Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree

On our visit to London last Christmas we learned about the Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square. This tree is a gift each year from the Norwegians as a token of appreciation for the British support to Norway during WWII. The gift has been given every year since 1947.

Trees of the UK

During my first trip to the United Kingdom I found some interesting trees.

A tree at the University of Edinburgh. It was called the Monkey Puzzle tree.
Araucaria araucana (popularly called the Monkey-puzzle Tree or Monkey Tail Tree) is an evergreen tree growing to 40 metres (130 ft) tall with a 2 metres (7 ft) trunk diameter (from Wikipedia)



A tree at Alnwick Castle in England. A tree was planted in this spot over 400 years ago specifically at the request of the Duke of North Umberland by his landscape artist.

This tree is a decedant of the apple tree which dropped an apple on the head of  Isaac Newton. Located in Cambridge England.

Trees

I love how interesting trees can be. I thought I would give you a round of posts with various trees I have taken pictures of starting with ones at my home.

The old saying that moss grows on the north side of the tree is false. This is the east side of this tree. Apparently moss grows mostly on the side of the tree with the most shelter.

The is looking up from the large base of the large oak tree in the back yard that provides the best shade and a great place to play as a child.

Originally purchased as a 4ft Christmas tree, this tree is now gigantic. The corn behind it is about 8ft tall!
Maybe one day it could have a shot at being the Rockafeller tree in NYC?

The Vineyard

These were the last few grapes left of the vine in moms little mini vineyard. These pics were from the beginning of October.

Home "Sweet" Home

When I was back at my parents on a beautiful fall day I took a few picture around the yard. The old shed outback was originally up by the road as a garage.

 One of the best parts of the yard are the 3 large trees along the road in the front yard. Dad taps them and collects the sap to boil into maple syrup in the winter months. The sap is collected in buckets that hang of the trees (which can be a little embarrasing, when the school bus picks you up as a middle schooler). The the collected sap is boiled down and evaperated, then strained to get the syrup. Which my dad enjoys on top of vanilla ice cream.

The Water Tower

Where has this month gone! I got a little busy this month and didn't have a chance to post much. However I was still taking pictures!  Here are a couple of the iconic BG water tower visible off of I-75 inside Carter Park. I wonder what the view is like from the top.