Thursday 31 May 2012

The Full Story

I won't say sorry for yesterday's post. After all, I did just find the body of my best friend impaled in a tree. 


But I do feel that you folks are owed an explanation to what really happened. Not just my...brief report on the situation. 


I'm better now today, but - yeah. I'm not back to normal. I don't think I will be for a long time after what happened to him. Shit, I can't even talk about it without shaking. But I owe it to Robert to tell his story - and hopefully someone can help me understand more about how this happened. Not just what happened, but -how-. What happened defies the laws of...well, anything. 




As I said, on my advice, a helicopter took us(by "us", I'm referring to myself and three OPP officers with a K9) out to The Point. Now, The Point is, as I said, in a very dense forested area, so a helicopter was the only way we would be able to reach the area in a quick way. By foot, it would take about four hours(EDIT: days? I just noticed this now that I fucked up the time span? Go me) of walking to get there. When we got there, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It was quiet - now that I think about it, too quiet. There weren't any birds or insects making noise - it was like a wake. Deathly silent. 


We spread out and started looking for any sign of him. About 15 minutes into the search, one of the officers calls us over to his location(We were equipped with GPS and walkie-talkies just to be on the safe side), saying he's found something. The bags. We found the first of the bags there. It didn't even look like anything out of the ordinary - just a regular black garbage bag. But this was the thing; it was suspended by a rope from the branches of one of the trees. It felt heavy, so we cut it open. 


That's when Robert's liver fell into my hands. 


I promptly lost my lunch all over the place - but it was then that the other officers started finding more bags, tied to branches of the same tree. There were a good six or seven in all, I don't really remember specifics. 


It was around that time we received a radio call from the helicopter pilot saying that he's "found something" at the top of the tree. Due to the tree's height(well over 15 feet if I had to guess), we didn't know what was at the top of it. But it had the bags in it's branches, so....if I had known then I would have guessed sooner. 


It was Robert. He was stuck to the top of the tree, impaled through the stomach like some sort of skewer.


 Cue me again losing my lunch, breakfast, and snack all over the forest bed. 


Anyway, the 'copter called for immediate reinforcements and within the hour, the Point was flooded with police, fire personnel and the like. I'm still trying to get the liver smell out of my hands, by the way. 


The medical examiner is going to be doing an autopsy today to find out the cause of death...if it isn't already obvious. 


HE WAS MISSING HIS FUCKING ORGANS! 


Though, the ME is confused - he said that Robert wasn't eviscerated, that it looked as though there was no damage to him aside from the impalement of the tree. 


But the strangest thing was who else showed up at the crime scene. It was two agents of the CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service(Think our version of the CIA or something). I knew because they had the fucking logo on their card. They told me that they would be in touch with me and Robert's family. I don't know what the hell for, but...


If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go vomit and cry for the rest of the day. 





Wednesday 30 May 2012

cant think

not going to bother with preamble still in shock

we found robert. er, what's left of him

not at the point but there were

bags

we opened the bags

organs. his body was impaled at the top of one of the trees by the point. the bags were found in the branches of the trees. i got to hold my best friends liver it felt nice in my warm hands

cant think

my best friend gone like this what the fuck what the fuck


Tuesday 29 May 2012

Nothing yet

Spent the night at my house last night, forgot my computer at Robert's house. Back there now though. 


Spent the last 48 hours searching for him non-stop. Checked most of the forest so far, told the OPP about The Point and the notebook. They think it might be worth checking out at least, so a rescue copter is going to fly me out there tomorrow morning. 


Will post if anything turns up. 

Sunday 27 May 2012

Heading out for Queenston Heights

The OPP found Robert's car at the parking lot near Queenston Heights. 

They're beginning a massive search of the forest area(it's massive) later today. I'll be joining the officers and the other volunteers. We'll be starting at the Brock Monument and combing our way throughout. 

I had a hunch that Queenston Heights was a possibility; in his notebook, Robert seems to mention over and over again the words "THEPOINT".

Now, I don't know if it's related - judging by the fact they found his car there, it probably is - but "The Point" is an area deep inside the forest around there that we used as a hang out spot for years. 

Still did, up until last year when the trail leading there was closed off. We called it "The Point" because it was topped by a rock laying so one of the edges was facing up; and it was a sharp edge for a rock. 


