Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life. The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent. Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
Like River I usually run with a theme. This week I am taking you back to the chilly day featured in last week's Sunday Selections.
Each year, our National Arboretum, has an exhibit called 'Warm Trees'. Selected trees are given winter woollies to combat the cold - and entice more visitors to the arboretum. The woollies are knitted by volunteers.
So, in a howling gale, we headed off for a look see.
The trees needed some warmth. I felt sorry for this one with its dappling of snow...
Most, but not all of the dragon trees are finally able to peek out of their enclosures.
This year for the first time some of the trees featured/tortured in the bonsai display were also given winter woollies.
A couple of the bonsais were in bloom too.
And there was a maple leaf shivering on a hillside too.
I do love the arboretum.
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life. The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent. Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
Like River I usually run with a theme. This week I am taking you back to the chilly day featured in last week's Sunday Selections.
Each year, our National Arboretum, has an exhibit called 'Warm Trees'. Selected trees are given winter woollies to combat the cold - and entice more visitors to the arboretum. The woollies are knitted by volunteers.
So, in a howling gale, we headed off for a look see.
The trees needed some warmth. I felt sorry for this one with its dappling of snow...
Most, but not all of the dragon trees are finally able to peek out of their enclosures.
This year for the first time some of the trees featured/tortured in the bonsai display were also given winter woollies.
A couple of the bonsais were in bloom too.
And there was a maple leaf shivering on a hillside too.
I saw these community sponsored installations in several small towns near me last winter. I thought they were quite cool. Or cosy, as the case might be.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Noragon: Yarn bombing always makes me smile. And in the aboretum my smile just grows.
DeleteLove the little one in the tree. So cute. But all the pictures are wonderful. Fun to see. As always, thanks for sharing and Happy Sunday :)
ReplyDeleteThe Happy Whisk: I liked the bird in the tree too. And a happy weekend to you too. Saturday afternoon still?
DeleteRight now, 6 minutes to 8 at night.
DeleteNow, it's almost 2 in the afternoon. The days has whooshed by and I came by to say thanks for the nice comments you posts on e's blog.
DeleteThe Happy Whisk: It is now nearly 7.30 (in the morning). And it was a pleasure to say those things. Those true things.
DeleteSuch a great idea! It requires a new meme, If you knit it, they will come.
ReplyDeleteMarie Smith: While we were there people were knitting up a storm. Out of the wind.
DeleteYes!
DeleteI thought I might have missed your arboretum visit, but thankfully I haven't. It must be so nice to visit and see how much they have grown since your last visit.
ReplyDeletecarol in cairns: It is good. And they are planting new forests all the time. Some day the arboretum will be amazing. At intervals there are suggestions that eco-funerals could take place there. And I would sign up in a heart beat.
DeleteThis ways a wonderful field trip. Thank you for letting me tag along.
ReplyDeleteMartin Kloess: My pleasure.
DeleteI love sweaters on trees. It amazes me that when you do Sunday Selections that it is Saturday afternoon here. It gives me a head start even though I am already behind. Don't worry, that makes no sense to me either.
ReplyDeleteJono: Definitely Sunday morning. Early(ish) but it is now light at least. And I sometimes feel better about my non achievement when I realise that somewhere in the world it is the day before. Which also doesn't make sense.
DeleteI love this! I think I am going to make a scarf for my tree in the front yard. Actually, she isn't "my" tree. She belongs to herself but we love each other.
ReplyDeleteBirdie: I love 'our' trees too. But cannot knit. I am sure yours would love a scarf.
DeleteDear EC
ReplyDeleteThe cosy looking trees with their brightly coloured scarves made me smile. Thank you for sharing your visit - I enjoyed it very much.
Best wishes
Ellie Foster: We smiled too. I am glad that you enjoyed it with us.
DeleteCutest thing. I love that.
ReplyDeletedonna baker: There is always room for quirkiness in my world.
DeleteThey're all so colourful! I love the knittted galah.
