More tree news

I got a text flash flood warning on the phone yesterday.  I guess cell phone text warnings is a public service and I am plenty OK with this unexpected to me aspect of modern technology.  The things is that the flash flood warning was for the south metro where apparently they had 4 or 5 inches of rain.  We only had a couple and only one relatively short period when I would even characterize the rain as "hard".

On the other hand, today the wind blew hard.

Gusts of 33mph.

Wind that strong changes weather conditions fairly rapidly.  It was sunny when I left the house but some fairly threatening clouds closed in quite soon thereafter.  I looped, something I wanted to do anyway because with that peevishly powerful (nice alliteration, eh?) wind out of the west I wanted to ride the steepish downhill available when I start out towards the west from where I live.  The westward loop downhill into the wind allowed me to make the turn and then to ride uphill going east at about 18mph.  Uphill at 18 is a pretty nice pace for me.  It makes me feel fast.

Today was pretty near peak for certain trees to be shedding the seeds that as a child we always called helicopters.  I don't know the particular species of maple that sheds these seeds but I know they are maples.

Here's a look up into one of the trees which is still holding more helicopters than most of the others.

Those things are still entertaining to watch as they spiral down from the trees.  Warning though, helicopters are sharp on the business end.  At bicycle speed it is a good idea to be wearing eye protection.  Which, of course, I was.

This is what the street looked like on hundreds of yards of today's route.

Just riding along crunching through the seeds.

When I got home as I was removing my helmet one helicopter that had lodged in one of the vents of my helmet spun out and helicoptered down to the floor.

And look at the new growth on BNT. 

TOPWLH has taken to what she refers to as gently massaging the branches.  I know, she is a looney but she is our looney and we approve of even the looniness.  She grew impatient with the rate at which the brown needles were falling off the branches and discovered that touching the dead needles makes them fall to the ground.

So would a good strong wind.  Like today.

We both find it very encouraging to note the overwhelming profusion of new growth.  We haven't had a white pine in the yard before, watching and learning is lots of fun.