We spent a lot of time there as younger kids, especially during high school - it's where Lillith and I first hooked up(outdoor sex is the best sex). 

Anyway, we have a lead at least. The forest itself is massive, but we have a lot of volunteers to comb the area. As I said, I'll be one of them. It could take days to search the whole forest, but when I get the chance I'll try to write something up. This blog is sort of becoming a "haven" for all the shit going on in my life. I dunno but in a weird, morbid way, I feel better when I write about all this so you people can read it. 

I hope we find him. Robert, if you're out there - hold on. We're comin', buddy. 



Thursday 24 May 2012

Starting the search

It's been 3 days - the OPP(Ontario Provincial Police) and the like have been at Robert's house all day looking for evidence. 


Showed them the notebook, they dismissed it outright. Asked some questions about where he might go, favorite places, etc. 


I'll keep digging through the notebook - so far nothing, but that could change in a hurry. 


Will keep up-to-date on the search if anything comes up. 

Wednesday 23 May 2012

fuck fuck fuck

Robert's missing. 


Shit shit shit shit shit 


His mother called me this morning(not afternoon...duh) asking me if he was with me the last two nights as he hasn't been home. 


Naturally I hadn't seen him; I had assumed that he was at home. She told me she called all over but no one has seen him. 


His parents called the police, but of course we have to wait 72 hours before they can begin a search. His car is gone, so it'll need to be a big search. 


I just can't believe this. I last spoke to him Monday night - though, I should have seen it coming. He was getting much worse. He told me that the notebook didn't help and that "He" was showing Robert things that were uncomprehending in our plane of existence. I don't know what the fuck that means(and I don't want to know), but it was clear that his sanity was fading fast. He told me that soon, "He will send for me and I will go because it is better to die then live under His thumb". 


Fuck. Lillith is coming down from university to both be with her family and help in the search - when there is one. I'll be there too to help, but....I just can't believe this. 


I feel so guilty. Why Robert? He's done nothing to no one. He's a good kid, a good friend...he and I have been through so much. 


I'm going to do what I can to find him. Whatever it takes - I don't care now. 


I'll be spending the night at his house with Lillith and his parents - they say I can look through his room and see what I can find. I'll be taking the fucking notebook, that's for sure - I have to see what he wrote down. There might be something in the crazy scribblings that can help us find him. 



Monday 21 May 2012

Nothing really to report

Again, sorry about the silence on my end. I've been playing a LOT of video games(mostly Skyrim) to keep my mind off all the shit going on - it's helped distract me for at least a few days from all of this, so for that I'm thankful. 


I'm still speaking to Robert everyday via Skype. There's been hardly no change in him; in fact, he seems to be getting worse - it looks to me he's not eating, he's hardly slept in the last 3 days, and his appearance is just...awful. Dishevelled and wearing the same clothes. The damned notebook is almost full, he said. 


I've begged him - no, pleaded with him - to stop, but he still won't. He tells me that "He" will be coming for him as soon as the notebook is full, and there's nothing I or anyone else can do about it. He seems resigned that "He" will "get him and - do the things he puts in my dreams". I mean, this is some scary shit. I mean, this is happening to my best friend and there's nothing I can do about it. I feel so fucking hopeless - I've always been able to help SOMEONE in my life, but with something of this magnitude I can't do a whole lot of anything right now. 


He may be mad at me for this but I've told his parents and Lillith about his habits. They've tried to take the notebook away, get him to shower, convince him he's alright. They've even threatened to go to the police if he keeps up this behaviour; I know they mean well, but there's not much that they can do to really help Robert. He seems resigned to whatever fate he thinks awaits. 


I can't help but feel responsible; as Robert said in the car, this started with me and that fucking note. But, I told him - I didn't even think much about the note. It was just a note until someone recommended me to peruse the Web to see if there was any other similarities to me receiving one.  I'm hoping that he recovers, but at this point I doubt he will based on the experiences recorded by other people who've fallen into this. 




I'm going to keep in touch with Robert as long as I can, and help him as long as I can. But...I'm just so scared for him, for Lillith, for everyone involved in this fucked-up shit. 


