoping I'd get lucky with a sprout or two. Just yesterday I noticed the Catalpa twig was pushing a leaf bud. This year's first burst of green! I must say that I'd expect to see just one leaf rather that a bunch of hairy little somethings... More later as this little one matures...


I recently received a wonderful book recommendation from a coworker, friend, and fellow photographer. Reading the Forested Landscape, A Natural History of New England by Tom Wessels and illustrated by Brian D. Cohen.

Each chapter begins with an etching of a wooded scene. From that the reader is taught to deduce the history of change. It's so fascinating! I can only handle a chapter at a time, as the author encompasses so much history to explain his analysis. I hope to have more to say as I work my way into the multi-dimensional world of forest shaping that this author creates.