C is for Canary Island Pines, the most amazing conifers

When I first saw them in 2008, I thought there was something unusual about the Canary Island pine trees, but when we were told the amazing truth about them I realized why some were such strange shapes. Here, on the island of La Palma (Isla de la Palma), a tourist might expect palm trees to be the star performers, but these seemingly-scraggly pines with the spreading needles and the warped branches, are the true stars. Their trunks have extremely thick bark, which doesn't burn when fire rips through the forest. Later, when the fire has gone and the rains come, something wonderful happens. Through the cracks in its thick bark, the Canary Island Pine grows new branches, as we can see here in the last photo. I wish these wonderful pines could grow in Canada, because all my life I've seen the damage forest fires have done in my home province of British Columbia. It takes many, many years for evergreen forests to re-grow after a fire, but not in the Canary Islands!

I found this letter C (right) in a cloud in Hawaii last month.

(Photos by Kay Davies)




Posted for the meme that's in alphabetical order, week after week:
ABC Wednesday

To see how others see the C, please CLICK
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MY WORLD SMOKES, and I don't like it

When I look at the current weather conditions on theweathernetwork.com, I see the present temperature and the word "smoke". Yes, the smoke from British Columbia forest fires is still so bad it has become a factor in the weather of southeastern Alberta. It gives me an opportunity to use the words "my world" followed by a verb, but it doesn't give me much satisfaction. I think of all the people I know who have breathing problems, some serious, some less so, and I hope the thunderstorms predicted for this afternoon will come and wash the smoke away, even though the thunder frightens our dog. I think of the lungs of animals, wild and domesticated, who are exposed to the smoke without respite, unlike our dog who spends many hours indoors. And I cry.

You can see happier sights from other parts of the world at http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Photos by Richard Schear.

Smokey the Bear is STILL in the Air!!

Update -- The smoke blew as far as Manitoba, three provinces over from the locations of the forest fires, and smoke is still featured on the hourly forecast of theweathernetwork.com here in southern Alberta. My husband and our dog have had to take shorter walks because of the air pollution and here in this photo the sun, setting over the prairie, is seen through a haze, darkly.

(Below, from a previous post:)
The skies here in southeastern Alberta appear cloudy this morning, but the "cloud" is actually smoke drifting across the Rocky Mountains and over the prairie, reaching as far as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, some 800km (500 miles) from the BC border.

The smoke comes from the 110 active forest fires in British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province. There are other fires, but these 110 are all more than 10 hectares (24.7 acres) in size. That's 1100 hectares (2718) acres burning today.

I spent most of my life in BC where forest fires were always a possibility, because 2000 of them occur every year.

Even now, when many people have quit smoking, we still see smokers who throw lighted cigarettes out of car windows. There are also campers who build campfires, and neglect to put them completely out and then douse them with lots of water.

Even though most forest fires are caused by lightning, and many of them are in remote areas where smokers and campers never go, it is still important to do our part. Never throw lighted or partially-crushed cigarettes out a window. Never build campfires and leave them without being certain every last ash and cinder has been soaked with water.

As Smokey Bear used to say, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires." Please do your part.

(Photo by Richard Schear)

See photos from other parts of the world at http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/