I can't help but think I've damned my best friend and his family...









Friday 18 May 2012

Can't help but worry...

As you saw from my last post, Robert's been undergoing a lot of crazy shit. That notebook was....well, I can only say I've only seen drawings like that in the stuff I've read on the Internet relating to this. The whole Slender Man thing. 

I know that most of the cases I've read starts off with the victim(s) disbelieving it's anything paranormal, but I can't say that it's not. Robert's strong willed, and damned tough. No one could make him as afraid as I saw him that day. It's just...not possible. 

I've stayed in touch with him since yesterday, but he's still afraid. I've talked with him over Skype and even while we were talking, he was still writing in that notebook. Scribbling, almost as if his life depended on it. I want to help him, but from my reading, there's nothing I can really do. I can't tell his parents; they probably won't believe me anyway if I said anything. 

"Oh, Mr and Mrs *********, your son is being haunted by an extra-dimensional entity that only he can see and he writes in this creepy-ass notebook to help stave off insanity. Can you go help him?"

In news about me, I haven't gotten any more notes, thankfully. I think it's due to the fact I haven't strolled into the woods in a while for pictures. Been too much on my plate to do that. I assure you though, readers - I'll get back to it. But for now I have to focus on Robert and helping him. 

I'll keep you folks updated with relevant information. 

Thursday 17 May 2012

That was unexpected...

So, my time with Robert at Queenston Heights didn't really go as planned; don't get me wrong, I still had a good time for the most part, but it was at the end where shit really started to freak me out. 


Robert picked me up around noon and we headed right there after grabbing some fast food; I shouldn't even be eating it since I'm trying to lose some weight, but whatever - it's not every day that I go out with a friend now in my life. We got there around 12:45 and spent about 3 hours just walking around and enjoying the sights. 


It's a pretty place - very open but also, it has that feeling of security due to the woods. I dunno, I've always found wooded areas to be safe and welcoming to me - some people may not like them, but I do; probably because I spent so much time in there as a kid; playing, exploring, trying to eat bugs - some of them tasted like chicken as far as I can recall, but that's another story - and so, we stayed a while, as I said. 


We talked about a lot of stuff, from school(Robert goes to school with me - I think he's taking mechanical engineering or something like that) to girlfriends to of course, his sister. He always bugs me about how I still love Lillith and want to go back out with her, and how he can help; of course, he can't help, but he thinks he can - so I encourage him, subtly; don't want to hurt his feelings or what have you. 


But it was as we were getting ready to leave that something really strange happened. We got back into his car and the next thing I knew he started talking to me about something. It sounded serious as his voice got really shaky and he just looked really...frightened, I'd say. I've never seen him that scared before in my life. 


From what I remember, the conversation went something like this: 




Robert: So, that thing I wanted to tell you...


Me: Uh-huh, what was it? I don't think you brought me all the way out here to catch up on me banging your sister. (Laughs)


Robert: Yeah, no...I've been reading your blog and looking at stuff and it-well..makes sense. Whatever you're into with that note and whatever, it's followed me home. 


Me: What are you talking about? I've got one note a while ago and nothing since. It was probably some idiot playing a prank on me - or at the very least, someone with a LOT of free time on their hands. I wouldn't worry. 


Robert: I've been having nightmares, dreams, whatever the fuck they are...about trees. Forests that are dark. And there's this....voice. It calls to me. Tells me to come to it - to not resist and to embrace it. It pulls at my head, dude. And it wants me...


Me: ...I say this as your friend; Are you sure you aren't hitting some of the happy juice? 


Robert: No! I'm not crazy or drunk, dude! This shit is happening to me. I-I forget where I am sometimes, I wake up not in my bedroom - The only way I can keep this shit from not getting to me is this. 


(It's at this point Robert pulled out a regular looking notebook. He opened it and revealed dozens of pages, with all this writing on it. I tried to get a shot of it with my phone but he refused to let me. All I saw was page after page of writing that included drawings of what looked like trees as well as a stick figure or something. The words included "HESEES" "TREES", "LIESLIES LIES" "DREAMS OF THEPAST DARKNESS COMES" - words that made no sense in the context of the Robert I knew.) 


Me: What the hell is this? Did you do all this? 


