tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.comments2024-02-21T22:09:14.356-05:00Karstad Biodiversity Paintings: adventures in the colour of CanadaAleta Karstadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15900113759159760493noreply@blogger.comBlogger510125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-85449049810248228812024-02-21T19:05:38.774-05:002024-02-21T19:05:38.774-05:00This goes along with a record-setting lack of ice ...This goes along with a record-setting lack of ice on the Great Lakes this winter. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-54984895724158596962024-02-15T17:33:54.566-05:002024-02-15T17:33:54.566-05:00Over the past few years the Emerald Ash Borers kil...Over the past few years the Emerald Ash Borers killed the Twin Ashes, and today we felled them, and sledded the dry wood home. On each tree we left one of the epicormic sprouts - about 2.5 m tall - that the Borers had induced, and hope they can regrow in an environment in which the Borers are controlled by biocontrol parisitoid Wasps.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-6185027150102611242023-11-06T17:20:28.438-05:002023-11-06T17:20:28.438-05:00Hahahaha!Hahahaha!Cindy Deachmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14930182506426976740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-51968854419556740512023-04-10T10:13:30.941-04:002023-04-10T10:13:30.941-04:00Aleta, I appreciate your offer. I have bills to pa...Aleta, I appreciate your offer. I have bills to pay. You have captured the essence. I observed the vibrant red of some Cardinal Flowers last summer near Tobermory. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-45708749254819407862023-04-09T22:03:28.808-04:002023-04-09T22:03:28.808-04:00Sorry - it has just sold!
I can have a custom prin...Sorry - it has just sold!<br />I can have a custom print on canvas made for you, or an acid-free giclee print, signed and numbered. What size would you like? Aleta Karstadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15900113759159760493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-58853170691702171312023-04-05T17:16:10.731-04:002023-04-05T17:16:10.731-04:00Cardinal Flower 1983 Tobermory - still around? Cardinal Flower 1983 Tobermory - still around? redtubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05854273573929469510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-76073052522885403372023-03-14T19:17:17.026-04:002023-03-14T19:17:17.026-04:00It is a modt beautiful painting, Aleta. You are ri...It is a modt beautiful painting, Aleta. You are right about the dancing . Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-90511403397935732232022-09-23T16:52:47.073-04:002022-09-23T16:52:47.073-04:00In the years since, we've hacked at the stand ...In the years since, we've hacked at the stand irregularly, so its extent is about the same, but the stems aren't more than a metre high.<br />fred schuelernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-60566492518304193042022-09-21T21:24:56.542-04:002022-09-21T21:24:56.542-04:00– this tree is dead from Dutch Elm Disease, and h...– this tree is dead from Dutch Elm Disease, and has not sprouted: “23 September 2018 – Ontario: Leeds County: Temperance Lake Rd/Hwy 29, Glen Buell. (25m waypoint), 44.63717° N 75.84503° W TIME: 1422. AIR TEMP: 18°C, light overcast, Beaufort light breeze. HABITAT: brushy/Vincetoxicum oldfield. OBSERVER: Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler. 2018/268/c, Ulmus thomasii (Rock Elm). 1 tree, ill/dead, seen, driveby. ca 25 cm DBH, all remaining foliage brown, including the few-leaf epicormic sprouts on the trunk that had been green on 22 July. frednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-78342383504270300542022-04-17T21:18:57.921-04:002022-04-17T21:18:57.921-04:00I have not seen Blue eyed grass in such abundance ...I have not seen Blue eyed grass in such abundance at Bruce Alvar Nature Reserve. I am glad you captured these elegant plants. Thank you, Alete. redtubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05854273573929469510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-66837543357530908802021-08-29T21:57:22.486-04:002021-08-29T21:57:22.486-04:00What a beautiful painting of a lovely scene. What a beautiful painting of a lovely scene. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11571705854862939677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-37226060981097006232021-02-17T10:38:51.379-05:002021-02-17T10:38:51.379-05:00I spent three years off and on in the Crowsnest Pa...I spent three years off and on in the Crowsnest Pass..Fernie and Elk Valley. In the forests I came across many burnt out cedars (called snags) which were wonderfully carved ebony black sculptures. I drew about forty of them and later made them into etchings. People in the East don't relate to these works as they haven't seen such a thing. <br />joycehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10396636954541269052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-62229362035704153042020-12-21T16:46:06.807-05:002020-12-21T16:46:06.807-05:00Beautiful artwork! I work with pseudoscorpions. Th...Beautiful artwork! I work with pseudoscorpions. This looks like family Neobisiidae (or possibly Syarinidae, if the abdomen has longitudinal striations on lateral sides).Charles Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11750142759699343229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-78998011473925512722020-10-03T21:44:57.672-04:002020-10-03T21:44:57.672-04:00...and, of course, the Trillium grant didn't ......and, of course, the <a href="https://ngtimes.ca/environmental-history-project-for-north-grenville/" rel="nofollow"> Trillium grant</a> didn't come through, even though a delegation from the Historical Society had gone to a workshop on how to fill out a Trillium application. Fred Schuelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02413290982310369659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-23162824607818995522020-02-05T17:04:28.646-05:002020-02-05T17:04:28.646-05:00Amazing colours captured in your painting!Amazing colours captured in your painting!