Saturday, November 18, 2017

the Burr Oaks



     So there are these  two trees south of the Wetlands river bend trail,down the slow slope that drops suddenly into the "Wakkie" river.  Though I have been this way several times it was no surprise to me that I had not noticed them before.
     The summer leaves are fallen; many covering the path under my feet, nearly unrecognizable. But the oaks are hanging on, so it is a good time of year to spot all the oaks in the wood. Yet even now as I stand sketching, a leaf here and a leaf there come floating across my vision. Maybe a slight shift in the weather has inspired a bit more preparation on their part for the winter sure to come. You can see a couple of the leaves here, hanging tight on the top of a skinny sapling. Biding its time for years before it gets an honest shot at the full sun. 
     In the summer these oaks may stand out in the upper canopy, as they often turn their heavy leaves over to show the lighter underside.

     As the note says it was noon last Tuesday when this was drawn; with pencil in the 7" x 9" Canson 
98 pound paper.


     And then there is this old tree. Suffering some from its age- probably quite a bit older than I at my 70 years. Done on our recent stop at Rebok's in Inver Grove Heights  On these hills as well as the river bottoms of Kansas, you find the Burr oaks to be a dominant oak. They suggest to me more than any other tree the mid-evil forests of Europe- broad topped, knarled and heavy.  This is another pencil drawing in the same pad as above.






     

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