Robert: Yeah. It's almost like a compulsion. After the dreams started and wouldn't stop, I felt like I was going to lose my mind. I found writing in this helped ease the headaches at least. 


Me: But what does it all mean? It seems like a bunch of random words...


Robert: That's the thing! I don't know! They feel like they have meaning to me, or something. Even with this though, the voice still calls out to me. Wants me to come to "the place of the past" - whatever the hell that means. 


I'm afraid, dude. 


Me: ...I don't know what to say. Do your parents and Lillith know?

Robert: No. I can't say anything to them. I just can't. 


Me: Keep your head up. We'll figure this out, I promise. 


He then went fully silent and we didn't speak all the way home. 


I know what this means. You all know what this means. Those drawings - notebooks, the dreams...


Robert is not a practical joker. He wouldn't do this just to fuck around. This is really scaring him - and scaring me. It's why this post took me a while to write up. 







Wednesday 16 May 2012

Bad Weather + Trip

Sorry about the lack of updates for the past 48 hours. The weather outside has been utterly miserable; it's been raining almost non-stop since yesterday afternoon. It's finally starting to let up a bit now, thankfully. I hate being cooped up inside. 

Though Robert and I are planning to head down to Queenston Heights, which is a really nice wooded area(It's mostly a cliff-face, but there are nice woods around it) about a half an hour away - as long as the rain holds. I should be able to take a few pictures while we're there. Seems I'm infecting Robert with the desire to go to wooded areas - I don't know how I should feel about that, though. Honoured or scared that he's becoming a tree lover like me. 


And sorry if this entry is kind of rambling - I'm running on four hours sleep; the damned rain kept me up until well after five AM. I'll post some pictures when I get back, though - Robert says he wants to talk to me about something while we're there as well. Wonder what's on the boy's mind(OK, he's not really a boy. He's 19 and I'm 20 - not much of a difference.) 


I am sorry about the lack of "real" tree updates in the last while, I should say. Just running out of unique pictures to take. 

Monday 14 May 2012

Breakthrough on something, at least

Well that's kind of embarassing. 


After recovering from the food poisoning I had last night(I'm fine now, by the way.) I took a look at this blog and saw the post I made last night. Truth be told, I barely remember making it, and half of it is wrong to boot. 


First of all, there was nothing interesting about Lillith's dorm break-ins. They were solved by, surprisingly enough, the campus police - it was some frat boys wanting to get their hands on some women's underwear. I guess they belonged to the cross-dressing fraternity or something like that -as I can think of better stuff to steal in dorm rooms. 


Second, I did speak to Lillith again over Skype, but nothing in the conversation I want to share with the Internet - that shit is private, thank you very much. But I will say she does have a new beau, which makes me both happy for her and insanely jealous. 


There is a bit of good news I have in regards to that damned note that I got a few days ago. Robert suggested that I run it through a word-scrambler. And, 'lo and behold, it worked(I was, as usual, over-thinking shit again) and, thus, the note translated is:



TREE - MAN


TOO CLOSE


FIRSTWARNING




...Aside from the bad grammar involved with the last words, I'm stumped to it's meaning. Either I've attracted the attention of crazed environmentalists who hate me taking pictures of trees and taking small quantities of soil, or the shit I've read online actually has some merit(the notes, insanity, and the bad endings?). Either way, I don't like it - but it's not going to stop me from pursuing my hobby. 




As per usual, I promised you people tree-facts, and thus, I have delivered! 


1. One of the tallest soft wood trees is the General Sherman, a giant redwood sequoia of California. General Sherman is about 275 ft or 84 m high with a girth of 25 ft or 8 m. I've been there, and I've seen it - it's a massive tree, even without it's main branch missing(it fell off in 2006). 

2. An average American uses about 750 pounds of paper every year, and 95% of homes are built using wood. That means each person uses the equivalent of one 100 foot tall, 16 inch diameter, tree every year for their paper and wood product needs.


3. A mature tree removes almost 70 times more pollution then a just-planted tree. 


Sad to say, but I'm running out of facts. I'll have to dig around the websites I use and find some. 





