January 10, 2026

This Week's Tour...

...met at 9:00AM Saturday in front of Inman Perk coffeeshop (240 North Highland Ave NE). 

"The Tourists"...
What a great group! Tech students! Curious Atlantans! And grandma’s 75th birthday! Happy Birthday!  I hope I earned the privilege of your time.

Book of the week...
...is just one of the many sources of inspiration for my tour; “The Light Eaters”, by Zoë Schlesinger. “How The Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers à New Understanding of Life on Earth.”  And if you live on Earth, like I do, boy will you find this fascinating! And it answers the question Jeff “stumped” himself with during the tour (see below).

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

Diagram of transpiration (thanks, wiki)

Q: Jeff mentioned “transpiration”, the process by which trees bring water up from the soil by releasing water through their leaves. What happens during the winter, when trees have dropped their leaves (through abscission)?

…and holy moly, so many related questions; is water still moving thru the trees xylem? Why doesn’t the water freeze? If it does freeze, why doesn’t the water burst open the tree like frozen pipes in a home? 

A: The short answer? Mostly no… and also, trees are clever.

Without leaves, transpiration largely shuts down, so water movement slows way down. Some water does freeze—but trees are built for that. Water can freeze between cells, or squeeze into cells without causing damage. Unlike your home’s rigid pipes, tree tissues are flexible and well-insulated, so they bend instead of bursting.

Nature: still undefeated.