Monday, December 14, 2009

Cypress roots along the Blanco river

5 comments:

  1. Love this picture!!! I love the way the roots intertwine...I wonder if the size of the roots is proportional to the size of the tree?....

    I google "cypress" quickly to find out that they make shingles out of it. Also that Joshua D. Brown a settler made Kerrville Texas prosperous because of it.

    Between experiencing those natural beauties and being with Herb and Josie that have a passion for it must have been quite a journey!

    Again...I appreciate your effort to bring me on your adventure via this blog!

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  2. D,
    Don't know the relationship between root size vs. tree size, but I would guess it to be a direct relationship.
    Hmmm, thanks for the info on Joshua Brown, Kerrville, and cypress. I'm headed for Kerrville tomorrow and can hardly wait to impress the locals with my historical knowledge. I wonder if Joshua is my friend Josh that's married to my friend Zoe? Maybe I won't mention that part... they won't believe me.
    Thanks for coming on the trip with me.
    XOXO

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  3. Incidentally, Herb showed me a cypress stump along the banks of the Blanco. He said trees were last cut there around 1901. Imagine a dead stump lasting over 100 years! Herb said one reason the wood is valued is its resistance to rot. I guess so!

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  4. The exposed cypress roots in Carl's photo are about 100 yards upstream from our home and are unusual. My guess is that they were gradually exposed over many years, and gradually thickened in response the our periodic flooding. When we have one of our Texas "Gully Washers" upstream the current through this section of the river is extremely swift and can rise as much as 40 feet; a 10-20 foot rise is more common. These roots have almost imperceptibly changed since I started coming here 31 years ago.

    One of the things we now do here for entertainment is to sit out on our screened porch and watch the river rise. It beats most television programming.

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  5. Thank you Herb for the added information. I am impress 10-20 foot rise....it must be quite a scene! I can just hear the sound of the rushing water...you certainly have the first seat of the house on the screened porch.

    merci!

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