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Postcard from Siracusa, Sicily: Perambulations expose roots

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Above: Ficus macrophylla, or Moreton Bay fig tree

Sensuous buttresses snake out from these massive trees growing close to 100 feet tall in numerous parks in Sicily. Creepily, the species is nicknamed a strangler fig because in some cases, according to the Oregon State Department of Horticulture:

…seed germination occurs in the canopy of a host tree and the resulting seedling lives as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. These then thicken into supplementary trunks, which may strangle the host, and ultimately the tree can become freestanding.

They are impressive, and seem a good place to start to introduce you to scenes from the island of Ortigia, known as the Citta Vecchia of Siracusa.

Continue reading “Postcard from Siracusa, Sicily: Perambulations expose roots” →

Color these trees mac-n-cheese?

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spring-greenIn the spring, Mother Nature made it easy to imagine pulling just one aptly named crayon out of the box to color the leaves on the tree outside the window by my desk.

macncheese

But things are different now.

Mac-n-cheese (When did Crayola start stocking that one in the box?) somewhat mimics the prettiest color in her fall clothes.

64But one Crayola crayon doesn’t cut it.

Time to call for reinforcements from the full box of 64.

fall-colors

Mac-n-cheese plus burnt orange, chestnut, forest green, raw sienna, yellow orange, tumbleweed….

There simply are not enough colors in a box of 64.

pantoneComing even close to the autumnal splendor of nature requires arming yourself tenfold.

Surely all the shades of leaves in this tree can be found in a fan of Pantone’s 644 colors.

Yet every single leaf will take on a slightly different tinge tomorrow.

And soon, nature will strip my tree of her fashionable fall frock, forcing her to face any winter freezes shivering in nothing but her birthday suit.

 

White Wings Are No Bird-Brains

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gaudy eye shadowCan’t stand having the “Deadly Scenario” post as the lead.  Need to supplant it with something peaceful – doves.

Anyone with a bird feeder knows what gorging gourmands doves are.  Often one of them sits on the window sill by my desk, peering at me with eyes encircled with  the same shade of iridescent blue eyeshadow I would apply in eighth grade once out of my parents’ sight on the way to CYO Friday night dances.

Seems as though more and more white wings are in the city each year.  And, according to the San Antonio Express-News, volunteers are out there attempting to count them:

White-winged doves first nested in citrus trees in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.  However, since a freeze in the 1980s, they’ve shifted populations to more urban areas.  Bexar County has the most, about 7 percent of the total.

Do ornithologists really believe the doves moved here because of a freeze? Would you rather dine at an urban restaurant where a loving owner watches you enjoy your meal, or feed in the country where the man who leaves food for you stands nearby waiting to shoot you dead?