Mushaboom
The weather here wavers between cold and crisp and cold and rainy, and then the occasional surprising Indian Summer day (Halloween). The leaves are turning now, but I’m told by resident plant expert, Ma Owl (I’m tempted to grant her the blog nick, Mao, but that’s a little… I dunno, communist?), that leaves turning is a symptom of environmental stress, and the harder it is, the more vibrant the color. I’m not sure if I got that right, it was a long time ago I was told that.
I do know, from last weekend’s visit (pictures will be up as soon as either brl send me my cord, or I get to the store for a card reader, I like the latter option better, because it’s a good excuse to get one), that the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is beautiful in the Fall. I’m not quite sure why it’s not called the “Botanical” Garden instead of just plain “Botanic,” but that’s beside the point.
I also know now — more knowledge garnered from the Owl Family, that most cities have male trees, so as not to have to deal with fruit. The BBG did not have this luxury, however, and had female gingko trees, whose fruit smells like dog poop. Wikipedia has another description:
…but the seed coat contains butanoic acid and smells like rancid butter (which contains the same chemical) when fallen on the ground.
Regardless, it was a great time, and I saw at the very least, five children dressed up as Tigger.
Lastly, brl sent me this earlier this week, and damn if it isn’t a great song. But then I started thinking, where have I heard this song before? I kept looking trying to find it, and finally today I put it together. A little searching (google’s blog search tool is essential), and I found this version, which is the one I heard first. The original is great, too, but you know what I’m a sucker for.
Again, credit to brl: in the meantime we’ve got it hard / second floor living without a yard.
Have a good weekend, and say hi sometime, will you?
November 3rd, 2006 at 4:01 pm
I miss you guys lots. And I miss that I had to miss the visit.
November 3rd, 2006 at 9:50 pm
other i(nteresting?) facts about ginkos that i recently dropped on whoever happened to be walking next to me (my unsuspecting girlfriend):
*there is a ginko ‘petrified forest’ of fossil ginko trees on the west side of the Vantage bridge on I-90
*those leaves? dolabriform. that’s right, shaped like the head of an ax.
*plant species that have male and female trees? dioecious. that’s right, two houses.
*mighty whitey thought they were extinct until someone found some alive in china, i think. or maybe that’s the metasequoia. well, that’s a different story for another time.
yours truly,
brl with the help of L.Faddis and pel, my dad. and phg, my friend.
November 6th, 2006 at 11:24 am
i got a card reader, so have fun with that cord, brian. i’d read about the extinction thing, but is there really a word for “head of an ax-shaped leaf?” amazing.
November 11th, 2006 at 12:22 am
[...] Props to Tim for offering linking me to a remix of Feist’s Mushaboom. I like the original better, but, well, I’m also a fan of remixes. [...]
April 27th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
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