Jan 13, 2024

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish (R.I.P...soon to reopen as "Painted Park"!). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
What a great group! Braved the cold! England by way of Gainesville, Florida!  Mix of longtime Atlanta residents and newbies! I hope I earned the privilege of your time.

Thanks for a great tour!

Pic of the week...
...is a bird I misidentified!

In the bare branches of one fringe trees lining the trail in the "Peace"-themed section of the arboretum, I called out a "Dark Eyed Junco" sighting. OOPS! Upon consulting the interwebs, I  confirmed it was actually an Eastern Phoebe. But I won't be too harsh on myself...they are pretty similar in size and color (see below)! 

Eastern Phoebe

Dark Eyed Junco

Thanks, Cornell Labs!!

Tree of the week...
...is going to be ALL OF THEM.

One of our intrepid tourists was interested specifically in growing her tree identification knowledge. It can be tough during the winter, since leaves are such an integral part of identification, but here is the list of the trees I pointed out along the trail:

• Fringe trees (Chionanthus retusus)
• Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia)
• Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)
• Cathedral live oak (Quercus virginiana)
• Georgia oak (Quercus georgiana)
• American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
• Sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima, non-native)
• Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
• Pignut hickory (Carya glabra)
• Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica..not sweet gum...ew)
• Lots of oaks (genus Quercus), including white swamp, southern red, chinquapin
• Carolina and Canada Hemlocks (Tsuga caroliniana and canadensis)
• Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
• Southern red oak (Quercus falcata)
• Scarlett oak (Quercus coccinea...remember Cochineal bugs...a source of red dye)
• - ...and then oak hill with all 33 native oak species

...and follow this link to Trees Atlanta's "Interactive Tree Inventory Map" to see them all!

Pignut Hickory

 Carya glabra

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Beltline Neighborhood Themes

Q: What are all the themes of the arboretum?

A: Well...Jeff is going to have to do some more research; there appears to be no Beltline Arboretum plans published on the interwebs! On the tour, we mentioned some of the themes that helped guide the tree and shrub selections - Medicine (near Morehouse College of Medicine), Peace (connecting MLK Jr Center and Carter Center), and Olmstead (running north of Freedom Parkway). I'll see if I can find out more!  See Trees Atlanta Beltline Arboretum and Piedmont Park.

Dec 9

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish (R.I.P...reopening in January 2024 as "Painted Park"!). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
A visitor from France and a future Trees Atlanta docent!

Thanks for a great tour!

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Q: There are 33 native species of oak that evolved in different ecosystems in Georgia (as represented here in David Landis' sculpture "33 Oaks"). Their ability to adapt to varied ecosystems makes them different, but what makes them the same? What do these oaks have in common?

A: Jeff's short, smarty-pants answer: They are all in the same genus: Quercus!

     Jeff's not-so-short answer: I did a little research on this and uncover a few common characteristics among the species of the genus Quercus: Tannins help make them resistant to fungi and pests. They produce acorns - "...a nut...borne in a cup" - some of which were a food source for Native Americans. The wood of "...all oak species [is] strong, hard, heavy and dense with very close grain..." Oaks are tall, strong, longlived, supportive of many species, and as such are a keystone species: "...a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance."  link 1   link 2

Nov 11

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish (R.I.P...reopening in January 2024 as "Painted Park"!). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
...which totaled zero! That's okay...it was a rainy, yucky day, but I love any excuse to get out on the Eastside Trail!

Thanks for a great tour!

Art on the Beltline...
...featuring displays and performances along the eastside trail. 

Wake is a large-scale installation modeled on the structural ribs of the nineteenth-century clipper ship U.S.S. Nightingale that rise up from the ground and frame a 21-foot-tall figurative sculpture.

--> read more...

Oaks and Sassafras showing fall color...and a really tiny home!