Feb 10 - The Nyack Villager

The Lifetime Garden
by Jon Feldman
I love watching trees. Especially so in winter,
after deciduous species have dropped their
leaves. Oak, maple, beech and locust, to
name some of my favorites, exhibit unique
trunk and branching structures that clearly
identify them to an observer equipped with
merely a field guide and the simplest of detective
skills.
ese gorgeous beings stand stoic against winter’s
omnipotence. Aside from occasional
branch-rubbing groans in the wind, they seem
impervious to the weather.
Oaks tower above the ground with a main
trunk reaching skyward, splitting into side
limbs frequently larger than most trees growing
around them. Maples look like a ‘typical’
tree—the generic kind you would draw by instinct.
e light grey bark of the beech distinguishes
it from all others. Its elephant-like
ripples are unmistakable and a particularly
special attraction.
Another all-time favorite, the shag-bark hickory,
is also set apart by its bark. e peeling
plates seem ready to shed without warning,
showering shards of wood upon the forest floor.
On Our February Cover
Illustration by Joanne Ottaviano
Joanne Ottaviano recently returned to Piermont
after living in New York City for fifteen years.
Joanne began her career in illustration and
fine art. She has exhibited her paintings nationally
and internationally, including a onewoman
art exhibition in Tokyo.
In addition to her works on canvas, Joanne
paints interior and exterior murals (frequently
for children’s rooms) and creates customized
home tiles and furniture with hand painted
designs. She enjoys creating personalized
greeting cards in her whimsical style for private
clients.
Joanne is delighted to call Piermont her home
once more. ✫
Evergreen trees get a featured
role this season as
well. Without the distractions
of leafy neighbors,
their structures
and stature become
much more prominent.
eir bulk provides the
skyline a scale that puts
all into perspective.
Some species of trees can reach a hundred feet
or more, though most of our locals are lucky
to reach 60 before succumbing to natural or
human-related causes. e endurance of the
eldest capture most of our attention. e surrounding
lesser trees can frequently be their
progeny, perhaps representing the next generation
of giants.
Mine has been a life-long love affair, yet, because
of the non-verbal, immobile nature of
the focus of my affection, these feelings remain
unrequited. And, like many such unbalanced
relationships, an occasional change of
scenery can do wonders for the soul.
at said, I’m off to warmer climes to get reacquainted
with some coconut palms I met a
few years ago.
Jon Feldman is the owner of G. biloba Garden Environments.
Reach him at 353-3448. ✫
Consider the
Groundhog
Woodchuck and groundhog
are common terms for the
same animal.
How much wood could
a woodchuck chuck if a
woodchuck could chuck wood?
About 700 pounds. A wildlife biologist once
measured the inside volume of a typical woodchuck
burrow and estimated that, if wood filled
the hole instead of earth, the industrious animal
would have chucked about 700 pounds worth.
What goes on in the groundhog’s burrow in
Winter?
Not much. Groundhogs go into deep hibernation.
eir metabolic rate slows ‘way down
and their body temperature drops to just a few
degrees above ambient temperature. Because
their hibernaculum, the deepest portion of the
burrow where they hibernate, is below the
frost line, the temperature of their surroundings
may be about 40º F.
Below: diagram of a groundhog’s studio apartment. ✫
16 The Nyack Villager February, 2010
anks to Cornell University