sojourn with different trees

I took a three day trip to New York and Connecticut. It is really too much driving for three days, and there was a lot of visiting. So I’m in recovery mode today. I didn’t take many photos. Mostly trees.

This is a Kousa dogwood. The southwestern part of Connecticut is full of them, all in spectacular bloom. My sensibility has changed from living in Maine, preferring wild landscapes and native plants to overly manicured imports. But I still had to admire the dogwoods.

I was lost for awhile in a dream of what it would be like if all the wealthy property owners down there suddenly got the idea to landscape with native plants – to “rewild.” How different it would be, how much more a sense of life.

My friend Suzanne took me hiking (walking really) in Rockefeller State Park Preserve. I know the map photo is impossible to read, but we were in the little area on the upper left along the Hudson. The trees were spectacular, especially the majestic oaks. I never knew about this preserve, so that was an adventure.

I took a photo of this view of the Tappan Zee bridge crossing the Hudson River. I’ve always had a fondness for this bridge. I like its name. I commuted over it for many years. Not the new bridge, the old one. I’ve only driven over the new one a few times. The building in the middle ground is Kendal-on-Hudson, a posh retirement home. The stairs in the foreground are part of the foundation of the Rockefeller home (mansion) that was once there. Even the ruins were manicured. I like seeing the little bird – mockingbird? – perched on the wall.

My plant app identified this as a European beech. There was a large grove of them, maybe all descendants from a central mother tree.

I’m glad to be home, deluged with rain last night, a full moon, and lots of slugs and snails.