In this post ...
➤ Today is the longest day of the year
➤ A Cottonwood tree nature experiment
➤ Kilauea eruption
➤ 2 Months of change on waterfront walk
➤ Natural wonders
➤ Ship pics, just for fun
➤ Looking back 20 years ago
➤ Closing thought
Longest Day of the Year
Wed, Jun 21, 2023 7:57 AM
Cottonwood Nature Experiment
Cottonwood trees are plentiful in the Pacific Northwest. Recently, out on a walk, cottonwood seeds floated around me almost looking like snow. This year the trees seemed to have an extra abundance of seeds and the scene, like a snow in June, piqued my curiosity. I wondered, of the millions of seeds, what percentage actually germinate and establish a new Cottonwood tree. I decided to try a Nature Experiment and see if I could get some trees started. Here are a few pictures telling the story ... [PS I'll be the first to acknowledge that most humans find these trees annoying when the seeds begin to fall. However, for me, nature's amazing method of propagating the trees overcomes the annoyance.]
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| Cottonwood seeds floating away from the the tree that produced them. |
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| Lots of seeds on this tree. Ready to drift away. |
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| Each seed is attached to a bit of fuzz that looks just like cotton. They drift slowly away from the parent tree. |
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| Seeds accumulate along walkways. |
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| Seeds are produced in bunches on little stems. |
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| A cottonwood leaf and a couple of seeds. |
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| A handful of seeds. |
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| One tiny seed. |
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| 2 days after planting the seeds and keeping them watered. |
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| 7 days after planting the seeds. Cottonwood trees on the way! |
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| 14 days after planting. Be sure to see the large view. Slow but on the way. |
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| 21 days after planting. Note how the tiny leaves have already started to get that jagged edge. |
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| Here is the goal ... Get the seedlings up a couple of inches and transplant them to a location riverside, where, hopefully they will thrive. [In this photo from the web, note how the tiny seedlings look. I'm amazed at how many germinated!] |
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| Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupted on June 7 [Screenshot from AccuWeather] |
2 Months of Change on Waterfront Walk
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| Around April 1 the powers in control buzzed away most of the vegetation at this popular spot on the walk. |
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| I am amazed at how fast the plants and grass have come back. |
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| Mt Rainier as seen from the waterfront walk. The mountain is about 50 miles away. June 4, 2023 |
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| At an intersection near home. Yes, another Natural Wonder, in my mind. This is a busy street, but at the moment, I was stopped at a traffic signal. I happened to notice this little spot and what nature had done with it. It's kind of like a message to humans ... throw it at me and I'll clean it up. Thank you, Nature! |
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| I like this picture ... it's a nice view of scale ... the average sailboat vs the MSC Container ship. |
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| I like this picture ... it's something I see almost every Sunday morning. A tug pulling a barge from Alaska. I'm always curious about how a tug Captain decides how long the tow will be to the barge. This one is several hundred feet. |
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| Busy weekend afternoon in the port of Seattle. In front ... Discovery Princess Next ... Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam Next ... A bulk carrier at anchor, in process of refueling Out in the middle of The Sound ... The Victoria Clipper Near center ... mast of M5 ... see next picture. |
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| The M5 -- World's tallest single-masted sailing yacht! This is the 2nd year the M5 has visited Seattle. See YouTube video below for details. [Not my video but I really like it. 😊 ] |
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| Seattle skyline from Kerry Park February, 2003 |
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| Enjoyed a stay in Hawaii March, 2003 |
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| Visited Yellowstone National Park and snapped this photo of Great Falls of the Yellowstone July, 2003 |
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| Discovered a Rattlesnake while in Montana July, 2003 [Added this pic for my ticket to link up with Saturday's Critters. Check it out!] |