Sunday 13 May 2012

Sick like nothing

I should apologize for not posting my regular update today - but I just woke up not even fifteen minutes ago; Both Robert and I came down with a bad case of food poisoning, so after vomiting every hour for four hours, I went to sleep. I still feel awful and the like, but at least my stomach is settling down now. 

I won't be able to get much out today, but I hope to feel better tomorrow. I had a Skype conversation with Lillith last night before I got sick - so I'll talk about that when I feel better; there was some interesting stuff in there relating to the break-ins at her residence that bears telling. Anyway - I'm going back to bed.

Enjoy your night. 

Saturday 12 May 2012

A fun outing

First of all, I have to apologize for not posting sooner. I've been back home for a few hours now, but I was so tired when I got in that I promptly fell asleep for about...6 hours. Needless to say, my mother was not amused. Ah well, she can live with it. 


So, Robert and I had fun. We went to the Chinese place as expected and ate a ton of food(all you can eat buffets, eat your hearts out), a ton more food and then a bit more food. Spent about 40 bucks for both of us; not bad, considering we downed about 8 plates of food each. Yes, we're pigs; haters can hate - this ain't no health and fitness blog. 


Then we went driving a bit; it's a fun thing to do when you want to clear your head and just talk. We reminisced about the past(we've known each other about 6 years now) and he brought me up to speed on his family, especially on Lillith(Lillith is his sister, and my ex-girlfriend. We split amicably, but she left for Waterloo to attend university last year and I haven't spoken to her since. 


Tell the truth, Internet - I've never really gotten over her. Robert knows, and he bugs me about it non-stop. 


Robert told me how he knows about my blog - he found it by accident, he says(Yeah, right..I bet he tracked it down, ha) and he think it's pretty interesting. He's as stumped as I am about the note - as no anagram scrambler came back with anything more then "E Cool" - useless pieces of crap, if you ask me. 


As I mentioned, he talked about Lillith - how he's worried about her. I really wouldn't disclose this over a blog, but since it concerns where she is, I should; there've been a few seemingly random break-ins and vandalism in the residence hall she's staying. I guess Campus Police are really trying to find out who's been doing it, but they are, as always, useless - so they have no leads. 


Though if I know Lillith, she's probably having a great time - see, she thrived off of chaos. Part of the reason why we broke up, actually - on one of our first dates, we had to drive past the home of her ex-boyfriend and - I shit you not - she got out of her car, took out a pack of tomatoes she had in the back(I have no idea why to this day) and threw them at his house. 


Needless to say, I still laugh pretty bad when I bring that up. 




Anyhow, today's been good. Got to catch up with a good friend, hear about how my ex is doing, and eat some great food. And as such, I've hardly done any work with that note. Oh well - as the Internet says, "haters gonna hate". 


On another note, I tried to upload those photos I took the other day, but they were corrupted. Oh well - it was only a picture or two of some flowers that I thought were neat. And also; sorry for missing your Tree Facts for today - I'll post 6 tomorrow to make up for the lack of them this time. 









Another normal day

I bid you good morning, Internet. 


I just got back in from my regular morning walk - I said yesterday that despite my slight reservations thanks to that note, I wouldn't let it stop me from doing what I love - taking pictures of trees and posting them up here. So, I'm sorry if you're disappointed. 


I've looked over the note several times and aside from the content I put up on the picture, there was nothing else on it. I've done some searches of it online and have found some decryptors that I might try - anagrams, word puzzles, and the like. I'll let you know the results of those when I plug in the letters and see what it comes up with. 


I didn't take many pictures this time mostly because my phone is next to dead, but I got a few that I will upload later on today. 


Another thing that I went to check was the spot I found the note at. I went out there several times over the course of ten or so minutes, but I found nothing. No new notes, no old notes I missed, not a thing. Which is good, in a way - but in another way, I want to see if these notes will keep going or if this is just an isolated thing. 


If it's an isolated thing, fuck you. You scared me. 


If it's not, fuck you. Stop. 


Now that that is out of the way, I'm going to be going out today with my good friend Robert; he and I share the same interest in one aspect - he's a photographer. We're going down to a fancy Chinese restaurant to get some grub. It'll be fun - I don't get out much into social situations, but when I do - I do try to enjoy myself. 


Will I bring up the note at lunch? Hell no - it's no one's business but my own at this point really. 


