Oh No Snow!!

Of course this is the week that Mike and I plan to leave for a little vacation in Florida and the weather has a nasty winter storm in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully this will not affect us as we have a Friday departure, but one nevers know with the airlines these days. Poor Mike may actually end up taking another day vacation because he is pretty careful about driving in the heavy snow. (he doesn't do it)

I had AJ over to play last week and he noticed my pictures of him were old so he insisted on posing for some new ones. He was my sunshine for the week since we haven't had much real sun this month. We had fun playing with some of his Christmas toys and he even brought one of his old train sets over to leave at Grammas house.

Sunday Morning January 23

Cold gray winter. What a nice change of pace to attend a Pool party with friends last night. That is pool as in billiards. A group of mostly golfing friends gathered and shared stories of the holidays while playing cards, pool, and eating and drinking. After the December rush of parties it has been a quiet couple of weeks so it was nice to be out in the social circle again. Cocooning in January is so nice but it was  fun to see everyone.

Our own pool table has been covered with drop cloths as we continue the basement redo. A drain back up this summer has  left the basement in a state of upheaval as we have painted and Steve has added new elements for his wine hobby.New wine racks have been added to a corner of the basement and Steve is hoping to collect some rackable vintages as well as fill some of the empty slots with his own homemade wines. We tested the Chardonnay which has been brewing since September and found it to be approaching drinkable. Steve played winemaker extraordinaire and added a little sugar and declared it good until April when another taste test will determine if it gets bottled or needs another month.

Flu 2011 style

So we return to a snowy cold Ohio from the first mini vacation of 2011 and
I get sick. I mean really flat on your back for 3 days sick.I got a flu shot last year and Steve got the flu while I didn't. This year Steve got a flu shot and I didn't. So far he has avoided getting sick but maybe that is because he avoided me for the last week. Says something about how grouchy I have been.

Pretty much back on track now and starting to focus on the new routine of regularly working out again. This time of year is great because there are so few distractions.

I took my second tree walk this week and the second tree I encounter from the back yard is a Bradford Pear tree. Here is everything you ever needed to know about this tree.


Bradford pears are a variety of a pear native to Korea and China, but it wasn't until 1963 that the USDA introduced the variety commercially. Pyrus calleryiana, "Bradford"


The tree was supposed to be the perfect street tree, with profuse early bloom, a restricted pyramidal shape, and good fall color. So many landscapers, urban planners, and homeowners agreed that today it can be found almost everywhere.

 The tree can grow to be 30-40 feet tall. It is covered with beautiful white blossoms in the spring, and in the fall can have many splendid colors from red to orange and dark maroon. The fruits are not edible by humans but are a favorite of birds and squirrels.



A Bradford pear tree will grow well in almost any type of soil and generally is not bothered by pollutants or pests that affect many other trees. It likes to grow in full sun and is not bothered by either drought or too wet soil. In part because of their branch structure, however, the trees start to have problems with wind and snow damage as they age. This can cause them to break apart when they start to be in the range of twenty years old.

 Unlike most other pear trees this form is grown mainly for its ornamental features. The showy, white flowers appear during spring growth, often before the leaves. In contrast to their appearance, however, the flowers have an unpleasant odor. In autumn the leaves turn bright red to dark red before falling. The fruits are small and round, less than 1 inch in diameter, hardly resembling the traditional pear in appearance. While on a tree they are hardly visible, being hidden by leaves.But the relatively short life span (about 25 to 30 years) makes it necessary to replace individuals more frequently than with most other street or screen trees.