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04574177985951385119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-61087993590870902392019-09-25T17:49:27.323-04:002019-09-25T17:49:27.323-04:00...and here's an optimistic Turtle quatrain fo......and here's an optimistic Turtle quatrain for the painting (all my Turtle O2Bs seem to be optimistic) -<br /><br />Oh to be stub-foot Chelydra,<br />Survivor of tire crush,<br />Starting on another century<br />No longer hatchet-doomed for ducks.<br /><br />Aleta's text hints at the things that were said when we were kids, when part of "conservation" was killing Snappers with hatchets because they were said to eat ducklings, but she grumped that the stub was more likely due to a gnawing predator than having the foot run over by a vehicle.<br /><br />Here's another optimistic O2B from 2007 -<br /><br />Oh to be the garden Turtle,<br />and to spurn Petunias' rights,<br />just to make the soil fertile<br />With September's snapping sprites.<br /><br />If North America is Turtle Island, and the Celydridae are the most distinctive element of its chelonian fauna, maybe this is are our primary totem species, and their conservation a central element of showing that we know how to live here.<br />Fred Schuelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02413290982310369659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-26738573379702250612019-08-25T15:52:06.570-04:002019-08-25T15:52:06.570-04:00just saw a 4 foot water snake near the dock
guess ...just saw a 4 foot water snake near the dock<br />guess we haven't extincted his race yet....<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14051756745292811244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-63961211099479444362019-08-13T05:36:02.383-04:002019-08-13T05:36:02.383-04:00Beautiful Aleta! Lucky Bonnie to be featured in th...Beautiful Aleta! Lucky Bonnie to be featured in this beautiful painting!Cindihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11912264653772124911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-51338204395742538922019-07-30T18:44:25.110-04:002019-07-30T18:44:25.110-04:00and then there was - McAlpine, Donald F., Dwayne A...and then there was - McAlpine, Donald F., Dwayne A. W. Lepitzki, Frederick W. Schueler, Fenning J.T. McAlpine, Andrew Hebda, Robert G. Forsyth, Annegret Nicolai, John E. Maunder, & Ron G. Noseworthy. 2016.. Occurrence of the Chinese Mystery Snail, Cipangopaludina chinensis (Gray, 1834) (Mollusca: Viviparidae) in the Saint John River system, New Brunswick, with a review of status in Atlantic Canada. BioInvasions Records 5(3):149-154<br />DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/bir.2016.5.3.05<br />Fred Schuelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02413290982310369659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-37293767333331508472019-07-23T12:03:46.940-04:002019-07-23T12:03:46.940-04:00The concept of having a dump is way out-dated. The...The concept of having a dump is way out-dated. The Scandinavian countries have turned garbage into something valuable and energy... Thanks you for caring Fred and Aleta. The Art of Phil Chadwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07100281940213651166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-29120969323494376432019-04-22T10:27:39.074-04:002019-04-22T10:27:39.074-04:00Part 2:
On the good side, the birds love the Black...Part 2:<br />On the good side, the birds love the Black Locusts in my yard.<br />Warblers and other birds are attracted to them as it seems that there<br />are always many insects and caterpillars on the leaves. Some birds<br />also eat the flowers and the young leaves. Some years, the flowers<br />hang in great clusters and attract so many pollinator insects that the<br />whole yard hums to the point that I can hear the humming from indoors.<br />It's quite remarkable. Last year, there were very few flowers as we<br />had that unusual freeze after the flowers had almost bloomed. The<br />flower buds and leaves completely dropped off -- even at the top<br />canopy of these very tall trees. I wondered what might happen -- if<br />they would get new leaves or if they were done for the year. They did<br />send out new leaves about 3 weeks later, but only a few scant flower<br />clusters appeared.<br /><br />As the trees on my property have aged, the upper branches have become<br />heavily encrusted with lichen. I had a flock of about a hundred<br />Bohemian Waxwings show up in my yard in early March and many of them<br />picked at the lichen in the treetops for about a half hour and then<br />the flock moved on. I think they were after the lichen, but maybe<br />there were some springtails or other creatures in the lichen. I<br />posted a photo of this on iNaturalist:<br />https://inaturalist.ca/observations/22261894<br />The bark of the older trees reminds me a little of Shagbark Hickory --<br />being almost like armour plates, and deeply fissured. I've seen birds<br />go inside of some of these plates of bark. I often wonder if bats<br />might make use of all the gaps and fissures in the bark. Nuthatches,<br />Chickadees, Creeper and Woodpeckers all spend a lot of time digging<br />around in the bark.