The sausage tree of the carribbean

Here is a tree i photographed in a shopping square in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands...


The tree is of the genus Kigelia and is native to tropical Africa.
I keep seeing a very similar tree all around Chennai. It has green sausage like fruits hanging from its branches. With time the sausages turn brown, then the brown casing falls off to reveal a white interior that looks almost like it is made of thick cotton pads stitched together. Interesting isnt it? I havent managed to take a picture of one of these yet. Am really curious to find out if it is the same as the sausage trees of african origin.

Piedmont park

I came across the name 'piedmont' on a street address today and it brought to mind atlanta's piedmont park. Piedmont park is to atlanta what Central park is to NY. I msust say i was bit disappointed though.. it wasn't as open, big and vibrant as i had imagined it to be. Oh well, i guess the fact that i had moved from the stunning pacific northwest with its myriad of natural lakes, springs, mountains and trees to atlanta, made everything 'outdoors' or 'natural' seem just a little 'blah'. But here goes, pictoral recollections of one of my visits to Piedmont Park. There are several other parks in atlanta that i would visit with my hiking mates - gold branch, sweetwater and stone mountain park are some of the names that come to mind.

Memories of Wisconsin

While I was at Wisconsin, someone invited me to visit their farm. It was quite an exciting trip, as I had never really been to a farm before! Finally I could get close to a lovely red barn, to bales of hay and walk by green rolling meadows.

The highlight of the trip were undoubtedly the holstein cows. I got to milk one of them.

This probably was a pH meter, though I'm not very sure as its been quite few years.

The intrepid farmer at work.

Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland

Portland's 'Living Room'

 

 

SouthWest blocks in downtown Portland

The South West blocks that have  the Art Museum and some old Churches were so lovely and serene. A mini nature fix in the downtown area.

I love the painting on the wall of this building - it looks not 2 but 3 dimensional. I think it was the Oregon Historical Society.

The lovely Art Museum.

The first time I walked down this road, I saw a thin Santa run across amidst a drizzle. It was magical.

Arline Schnitzer Concert Hall

 

Discovery Park, Seattle

The first set of pictures taken with  my digital camera! I love the 'brick red' hues of Discovery Park in Seattle.

Will make for a great pastel painting.

Is that Mt Rainier in a distance?

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

The Columbia river originates in Canada, flows North West for a bit and then flows south to enter Washington state. It then flows east, forming the border between the states of Washington and Oregon, before finally entering the Pacific ocean.
The Columbia river gorge area, east of Portland is full of many spectacular waterfalls and hiking trails. Bridal veil, Ecola, Fairy, Lautorell, Oneonta, Punch Bowl, Multnomah, Ponytail, Triple falls, Wahkeena.... are only just some of them. Then there is Silver Falls, the state park to the south, that is home to not one but ten waterfalls.

Here are pictures from the area around the Horsetail falls.

 

Seaside Oregon

Seaside is a lovely little town by the Pacific coast in Oregon. It is at the end of the Lewis and Clarke trail and so has its share of history, nature and the beach.
 

'Frisco to Portland - Such beautiful sights

 

 

Watery Weekend - SanFrancisco

Golden Gate

Weekend Reflections - Enroute from Portland to SanFrancisco

 

Visit Weekend Reflections for more

Crater Lake National Park, OR

Portland is a truly wonderful place for weekend getaways. There is a multitude of options - you can take a quick drive west to the coast - Cannon Beach or Seaside and relax by the beach. Then there is Astoria that has the beach and some history around the early explorers. An hours drive to the east will take you to Mt Hood, which has the prettiest wildflowers all around it in spring. The Columbia river gorge area around there has innumerable trails and waterfalls, providing many excellent Saturday morning hiking opportunities. South of Portland, driving along the interstate highway you will find many small towns with something interesting to see or do.. and if nothing, then the magnificent Pacific Coast to admire.

One such trip was to Crater Lake National Park. Crater lake is a caldera formed more than 7000 years ago, after the volcanic eruption of Mount Mazama. Interestingly though it has been dormant ever since, geologists expect it to 'awaken' sometime.Volcanic ash from the last eruption has been found as far as Alberta Canada, 1000 miles to the north. Water from rains and snow filled the caldera to form the 2000 ft deep lake, the deepest in the United States. Other than wizard island, a small island in the lake formed by subsequent volcanic activity, there are one or two others that lie submerged.

 

 

There are as many as 50 mammal species in the park, the most abundant being the ground squirrels. There are several amphibians and reptiles as well. The trees are coniferous, with ponderosa pines, lodgepole pines, mountain hemlocks and white bark pines. There are also western and mountain hemlocks and many firs.

 

Watery Wednesday

Para-sailing in Seattle - Sept 2003

Snoqualmie Falls, Washington

Pictures from one of my trips  to the Snoqualmie Falls in Washington state. The falls are a beautiful sight. The area was traditionally used as a burial site; now the water is used to generate hydroelectric power.

Yours truely helping the family navigate the trail that drops 300ft in half a mile. Lots of trees on either side.