Tell me now, what is better than Spring?
It is wondrous, fabulous, awe inspiring, magical and miraculous.
Even though the astronomical date for Spring is March 20 this year, the trees are already setting their leaf buds, the crocuses are up, and the daffodils are making one of many attempts to rise from their winter dormancy.
This is the time of year when the groves and woods and forests literally pull tons of nutrients and water from the soil and convert it into tons of that new-green leafy canopy - and in only a matter of weeks ! How impressive is that?
Scouring the Google, I finally landed on a couple of papers that gave me some of the numbers I was looking for, and which I then converted into pounds of tree canopy per acre of forest, wet weight.
17,843 pounds of leaves per acre of mixed forest are sprouted each spring, or so. That's 2675 pounds of dry weight, or nutrients pulled from the soil. And, 15,168 pounds of water weight, or 1821 gallons of water from the soil. Per acre. In a couple of weeks time. That's a lot. That's fast.
A single healthy, 100 foot tree, can put out 200,000 leaves. In a couple of weeks time. That's a lot. That's fast.
With or without the numbers, the metamorphosis of our tree scape in Spring is magnificent to behold. Ahhh, Spring.
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Joyce Kilmer Andrews
"I think that I shall never see, a poem as lovely as a tree."
My Father had a different one he quoted often while we kids were growing up. I don't know the author.
When your jobs are many
And your rewards are few
Remember the mighty oak
Was once a nut like you.
A fitting postscript to all blogs: No trees were harmed in the posting of this rant...
Springtime in Indianapolis also comes with new public debt instruments to boost private investment in the criminal justice system, known as social impact bonds.
see last nights meeting...
http://indianapolis.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=9577
social impact bonds? Ugh !
Ah, spring, that wonderful time of the year when your 25 100 foot trees start putting out tiny leaves of green and there's that unforgettable scent of growth in the air. Ah fall when your 25 100 foot trees put out 200,000 leaves each, which gently fall to the ground in a cascade of color waiting for you to put them in hundreds of bags that the city won't remove for you ntil November, and the unforgettable scent you dream of involves chainsaws. Talk about a love hate relationship.
Which reminds me - the city turns the leaves into mulch, which is available to Indy's gardeners for, like, free.
Fall leaves do not lead directly to chain saws. Can't say what does, but fall leaves do not.
FWIW - I don't bag my fall leaves. I'm an anarchist when it comes to fall leaves. More interested in the colors...
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