First short vacation of 2011

Steve and I had the pleasure of visiting our friends the Purewals in Scottsdale, AZ. last weekend for a little golf and sunshine. When the idea originally started we were planning on watching Ohio State play in the BCS National championship. Of course by mid-season  we knew that we wouldn't have to worry about trying to find reasonably priced tickets for the game but going to Arizona in January for a little golf still made sense. The only mistake we made was planning the return trip the day after the game. The airport was filled with Oregon Ducks and Auburn Tigers. We also flew into a major winter snowstorm in Detroit. The drive home was dicey with several cars in the median of Interstate 275 and 75,

Safely home now and getting back into the new years resolutions. Shovelling snow really works the shoulders and triceps. Next week we pick out a new tree to study and hope I get a new bird to learn about. Everyday now is closer to golf season and the days are getting longer. I sure wish they would get a little warmer.

Happy New Year from the students at Brandeis

Here's a look at some of the students that Jessica is studying with at the Brandeis International Business School. And yes that is Jessica at the end. I am sure she is not the only USA student but she may be the best looking one!
Just got this in the email today, so since she did not mention it I didn't know it was coming. Very cool!

http://vimeo.com/18380337

January 2, 2011

What a disappointment watching football yesterday. The big 10 really looked awful! Last chance hopefuls will be the Buckeyes on Tuesday night. I am not holding my breathe after the display from the big ten yesterday. Unfortunately it dropped me into the middle of the pack standing on the bowl pool. I guess I won't be staying up late watching unknown collegiate teams play bowl games anymore this season.

I got a bird house for Christmas this year and also a suet feeder from a friend, along with a bird identification book. My bird house will not go out until spring but I hung the suet feeder up this week. My first bird was a female Downy woodpecker. Here she is. I'll have to practice getting closer to take better bird pictures. The male of this species has the traditional red woodpecker colorings.

Happy New Year 2011

Happy New Year. We celebrated at midnight with good friends and hope to continue life with good friends and good health throughout 2011. I wish the same to all.

Trees! I am going to start the year learning local tree identification so that when AJ and I walk around the golf course I can show him different trees and show him how to identify them. I think I know, and can identify many myself, but we will see. I am starting out my back door to the golf course and will be walking the holes and picturing trees throughout the next month. Of course I may need some computer help with the pictures of leaves this time of year but that is pretty easy.

First tree out the back door is a Pin Oak. Very prevalent in Ohio.

Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)

A deciduous tree from the Beech Family 

Pin Oak,  is very similar to the  Scarlet Oak, in many characteristics, including the shape of its leaves. However, it is known as the Oak with leaves that have U-shaped "open" and spreading sinuses between the lobes, as compared to the "closed" C-shaped sinuses of Scarlet Oak. Unfortunately, variation as well as hybridization occurs, so identification by leaves alone is not sufficient.

This is a picture of the Pin Oak Leaf

This is a picture of the Pin Oak Bark
The bark is relatively thin and does not have deep furrows like burr oak, or black oak. Sometimes it almost looks like a pin oak is growing right out of its bark.

A feature of Pin oak (shared by a few other oak species, and also some beeches and hornbeams) is the retention of leaves through the winter. Young trees under 20 ft will often be covered with leaves year-round, though the leaves die in the fall, remaining attached to the shoots until the new leaves appear in the spring. As with many other oak species, dead Pin oak branches will stay on the tree for many years.

The acorns, develop in a shallow, thin cap, are hemispherical, 1 inch long and 3/4 inches broad, green maturing pale brown about 18 months after pollination. The acorn is unpalatable because the kernel is very bitter.

The name comes from the practice years ago of "pinning together" the timbers of a barn. The tough and resilient branches of this tree worked nicely for this task.

The wood of this oak tree is reddish in color and very strong. It will provide very nice firewood when dried. Because it has so many branches that hang on, even when dead, there are a lot of knots in the wood. This sometimes makes it a challenge to split.

It is not a long-lived tree, usually living only 90 to 120 years. It is naturally a wetland tree, and develops a shallow, fibrous root system, unlike many oaks, which have a strong, deep taproot when young. It is confined to acidic soils, and does not tolerate limestone, and grows at low altitudes from sea level up to 350 m. The specific name palustris means "of swamps".