Trees Turning Green

Trees Turning Green

Byrichard

Trees are currently turning green on the Jura. Leaves are growing and so the colour of the Jura is shifting from brown to green at last. Trees suffer in Summer at the moment, due to the lack of rain. That lack of rain results in them changing colour sooner.


Yesterday I went for a run in between two lots of rain and I was lucky. As I arrived home rain started to fall on me. Within minutes I could hear lightning and the rain started to fall heavily. I was lucky. I timed my run to be right in between two lots of rain. It would have soaked me if I had been unlucky.


Ultrasound Plants


According to a Tel Aviv university plants broadcast their distress, either from drought or from injury. Imagine the noise during a forest fire or when plants are harvested.


The Hidden Life of Trees


When walking in a shopping centre I noticed a few books about trees. I saw The Hidden life of Trees and started to read it, as an e-book, despite seeing the physical book. I could have bought it in French but English was cheaper. It speaks about how trees communicate with each other, although I haven’t read far enough to understand how. It also speaks about how crops are silent and isolated, due to how they are planted. I will elaborate when I know more.


It’s interesting to consider that plants can communicate with sound, or through networks of fungus under the ground. It’s interesting to consider the wood wide network, the notion that the soil is a means of communicating between trees. I am currently trying to revive a few orchids. After a year or two of thriving they suddenly slowed down and now seem to be struggling for life. I want to revive them.

Day Two of ORCA in Switzerland

Day Two of ORCA in Switzerland

Byrichard

We are in ORCA day two in Switzerland and I crashed the drone. I also avoided the shops because of the behaviour I witnessed yesterday.


The weather is excellent at the moment. Sunny, warm, and without wind. These are perfect conditions for drone flying so I thought I’d take advantage. I forgot to put an SD card in the drone so instead of flying and trying to get video I put it in sports mode. I played in the field, flying forwards, backwards, going up, down and more. Eventually, I flew towards the trees and decided that I would get the drone to fly in between trees as I have done in the past.


Previously I put the drone back into normal mode and this time I forgot so the drone hit something and “bounced”. I’ve seen this type of bounce before so I decided to put full throttle upwards. Instead of flying up and clearing the branches it got unstuck and fell to the ground. I thought that it would fall through and hit a few branches and land in the mud. The issue is that the drone was further forward than I thought and it fell through the branches and hit an asphalt road. This broke the rear right arm and loosened that motor. Other than that the battery fell off.


Some people fly their drone and crash during their first flight, or after ten flights. It took 166 flights before I had a serious crash with this drone. Before this crash, I had knicked the propellers on branches or other branches but nothing serious. If it had been above the forest floor it would have been fine. The fall was slowed down the whole way. Mud would have saved the drone.


The break is clean so I can try fixing it with the right kind of glue. I also need to find a way to get the affected motor back into its housing. The second option is to buy the plastic component that houses all the engines.


We will see if I find a way to resolve this issue.

Walking And Finding Old Trees

Walking And Finding Old Trees

Byrichard

Walking and finding old trees is still possible if you look around. If you’re attentive you can find trees that are hundreds of years old. They are massive compared to younger trees. Their trunk is broad and their branches are complex.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWb2iO9F0KM


If you walk around the Mediterranean you will find thousand-year-old olive trees and if you walk around Switzerland it is also possible to find old trees. There are two or three parks in Geneva where you can find them. You can find them at the Chateau De Penthes and other places.


The Sequoia that once stood tall and proud in the Chateau de Penthes. It was struck by lightning. This is its stump, with a sapling growing out of its remains.



There was a branch growing out of the tree to the left that was growing sideways and almost touched the floor when we were younger. It was fun to stand on the branch and make it move. Since then that branch has grown and now touches the floor so the game is over. In the background you can see the Lac Léman, with the alps and the Mont Blanc in the distance.


Old trees are instantly recognisable because they are either tall and broad like the Sequoia that used to live at the Chateau De Penthes or the one by the lake in Nyon before it died and was cut down. Others, such as the one featured in this blog post are broad with a complex system of branches. Another one is near the sports centre in Crans. It is located here.


It’s easy to drive or cycle by this tree without noticing. When you stop and stand next to it you see that the trunk is broad and the branch system is interesting.


Sequoias by the Parc Mon Repos in Geneva.


If you walk by the lakeside in Geneva you can see a few old trees. These sequoias are by the road that enters or leaves Geneva, depending on whether you live inside or outside of Geneva. If you’re ready to walk a few minutes you will find them easily.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00H1_MLTfWQ
Flying around a tree in Eysins


Of course one of the advantages of old trees that are in the middle of fields is that you can get footage of them from various angles that would only be accessible with a crane camera or other tools. With video you will see the complex branch system, the width of the trunk and if you’re filming at the right time of year, the biome that lives within it. I flew around this tree in spring, when it was flowering. Enjoy the majesty of this tree.

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A funny day

Byrichard

I found today quite entertaining. I went out and noticed that it was a little windy. Later on, I was heading towards the student bar only to find that it was closed due to windows being blown in. “Oh well”, I thought “time to do something different”. I walked across the street, the name given to the path in the middle of our university, and looked up to the screens, “ship abandoned”, train delays, tiles off roofs, and more.

As if to provoke more problems for myself I decided to head into central London. There was a hilarious sign. “Because of various trees on track – severe delays on metropolitan line. It’s such a matter of fact, a casual way of saying there’s a problem. I went up the stairs to the platform ad caught a train limited to 30 mph due to the adverse weather conditions. That’s quite a bit slower than usual. We arrived near Wembley Park but the train remained blocked. Apparently they had to change driver and this was holding us up.

So to recapitulate six trees on the line, heavy winds, severe delays, and to top it off delay due to the changing of a driver. Don’t they have enough problems as it is?

I went to the world’s biggest apple store but there’s nothing new, no apple tv, no iPhone, nothing I haven’t seen already.

The trek back was fun in itself. Highly packed trains filled with commuters and masses of people trying to get back to Northwick park after going to Harrow on the hill because the trains were suffering from the weather conditions.

I got out and walked home.