tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post4262889659089270144..comments2023-12-23T05:14:34.273-05:00Comments on Wit's End: A Prosaic and Amenable EndochronometerGail Zawackihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-46092359444376210742012-02-28T13:31:44.399-05:002012-02-28T13:31:44.399-05:00Thank you for the sober-minded view. Me & my n...Thank you for the sober-minded view. Me & my neighbour were preparing to do some study about that. We got a nice book on that matter from our local library and many books are less informative as your site. I am pleased to detect such information which I was searching for a long while. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-18663603277296795152012-02-28T09:17:23.162-05:002012-02-28T09:17:23.162-05:00Thanks Gail. The next dry, bright day we get I'...Thanks Gail. The next dry, bright day we get I'll try and get out to take some photos. That may be a while yet though. ;-)Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-26440069105053294732012-02-28T02:13:12.431-05:002012-02-28T02:13:12.431-05:00Gail,
Another epic and enlightening post; wonderf...Gail, <br />Another epic and enlightening post; wonderful to read! Thank you so much for all of your research, your pictures, writing and videos.<br /><br />Your photos of the same subject over the years clearly show the change that it's hard for most people to see--even with a trained eye. We tend to forget, as you've said, how lush things once were.<br /><br />Also, your discovery and review of the new EPA report is amazing. Not good news, but important news for people to know about, even if they don't want to hear it.<br /><br />Here in Massachsetts I've been walking on the same trails through the woods for about 35 years. In the earlier days, one had to stay on the trail to avoid the thick brush; now it's to avoid all of the downed trees and branches.<br /><br />Your recent post with all the videos at the end was great too. One has to feel some empathy for the man who couldn't stop himself from swearing about the dead trees.<br /><br />Warm regards,<br />RogerRogerhttp://www.gwenet.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-5173827683583307162012-02-27T10:35:11.675-05:002012-02-27T10:35:11.675-05:00If you ask any forester or lichenologist they will...If you ask any forester or lichenologist they will assure you that lichens do not harm trees. And in fact, in the past there were surely more lichens - certainly more kinds of lichens, because most of them are very sensitive to pollution and so have disappeared from many places. One person once commented that I should calm down because lichens grow very, very slowly - imperceptibly. I answered, that's EXACTLY the point! They are NO LONGER growing slowing, they're expanding overnight. It's a new world and people who are trained are slow to see it.<br /><br />I finally got one prof. from Harvard to admit that when a forest is in "decline" aka dying, there will be more lichens. Like insects, their job is to break down dying trees - not kill them. Having said that, there is no question in my mind (as in the quote in the post by John Dalton) that once the branch or trunk starts getting the particular lichen I have photographed, it is only a matter of a (very short) time before the branches are breaking of and the tree dies.<br /><br />So for your particular circumstance, I can't really say. I think mosses like acidity. Around here the grass in lawns is dying and being replaced to a certain extent by moss (I quite like moss, by the way!). And I doubt there is any rain or mist in the world anywhere that isn't acidic anymore, so as you are in a very damp area that could be a bigger source of the problem.<br /><br />To me it is simply insane for the "experts" to continue to insist that there is no such thing as too much lichen on trees. Did you see this video? Skip to 5 minutes in, to my mind, it's hilarious. I took this part of the movie in Santa Cruz, CA, last fall, in the pouring rain.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq2NJGYnAJ4&feature=related<br /><br />If you've got any pictures I would love to see them! You can mail them to witsendnj at yahoo.<br /><br />thanks for reading,<br />GailGail Zawackihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01800944469843206253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549306427964459740.post-34940965159552373122012-02-27T07:07:07.407-05:002012-02-27T07:07:07.407-05:00Gail, I live, currently, near the summit of a 300f...Gail, I live, currently, near the summit of a 300ft hill above a valley at the top of a river feeding down to a medium-sized city, Swansea in south Wales. The whole area was heavily industrialised until as recently as 100 years ago.<br />There are few trees in the area older than that.<br /><br />I moved here about five years ago but have only recently started noticing the trees, so I have no base-line from which to judge.<br />I've noticed that the trees up where I live, even the young, all have lichen, moss and ivy growing all over, including the very tips. Now, at the end of winter, the tips of some trees look like they are starting to bud but on closer inspection it is simply the lichen. A large percentage have rampant ivy, moss and lichen growth.<br />The trees down in the steep, narrow valley floor beside the river are in an even worse state regarding lichen and moss covering. Virtually every one is covered totally with growth. This valley used to contain many mines, railways and limekilns so none of the trees would be particularly old.<br /><br />The last five years have also seen an increase in rainfall in an area already above-average for rainfall in the UK. I have, therefore, previously attributed the amount of moss and lichen to the almost-permanent dampness of the area.<br /><br />Could this be the case or is it more likely damage from 200 years of industrialisation in the immediate area and from pollution moving up the valley from the city?Paulnoreply@blogger.com