2019 tree following 11: Cold and wet

A few fallen leaves of the Mermaid Quay London plane trapped in a puddle

Despite strong winds here in Cardiff the London plane (Platanus × hispanica or Platanus × acerifolia) I am following in Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay, still has more leaves than many other tree species in the area.

This month the weather has been colder and wetter but with the odd day of lovely late autumn sunshine. The good thing about the rain is that it catches some of the beautiful fallen leaves in puddles, while last month they all blew away.

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Tree following link box for November 2019

Colourful autumn leaves of the cherry trees around Cardiff’s County Hall – few leaves now remain

The tree-following link box has now closed for another month.

Here in South Wales we have had a lot more rain and now it is growing colder. The days seem very short since we ended daylight saving time and the clocks went back an hour to Greenwich Mean Time on October 27. The mornings are slightly lighter – but not for much longer – and the dark, dank evenings make us look forward to the Christmas lights on the city streets.

You will find everyone’s updates below, so enjoy exploring…

Alison at the Blackberry Garden – quince – hello autumn

Flighty’s Plot – Liz’s witch hazel in Lexington, Kentucky, and Mike’s apple tree

Erika Groth in Sweden – aspens – winter sleep

Hollis – In the Company of Plants and Rocks – Russian hawthorn at the University of Wyoming – tasty haws and leafless trees

JayP – Amblings around Penwith (Cornwall) – flowering dogwood – fallen fruit and autumn leaves

Andrew – Kind Hearts and Corydalis – Oliver the oak – plus interesting links to some science and science fiction…

Frances at Island Threads, off the North West coast of Scotland – hawthorn

Pat – Squirrelbasket – the London plane of Mermaid Quay, Cardiff

If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here.

Why not join us in 2020? You could start looking for a tree to observe right now. Just point us to any tree-related post you would like to share, using the link box published on the 7th of each month and lasting for a week. Although we all try to publish every month, we are very forgiving if you post less often.

See you next month…

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Japanese words adopted into English

The Great Wave by Hokusai, sometimes thought to depict a tsunami, but more likely a rogue wave – click on the picture to go to an interesting history of the artwork on Culture Trip

To coincide with the climax of the Rugby World Cup tournament in Japan I thought I would revisit my occasional series on words we have adopted or adapted into everyday English use.

Previously I have explored words with their roots in Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Celtic, Scandinavian, Indian and Spanish.

With Japanese it is probably a bit different as English speakers didn’t have much contact with the country until the mid-19th century. So most of these words are comparatively new additions to English and came to us along with newly-arrived foods, cultural or sporting practices. Here are some of my favourites – there are links throughout to more information – mostly but not only on Wikipedia. And click on the pictures to go to the image source…

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A second autumn on the Wharf

Rose hips beside the Wharf

Last year I walked around the Wharf (former Bute East Dock) in Cardiff Bay almost every month, but in this my second year working at County Hall I am only an occasional visitor. This is partly because I am no longer following a tree beside the Wharf.

I may think I have seen it all before but I find the view is constantly changing. Here are the images from my most recent visit, in late September…

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2019 tree following 10: Blown away

A fallen London Plane leaf in Mermaid Quay, Cardiff

I am disappointed this month with the London plane (Platanus × hispanica or Platanus × acerifolia) I am following in Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay.

Here in South Wales we have had very wet weather for a few weeks and it has also been windy. I chose a very blustery day with sunshine and showers to take these pictures and forgot my camera, so they are taken with my iPhone and not as good as I would like.

As well as the leaves refusing to stay still for their photographs, the wind had blown all the autumn leaves from the branches and they had even been swept away from the surrounding street by the scouring breeze.

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Tree following link box for October 2019

It may be autumn but there is still plenty of life left in this alder (Alnus glutinosa) beside the Wharf in Cardiff Bay

The tree-following link box has now closed for another month. Here in South Wales we have had a very wet couple of weeks and now it also grows cold at night. But the low autumn sunshine is appreciated when it breaks through.

You will find everyone’s updates below, so enjoy exploring…

Alison at the Blackberry Garden – quince – hanging on

Flighty’s Plot – Liz’s witch hazel in Lexington, Kentucky, and Mike’s apple tree

Pat – Squirrelbasket – the London plane of Mermaid Quay

Hollis – In the Company of Plants and Rocks – Russian hawthorn – literary art and Wyoming coal

Frances at Island Threads, off the North West coast of Scotland – hawthorn

Andrew – Kind Hearts and Corydalis – Oliver the oak – plus an interesting music video

Erika Groth in Sweden – aspens – and the swans fly south

JayP – Amblings around Penwith (Cornwall) – flowering dogwood in fruit

If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here. Why not join us? Point us to any tree-related post you would like to share, using the link box published on the 7th of each month and lasting for a week.

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News from the world of trees 2019 #4

Here is another round-up of tree news articles from around the world. Click on each of the pictures if you would like to read the full stories.

Cleaning time for 330-million-year-old tree

This summer saw a long-awaited clean-up for the fossil tree at the Natural History Museum in London…

100 years of the Forestry Commission

Countryfile celebrates 100 years of the Forestry Commission…

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