Anyhow, I've got to go get ready - so again, if you've gotten farther on decryption then I have, by all means let me know. I'll upload those photos after I get back - or if I get any more news, which I...kind of doubt. 



Friday 11 May 2012

Somewhat unnerved

So, I've looked at this note that I must assume was for me(being that it showed up while I was away from that spot for less then five minutes) and I'm still somewhat confused by what it means, since I'm no good with...whatever language that's supposed to be. 


But even so, I Google'd about it(yes, if you google "strange notes hung from trees", you get results) and needless to say, what I've found is kind of...I don't know how to describe it. 


It seems that I'm not the only one who's gotten notes like these; across the Internet, there are videos and blogs of people talking about strange notes they've found that are in a vaguely familiar puzzle to my own. Most of these blogs cut off suddenly and don't end happily.


All of this is a lot to digest, and while I can't rule out this being some kind of joke by someone, I can't  say for certain that my note and the other notes people have gotten aren't connected somehow, even in the most remote sense. I'm sure people reading this think I'm crazy, but - I just can't shake the feeling of being unnerved by this. 


It's one note, sure - but I don't know what will happen next. I don't even know what will happen with this note. I don't understand it, either; I've been good at concealing my identity - I value my privacy(see my first post for a bit of an explanation), but this just seems to blow the whole lid off of it. 


Even still, I'm not going to let this note or its implications stop me. I'll still be taking some photos and  writing up my 3 facts. I've got to think positive - whatever all this means will reveal itself with time, I do hope. 


Again, if any of you have any idea what the note means - please let me know. I'd very much appreciate it. 



Something strange

Good morning, Internet dwellers. 


I just got back from my morning walk. I snapped only 2 or 3 pictures this time, but I found something that, I must admit, puzzles me to a great degree. 


I was out near my "thinking spot", which is simply, a group of bushes and a tree in the back of my apartment. I go out there when I want to brainstorm ideas, so that way I don't feel as congested as I would trying to brainstorm inside. I was out there for a good ten minutes, but then I had to come inside to use the facilities. I was gone barely five minutes. 


When I came back, I found something attached to one of the branches that wasn't there before. It was a note of some kind; I've attached it at the bottom of these few images for reference. If anyone can decipher it - as I'm kind of clueless with puzzles, as I said - I'd be most grateful.


Anyway, finding some random note isn't going to stop my three facts of the day, however: 


1. There are over 5,000 products made from trees. Maybe it's why it's so popular to cut them down, I'd think? 


2. Trees are both the largest(with some species of trees growing to be almost 400 feet tall and can weigh upwards of 200 pounds) and oldest(certain species of trees can live to be between 500-5,000 years old). It's pretty interesting that plant life we take for granted may have seen humanity rise from cave-dwellers to farmers and up to our current state of development. 


3. Each year over 600,000 people travel to Macon, Georgia to see 240,000 cherry trees in bloom. The estimated revenue is over $6.5 million dollars per year. Back when I was able to travel, I managed to see them in bloom and let me tell you - it was well worth the wait. 











 I'm sure it's probably nothing, other then someone mocking my moniker of "Tree-man" but who knows? Better safe then sorry. 

Thursday 10 May 2012

Late photos, again..

I do apologize for today's delay. That dog is damned near impossible to please. Barking, whining, yipping, and so on. Though, there is good news - I did manage to get out after it left and snap some shots for you folks. 


Was a bit later then I expected to snap them, but I find that the shade gives a good balance to nature itself - too much sun really ruins the chance at getting a good, well-placed shot.  I should point out that some of these shots are again, not of trees(due to the limited amount nearby), but of some flowers that are growing both around my apartment as well as ones that are on sale at a local variety store just down the street from here. 


Tomorrow I think I'll head out to my spot(It's an area in my apartment's driveway where I like to stand and think; naturally, it's by a few trees.) and plan out some locations I'd like to visit and grab some shots and soil samples from(Though, that won't be posted here - again, privacy reasons).  But, until then, enjoy these pictures - and for those of you living in the northern hemisphere, have a good night. 








Good News + facts of the day

Good morning once again, Internet.


