Wednesday, January 14, 2009

frosty, acid drop, health-check

Posted by Picasa Recollections of the frost of a few days ago.

This morning, a heavier than usual layer of mist veils the rising sun behind the tulip tree. This time the sun is so pale that it resembles more a half-sucked acid drop than the barley sugar sweet of a few days ago.

The huge oak on the corner of the Grove and Belview is receiving attention as I get to the top of South Grove. A tape measure is strapped round its girth, and higher up about 20 sensors are fixed to the bark in a circle round the tree. A man in an orange jacket taps a sensing needle into the trunk beneath each of the sensors while a woman with a laptop in her hand checks the result of his probe. "We're checking the health of the tree," says the woman in reply to my question. "It's like a cardiograph, " I say. She nods in reply. I tip toe away feeling that I have been intruding in a patient's medical procedure. Because I care deeply about this tree, I want to ask about the health of the patient, but the tree doctor seems so absorbed in her job that I am constrained to be silent.

3 comments:

Lucy said...

The new Picasa collage options are quite exciting aren't they?

Please keep us informed about the oak tree...

Zhoen said...

So, kind of an ECG for a tree.

Unknown said...

The tree doctor and her assistant had left when I returned. But the tree looks in good health.

I'm still experimenting with the Picasa collage options which seem to offer all sorts of opportunities for people like me who have to struggle with Photoshop.