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I stopped to smell the roses....

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    • I kinda, maybe, sort of, envy you folks who know one plant from another.
      I can sumtimes tell the difference between, grass, a bush, and a tree, but not always.
      Because of my lack of ability to tell my wife's flower plants from weeds and grass, I'm not allowed to cut the grass at home any more.
      It's my job to keep the mower running and Kathy's to use it.

    • LIhikers wrote:

      I kinda, maybe, sort of, envy you folks who know one plant from another.
      I can sumtimes tell the difference between, grass, a bush, and a tree, but not always.
      Because of my lack of ability to tell my wife's flower plants from weeds and grass, I'm not allowed to cut the grass at home any more.
      It's my job to keep the mower running and Kathy's to use it.


      The wife and kids warn me what items in the yard I'm not allowed to mow.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • I'm trying to convince my wife that the dandelions in the yard are beautiful protected wildflowers. Not having much luck with that.

      But I did take botany in college. I never could never remember the genus/species of box elder, so my prof made sure it was ever quiz every week. Lost a lot of points, but I will never forget Acer negundo. I do better with trees than flowers.

    • LIhikers wrote:

      I kinda, maybe, sort of, envy you folks who know one plant from another.
      I can sumtimes tell the difference between, grass, a bush, and a tree, but not always.
      Because of my lack of ability to tell my wife's flower plants from weeds and grass, I'm not allowed to cut the grass at home any more.
      It's my job to keep the mower running and Kathy's to use it.


      At the RPH work weekend, before I left for the stairs, I was going to walk Overload around the garden and show her what to weed and what not. She said someone was suppose to come and help....so I kept my trap shut. As it turned out, that person did not show. When I got back that night I walked around it.....they did a very good job of NOT pulling everything out!
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:

    • Wish I knew more about what I was looking at in the woods. But I'm mostly a child of the suburbs, never spent much time on farms or such. I carried a small set of Audubon books in my pack when I set out from Amicalola Falls State Park, way back when. The Audubon books made it as far as the post office in Suches.

      Lawns and gardens aren't my thing either. We had a micro-burst (kinda like a tornado) in our neighborhood, two weeks ago -- knocked down lots of big trees in our woods. What a mess. Coulda been worse, trees could have fallen on the house. Am I responsible for "cleaning up" my woods?

    • Rasty wrote:

      LIhikers wrote:

      I kinda, maybe, sort of, envy you folks who know one plant from another.
      I can sumtimes tell the difference between, grass, a bush, and a tree, but not always.
      Because of my lack of ability to tell my wife's flower plants from weeds and grass, I'm not allowed to cut the grass at home any more.
      It's my job to keep the mower running and Kathy's to use it.


      The wife and kids warn me what items in the yard I'm not allowed to mow.


      It's the stuff she puts in the Round Up areas that gets me in trouble, it appears she's finally figured it out, I see a flag planted beside a tiny mimosa tree.....hope the wind isn't blowing next time I poison.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.

    • odd man out wrote:

      But I did take botany in college. I never could never remember the genus/species of box elder, so my prof made sure it was ever quiz every week. Lost a lot of points, but I will never forget Acer negundo. I do better with trees than flowers.


      Hmm, one reason that I wind up sticking in the Latin names of plants and other creatures in my trip reports is that the vulgar names vary so widely. I saw your post, and thought to myself, "wait a minute, Acer is the genus of maples, not elders." I looked up Acer negundo, and it's the same tree I learnt as "black ash". (And it isn't an ash, either!) At least if I use the Latin name, people from other parts of the country have a chance of figuring out what I'm talking about.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • I don't know the technical names for any of it. I know the names of a few flowers- violets, indian paint brush, pink lady slippers and a few trees, I thought it was all mountain laurel. All I know if it looks pretty or unusual I snap a picture of it.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • rafe wrote:

      Wish I knew more about what I was looking at in the woods.