I do have some good news to start off the day - my leg is better. I just put some ice on it and it seemed to heal up quite nicely overnight. As such, I'll be able to get out and snap some pictures today hopefully. Though, I am baby-sitting a relative's dog so I'll have to go out when it wants to go out, but that won't stop me, hopefully.


Today is again a sunny day, which, although not my favourite kind of day(I find the sun gives too much glare when taking pictures, not to mention it dries out soil if you want to take any samples.), it'll do rather nicely for picture taking at least - sun may be bad, but rain is worse, let me tell you...


Other then getting out and taking pictures, I really have no plans for today. But, here are 3 Tree-Facts for today - I decided to cut down from 5 to 3 since I didn't want to run out of interesting facts too soon, so I'm always thinking about you guys(That's a lie, but whatever.).


Facts:


1. Having a healthy tree on your property can increase it's value by up to 27%, while a dead tree or rotted branches can actually decrease it's value. That's a tid-bit to you home-owners; keep your trees healthy and you'll get more money! And more money is always good.


2. One tree can provide a single day's oxygen supply for four people - pretty neat, considering so many people just like chopping them down.


3. A tree branch is not actually attached to the rest of the tree. It is held in place by a series of interlocking "collars". Collars overlap and mesh to form a tight woven pattern of tissue. Pretty interesting, if I do say so myself - I always thought branches were attached to the main part of the tree; even I can be proven wrong, folks. 




(Facts curtsey of www.treesofstrength.org, yet another excellent website I have book-marked for easy reference.)


So, there are your 3 facts for today, and I shall be heading out to snap some shots later on this afternoon. 





Wednesday 9 May 2012

Today's Pictures + An Apology

Hello fellow tree-lovers and other peoples here, 


Sadly, I couldn't get any good shots today. I pulled a muscle in my right leg pretty bad and it's making walking a bit hard. I've done what I need to do around the house, but otherwise, I really don't think I can get out much and grab some shots. 


Though, I do have some good news; I took a bunch of extra photos last night that I chose not to upload, and as a consolation to not being able to take any today, I figured I would post those up here to sate your hunger for pictures of trees. Yes, I'm corny like that. 


There's also a few non-tree pictures there too, including a garden growing with beautiful flowers outside my apartment(one of the tenants likes to grow flowers), and of a pine cone - why a pine cone? Well, it was given to me  5 years ago by a now-deceased friend...he knew I liked trees, even back then. And naturally, since his death, I keep it with me as a reminder of our friendship.


So, without delay, here are the photos from last night. I do hope you enjoy!








Tree-Facts + An Explanation


Good morning, denizens of the Internet!

Having just woken up, I see it's a beautiful day out – perhaps later I'll run outside and snap some photos – perhaps a bit more up the street then usual. I do want to address something, though; it's that I'm sure some of you are saying “omg you don't have enough tree variety on here!”

And yes, that's true. And I do apologize for that – it's just that I currently have no reliable transportation to get anywhere that has a more abundant mix of wildlife. I do not drive, for reasons that are too complicated to explain(not that I'd tell the Internet this stuff anyway), and so, my range is limited to finding friends or family who are willing to drive me out to these places. And currently, with most of my friends busy with work or exams, that's hard to do. I could ask my father to take me down to one of the parks I liked to frequent in the past, but he's kind of a hard-ass who's always busy with his job.

The second thing is walking. I used to walk everywhere; I could snap a wide variety of beautiful shots on my old walking routes – and gather soil samples, take notes, or what have you. I miss it; alas, I can't do it much anymore due to my back injury. It's not a simple one, either; it makes walking next to impossible for long distances. So, sadly – I have to stay confined to my neighborhood unless I can bum a ride off someone.

I promise to try to get transportation and secure some better shots, but right now, it's a bit difficult at this time.

