Persianas

[Manalto]

My current #1 choice for a shade tree is bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). It's the tree you see in photos of the southern swamps, with the "knobs" sticking up above the water. The knobs don't form on dry land, but the tree does have a handsome buttressed trunk that flares out at the base. Shade produced by this tree is light and dappled; it's by no means deep shade, so you can garden under it. Bald cypress grows quickly, isn't particular about soil, and is a deciduous conifer, turning rust-orange before the needles fall. (Gutters are not a problem, as I have none.) An alternative would be dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), a non-native (at least for the past few million years; it appears regularly in fossils.) dead ringer for the bald cypress, its only difference an opposite, rather than alternate, leaf arrangement - or vice versa. The historic commission apparently has to weigh in on landscaping changes that are visible from the street, so I'll probably just ask them for suggestions. They know the area and which trees are associated with problems, and may even appreciate my courtesy in asking.

Venting the air from the attic space under a hip roof is not the simple window-fan affair of normal roofs with gables, but I'm sure a smart person could figure it out. I will try to find a smart person to ask! Those who use the exhaust-fan method invariably sing its praises.

Phil, you're in good country for fruit trees. I worked briefly at an orchard in Everson, Washington, and was impressed by the bounty. 'Bing' cherries were really a treat in season. Few fruits are as luscious as plums. I like the Italian Plum for its complexity and sweetness.

[phil]

further inland in the Okanagan we have peaches, grapes, and lots of cherries, cherries will grow here. I think we are probably one of the bigger producers of cranberries. My house isnt't on flood plain but we have areas which are below sea level so they can be easily flooded and that's how they are harvested. Blueberries also do well in those areas as there are huge peat bogs. we grow a lot of blueberries. The weather is changing. we seem to have much dryer longer summers with less rain. Its hardly rained here for a couple months. After about mid September the rain hits we do get rain lots of it , through fall and winter especially. We do get frost and snow, but the snow generally doesn't last months. often it's a heavy wet snowfall but often it melts and clears up. I'm on the coast and we have big mountains so the rain drops out as the air from the pacific rises and cools. its very similar in Seattle. on the other side of those mountains 100 miles inland it is a totally different climate, higher altitude almost desert, lots of sagebrush and dry grasslands, cattle country. ponderosa pine. To the north there are thick fir forests and in between that and the interior I guess you would call that alpine forests. BC is very scenic and varied. we have a lot of precipitation in the mountains to the north so there are many lakes and rivers. Most of us are crammed down in the metro Vancouver area, a couple million. It's a bustling city but two hours by car and it's very open and natural. We have lots of forest fires here right now. the smoke is so heavy that this morning I found myself looking right at the sun and questioning if it was the sun or the moon.. The smoke is unusual here. we've had lots of people evacuated from interior areas with forest fires and it's a real disaster.. But we did have a lot of pine beetle. It killed many mountainsides and the trees are dead and standing like matchsticks. They try to harvest the lumber if they can. it's still usable. Kiln driers look after any beetles remaining I guess. When they are all dead and burn they are hard to put out. they are like giant matchsticks. the fires are a natural occurrence and part of the natural cycle, but of course when they threaten towns and cities they cant just let them go. The fires help eradicate the pine beetle, I guess. and as the trees burn and they fall on the forest floor as charcoal, or as logs that rot, that it is part of the cycle of nature. I dont' thin k the pine beetle is a native bug. evidently shipping crates around the world caused it as they can come with the wood and get free, so I'd say that really , modern transportation caused it. it's sad to see so many mountainsides turn all yellow but I guess nature has a way of recovering even from that. if we get cold winters that can kill the beetles off too. but again with global warming and all these new weird weather trends, the winters aren't quite as cold usually.

we have had a huge number of people that have been evacuated from towns in the interior for weeks. some homes lost but they do as best they can to save peoples houses. Last year a lot in Fort McMurray in northern Alberta lost homes due to fire , this year I guess it's our turn. Not fun for all those evacuated, lots of scary stories and displaced people are struggling , worrying and hoping. The smoke we see isn't threatening us, it's quite far, Here it's pretty much just affecting elderly and those with asthma. In some places in the interior it's different , it's hard to take when it's smokey 24x7 and what we are seeing is a very diluted version of what some of them are seeing. a lot of those I work with have cabins near the fires and it isn't' just one fire. So it's worrying for them.

Phil