      You are looking at the handiwork of God. I do not know much of what I see either, but I do appreciate what He has made anyways. All of man's "marvels" do not hold a candle to one flower. The greatest of symphonies are not to be compared to the songs of birds.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

    • AnotherKevin wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      But I did take botany in college. I never could never remember the genus/species of box elder, so my prof made sure it was ever quiz every week. Lost a lot of points, but I will never forget Acer negundo. I do better with trees than flowers.


      Hmm, one reason that I wind up sticking in the Latin names of plants and other creatures in my trip reports is that the vulgar names vary so widely. I saw your post, and thought to myself, "wait a minute, Acer is the genus of maples, not elders." I looked up Acer negundo, and it's the same tree I learnt as "black ash". (And it isn't an ash, either!) At least if I use the Latin name, people from other parts of the country have a chance of figuring out what I'm talking about.


      Box elder is a peculiar maple, that's for sure - a real garbage tree. We have a lot more maples up in MI. During my hike in VA I was struggling with all the oaks - don't know them so well, except white oak - that's pretty easy. I like trees you can ID by just looking at them from a distance, like locust (black and honey), sycamore, catalpa, walnut, beech, cherry, and sassafras for example. Saw lots of sassafras trees in VA, but not many big ones. When a sassafras tree gets big enough, the bark gets super gnarly. Cherry too. The young branches have smooth red bark but at some point they become black and scaly.

      On vacation last year we were in Turkey and we hired a guide to show us around Ephesus. At one point I commented on all the pretty trees and the guide asked if I could ID a tree growing in Ephesus as it is covered with pretty flowers in the spring and her clients always ask her what it is. So when we got to it I told her it was a Redbud (Cercis canadensis) in the Legume family.

    • BirdBrain wrote:

      rafe wrote:

      Wish I knew more about what I was looking at in the woods.


      You are looking at the handiwork of God. I do not know much of what I see either, but I do appreciate what He has made anyways. All of man's "marvels" do not hold a candle to one flower. The greatest of symphonies are not to be compared to the songs of birds.


      I'll give you a hearty amen to that Bird Brain.
      I deal with technology all day at work and there's no comparison!

    • BirdBrain wrote:

      rafe wrote:

      Wish I knew more about what I was looking at in the woods.


      You are looking at the handiwork of God. I do not know much of what I see either, but I do appreciate what He has made anyways. All of man's "marvels" do not hold a candle to one flower. The greatest of symphonies are not to be compared to the songs of birds.


      Or Matthew 6:28-29
      And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
      Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

    • I'm horrible with trees and flowers. I've gotten mountain laurel down & rhododendron. I know a beech tree ... it's similar to what we used to carve in as kids (before I knew better). I can pick out Sassafras because of the "3" leaves and thought I knew poison ivy. My dh was cutting a HUGE poison ivy vine down and I told him ... "you're full of sh*t ... if that's poison ivy, I'll eat it." Well, he broke out with the rash a day later ... I've just come out of hiding :).
      “Alone had always felt like an actual place to me, as if it weren't a state of being, but rather a room where I could retreat to be who I really was.”
      ― Cheryl Strayed

    • rafe wrote:

      Wish
      I knew more about what I was looking at in the woods.

      BirdBrain wrote:

      You
      are looking at the handiwork of God. I do not know much of what I see
      either, but I do appreciate what He has made anyways. All of man's
      "marvels" do not hold a candle to one flower. The greatest of symphonies
      are not to be compared to the songs of birds.


      Well, of course. That's not to say that you can't try to name it. God gave Adam the authority to name all the living creatures (Gen. 2:19) and decreed that whatever name he called one, that was to be its name. That authority extends to Adam's descendants - we are given the capacity to learn about God's creation that we may adore and praise its Maker. In the confusion of tongues, we have given the creatures many names, but trying to understand them, and agreeing on names that others may share that understanding, is holy work and part of what we're here for.