Enough about me and my blabbering, I figured I would start things off with 5 interesting tree-facts, as you would:

  1. A single, healthy tree can have a value of ten thousand USD. Yes, you heard me; those trees can be valuable to anyone who wants, for some odd reason, to buy a tree. Maybe they're building a log cabin.
  2. One-third of the United States is covered in forests. Yep, you heard me – if you thought all those logging and industrial operations have destroyed any forested communities in the good ol' USA, you're somewhat wrong!
  3. The tallest tree in the United States is 369 feet tall and well over 2000 years old. Yep – you read that right. I've been to Redwood National(where it is) and have seen it – it's quite a beautiful tree.
  4. A single tree can absorb as much CO2(carbon dioxide) in one year as a car can – if that car drove for 26,000 miles.
  5. Sadly, an average tree in an urban/city area has a life expectancy of only eight years – probably due to factors like logging, bark decay, human stupidity(car crashes, kids peeling off the bark of the tree, which is like the tree's skin; it protects it).
    (All these facts gathered from one of my favorite websites, www.savatree.com)


Anyway, I've got some stuff to do around the house. I'll try to get out and get some good shots today for you fine folks who actually read this blog(and I'm glad you do, admittedly).


Tuesday 8 May 2012

Just got back + photos


I just got back from my walk. Beautiful day out – a bit muggy, but it did just rain, after all. I got about four or five good shots – there's a bit of a lack of real good trees around my neighborhood, but I hope to fix that soon, when my back is better.

Anyway, I wanted to go over a thing or two while I'm writing. I was thinking about doing a “Fun Fact” kind of a post every once a week or so, listing a few interesting facts about different types of trees, their growth and their life spans. I know that this blog is brand new, but to anyone reading, I'd like your opinions on this if possible. I don't want this blog to be -too- boring(though, it's about trees, so I'd say that it's already plenty boring to some of you now anyways).

I figure that this blog won't just be all about pictures, either – so I may splice in some research here and there about certain trees, or talk about trees I wish I could see but can't(like the ones out in the Black Forest in Germany, I hear they're quite pretty come the fall season. What can I say? I like Germany – which is ironic, because I'm English on my mother's side.). If I can't get to Germany, Florida will do – I went there 11 years ago and I loved all the palm trees – shame I didn't think to get a soil sample at the time.


That's – really all I've got to say. Enjoy the photos and stay tuned - I'll try to update this on a regular basis. 









Introduction; Why I'm here




I figure that if I'm going to make a blog, I should try to introduce myself in the process!

First of all, I will not be using my real name. I'm not comfortable with using it on the Internet due to some rather unpleasant incidents that happened a few years back involving a serious breach of privacy. Instead, I'll be going by “Smith” - it's a generic enough name, I would think(I was going to use “John Smith”, but I didn't want to be too generic, after all.).

So, with that out of the way – I'd like to welcome you to my blog. It's not much at the moment since I haven't begun posting anything yet, but I figure I would take this time to actually do a write-up about what this is supposed to be.

What I will reveal about myself is that I am a college student studying web and media design. But, in my spare time, I find myself drawn to botany. I'm not a professional, by far(considering I failed the biology classes I took in high school) – but I still love to read about all things nature – plant, vine, tree, and the like. As such, I'm a pretty active person – I go on walks and photograph all sorts of wildlife whenever I can, which right now is hard due to a back injury I have – it's annoying, because I can't go out very far to places with -really good- plant life.

In that I enjoy botany, I find myself drawn to studying trees.
Why trees, you might ask? I don't know, really – I've always enjoyed looking at different types of trees, ever since my mother bought me a book on plants when I was younger. I also read about 'em, of course; I don't just take pictures and proclaim myself a botanist – but I can't realistically take pictures of all the soil samples and notes I have without boring this place even more so then it is now.

So, I figure that I should back-up my pictures that I take onto the Internet in-case:

A) I lose my data on my phone(I take pictures with my phone – my camera is currently in the property of a family member who refuses to give it back. She must really love taking pictures of her dog.)

B) Other people like trees/nature, and want to look at different pictures involving them.

That's really it for now. I've got to get out and start snapping some photos, but before I do – I'll gladly put up a few pictures I found online - so, enjoy and until next time:


Here's an oak tree - fun fact about oaks: oak wood is very resistant to both fungal and bug attacks due to the high amount of tannin(a chemical most commonly found in plants) that it possesses! 



A birch tree - another fun fact; in parts of Germany, young men would decorate birch trees found outside the home of their love interests on May 1st to show their affection for them.



A maple tree - fun fact; both maple syrup and maple leaves(it's on the Canadian flag) are both from this tree!


(All photos belong to their respective websites. I hold no credit over taking them)