<br /><br />It is true that the wood does give off a lot of heat, but I find the<br />corky bark sort of unpleasant smelling when it burns. Also, if you<br />are going to cut up the wood, it's best done when it is green and<br />don't let it dry out or it is like sawing through a piece of iron. As<br />the trees have aged, the upper branches have gotten corky and<br />sometimes break off in the wind. The smaller branchlets often break<br />off in strong winds so that there are often a bunch of 1 to 2 foot<br />long bits strewn on the lawn after a storm. These small branchlets<br />have sharp thorns, so they are a slight nuisance to pick up. The<br />trees have a nice wide canopy -- they grow very tall before branching<br />out -- so they provide a huge amount of shade. The branches can<br />grow to be very long and are quite flexible, allowing them to bend<br />wildly in strong winds. All in all, I think they have many positives<br />in spite of the thorns and the rather tenacious habit of sending up<br />new saplings in the lawn and garden.<br /><br />regards,<br />Bev Wigney<br />Round Hillbevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18246260676619681887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-75238457965305867022019-04-22T10:27:22.075-04:002019-04-22T10:27:22.075-04:00Part 1:
My house at Round Hill has several very la...Part 1:<br />My house at Round Hill has several very large old Black Locust in the<br />front yard. They are on the property line, so I assume they were<br />planted there quite some time ago. The house dates from around 1840<br />or so. Several of the trees were cut down many years ago and were<br />already very large. The stumps of those trees are still in my yard as<br />they are like rock. A neighbour who has a bush lot and sells timber,<br />sawed down a snag for me and said the wood was really hard cutting.<br />Something I have noticed here and at other locations is that these<br />trees become very tall and often lean, seeming to reach for light.<br />Still, they seem quite secure in spite of looking a bit precarious.<br />The snag in my yard had probably been standing for decades - barkless<br />and with the wood hard like steel.<br /><br />There are a few similarly large Locusts on my neighbour's lawn, and a<br />couple growing down on the hillside below my place. A house that was<br />abandoned (now being restored) down the road from me, also c.1840 has<br />a few old ones around it as well as a grove of younger ones that<br />probably grew up from the roots. My neighbour (now deceased) who<br />lived in the house with the Black Locusts in the her yard told me<br />that, when she was a young girl growing up at Lake Munro in the 1930s,<br />there were Black Locusts on either side of the lane planted many years<br />before by a relative. She also mentioned that the famiily was a bit<br />ticked off as the trees became so large and sent out roots growing<br />more trees. That's probably their main downside -- the roots extend<br />very far and then new trees pop up here and there. I had to be away<br />from my place for awhile a couple of years ago and returned to find<br />many 3 to 4 foot tall trees in my perennial garden where there had<br />been none a year before.<br /><br />The young trees have razor sharp thorns. When I'm weeding my<br />perennial beds, I have to watch that I don't grab a shoot coming up<br />among the weeds. They really cut. There were Black Locust at my farm<br />in Ontario as well - at the very back of my land around the ruins of a<br />log cabin on a homestead said to date from around 1850 or so. What<br />probably started off as a few Black Locust trees a century ago, had,<br />over time, turned into a dense grove of them that was probably about 3<br />acres in size. This consisted of several old trees surrounded by<br />legions of young ones. The ones about 2 to 5 metres in height have<br />very scary thorns -- the branches are long and supple and will snag<br />you with the thorns. I always joked about how we didn't have to worry<br />about anyone sneaking in through the back of our farm as they would be<br />entangled in the razor-wire. So, that's the downside of them. Well,<br />actually, the other downside is that they are rather messy trees when<br />they start dropping leaves in the autumn. You can't rake them up as<br />the fronds disintegrate into small pieces.<br />bevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18246260676619681887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-49926825459683391242018-10-25T10:50:34.097-04:002018-10-25T10:50:34.097-04:00Love this painting so much.Love this painting so much.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17247489202323335992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-65813483661762424872018-07-30T18:25:11.369-04:002018-07-30T18:25:11.369-04:00very "inspring" and informative acceptiv...very "inspring" and informative acceptive speech<br />Al Stephennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3403025007552597654.post-65217116698788429762018-07-11T23:29:35.490-04:002018-07-11T23:29:35.490-04:00Well done Aleta. You inspire me to take my sketchi...Well done Aleta. You inspire me to take my sketching pad into Nature and draw. Irena Mrs Irenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04021495703167364663noreply@blogger.com