      How wonderful it is that God created Cantharus bicknelli, with its fluty whisper sounding from its hiding place in the dark recesses of the balsam forest.. How wonderful that God created Eugene Bicknell to name it, because assigning it a name was a major factor in the conservation of that forest. How fortunate I am that its song was preserved for me to hear on Sunday, less than five miles as the thrush flies from the summit where Bicknell first heard it. And all that was done so that in that song, and the hearing of it, the Name of its Maker might be glorified. His glory is not diminished by giving that bird a distinct name, and knowing its appearance, song and habits. It is reflected and magnified.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      i don't know about smelling roses, but today is Tuesday and that means it's time to go to and smell a half pound cheeseburger with all the fixin's and hand cut fries and ice cold beer. :D


      You should get up here to Hop Cat. Every weeknight from 4-6 you can get a burger, fries, and a beer for 6$ And this is a really good burger. The fries are called Crack Fries because they are addictive like crack. The beer is chosen from their in-house brewed selection. It helps that this is the #1 ranked brew pub in the US. Why do I ever cook?

    • BirdBrain wrote:

      I agree AK. In my attempt to be profound, I may have sounded snarky. It was not my intent. I intended to glorify the Creator of all things, not minimize the attempt to learn about His creation.


      Sorry, BB, didn't mean to bristle. I have too many fundamentalist friends (both Christians and atheists) who think that being a scientist is somehow incompatible with being a Christian.

      I point out to them that Gen. 2:19 is the birth of science. (It continues to be commanded elsewhere.)
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.

    • AnotherKevin wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      I agree AK. In my attempt to be profound, I may have sounded snarky. It was not my intent. I intended to glorify the Creator of all things, not minimize the attempt to learn about His creation.


      Sorry, BB, didn't mean to bristle. I have too many fundamentalist friends (both Christians and atheists) who think that being a scientist is somehow incompatible with being a Christian.

      I point out to them that Gen. 2:19 is the birth of science. (It continues to be commanded elsewhere.)


      I think I see where everyone is coming from. As a scientist who tends to look at everything rationally, I sometimes envy those who can more easily generate an emotional response to things. It just isn't the way my brain works. As for those who see an inherent incompatibility between science and religion, I'm a scientist/Christian and work with scientist/Muslims/Jews/atheists/etc... No one in my circle of friends has a problem with it.

      However there are SOME religious beliefs that ARE incompatible with science. If you believe for religious reasons that the world if flat or 6000 years old or your Zodiac sign determines your personality, then that is not compatible with science. To be clear, I have no problem with any of this either. It's their religion and they can believe what they want. What is not appropriate if for anyone to create bogus pseudo-science to justify their religious beliefs. Not only is it bad science (fact), it is also bad theology (my opinion). The next question is how do you determine what is a valid scientific idea vs bogus psuedo-science? It is very simple really. If you think your ideas are scientifically valid, then they will be published in an established, peer-reviewed scientific journal. That's it. Very simple.

    • Consider this:

      If there is a God and if he created all things and if we believe that, why do we struggle with how He could have done it. I personally think a God that is able to create the vast universe is able to create that universe with the appearance of age. As a matter of logic, it would be a requisite. If God was to create man and place him in a garden, what would he eat? He could not wait months for the plant to grow and then harvest. The same would be true about a river. Would He pour water into the beginning? Would Adam have to age? Who would raise him? Once you get by the simple fact that if He created it, He would have to have some things have an appearance of age, the whole concept of how old things are and defining them by our logic crumbles. Again, I am talking about those that believe there is a Creator. We are arrogant. We create God in our image and define eternity by our linear existence. I am not saying this to start a fight. I am just saying I believe the Bible. I accept His Word as written. I do not limit Him. He said the evening and the morning were the 1st day... the 2nd day... etc. I do not define those words to suit my logic. I accept His Words as superior to my thoughts. I believe Him. I am not a wild Kool Aid drinking nut job. I do not follow any man. I just see the hand of God in all things.

      Of course, if a person does not believe in a Creator, then what I have just written sounds very silly and convenient. One would argue that my words are void of logic and that I just say God magically did it when I don't really have any objective reasoning. I would argue that I have argued both sides and that I am willing to bet my eternal soul that I am seeing things clearly today.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by BirdBrain ().