ReplyDeleteI like Bonsai, in spite of the "tortured" label. There are naturally occurring bonsai and I think these replicas are just a good way to enable people to have a tree in a space where normal trees wouldn't be possible; high rise apartments for example.
River: I can appreciate the work involved in creating a bonsai, but would prefer that trees were left to grow to their full heights. And if people in a high rise apartment need a tree, then a naturally occurring bonsai seems better. But it is only my opinion.
DeleteLOVE the little knit birdie!!
ReplyDeletefishducky: Wasn't it charming? I hope they do more of them next year.
DeleteYarn bombing is all the rage at the moment. I'm hoping when they are finished with the yarn scarves are put to good use.
ReplyDeleteCountryMum: After a month in the weather I don't think that the scarves would be in a condition to pass them on. I believe/hope that they get unravelled and reknit for next year.
DeleteMy goodness....has a year flown by already since the last arboretum? I'm not sure how I really feel about adorning trees...I kind of prefer them in their natural state...such as the one with the bits of snow on it. Just a personal preference.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great week ahead, EC...cuddles to Jazz and Jewel. I hope they're behaving themselves. :)
Lee: I understand your preference. I like to see them adorned - on a temporary basis.
DeleteAnd a great week to you, to Remy and to Sharma. Jazz is in a bit of disgrace. It took two washes to get the blood out of my trousers. He was tapping me to get my attention, and got his claws caught. Carnage resulted. 'Buckets of blood' was how the skinny one described it.
Oh dear, EC. Cat scratches sting like paper cuts, I find. Take care of those wounds.
DeletePerfect - and the snow just shows how much the knitted wraps are needed! Love the ones in the bonsai trees, and the little parrot.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week, and keep warm...
Alexia: It was fun wasn't it? And a delightful thing to see on a snowy day. I hope your weather is treating you kindly.
DeleteLove the woolies - I wish someone had knitted teensy ones for the bonsais.
ReplyDeleteMarty Damon: Some of the bonsais DID have teeny little woollies.
DeleteGreat project. I wonder if they were wrapped up a little more, sap would flow better and it would make some kind of difference to the trees.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: I doubt it. I suspect that if they were wrapped more then air and moisture would be impeded. But am fairly ignorant.
DeleteIt's been a mighty cold winter in parts if I was a tree I would want a warm wooly scarf too.
ReplyDeleteMerle........
Merlesworld: It has been a weird winter up here. Immediately after the snow we had a week of record-breaking warmth. And now it has turned chilly again.
DeleteLove the winter woolly trees. A dash of colour in the frosty landscape.
ReplyDeleteCute little knitted bird/parrot sitting on the branch.
Seeing the snow is a real treat. Try as I might, I haven't experienced any on the mountain so far this winter, and spring soon approaches.
I too feel sorry for Bonsai. I'm not a fan.
Have a wonderful week! xx
Vicki: I knew that you too have difficulties with bonsai. That bird was lovely though. I think that everyone who noticed it smiled.
DeleteAnd a wonderful week to you too.
I always love your photos, as you know! These are just wonderful as always, but I particularly love the beautiful colors on the trees! What a unique idea! If any Americans are reading this, please let me know if you've seen this anywhere here in the States. I think we should start it, too! There's time to start knitting up a storm, before the snow "storms" begin! hee hee
ReplyDeleteBECKY: Thank you. Joanne Noragon said that she had seen some in your part of the world. Perhaps it is something you could start in your community?
DeleteWhat a delightful selection and what a tremendous idea of wrapping up the trees in winter woolies.
ReplyDeleteI, like you, feel bonsai is a form of torture and yet I enjoy them. At least, although miniaturised, they still live and hopefully don't really suffer.
Was that a sprinkling of snow on the large hill? I feel I heard there was some snow in Canberra recently. Zero degrees celius in Jandakot last night which is near us so not much warmer here and still chilly now at gone noon. Love the winter but not sure my joints do!!
Hope you are able to keep warm to help the aches and pains.
Mimsie: Snow it was. On the hill and on the bench and the tree. And at home before we headed off to the arboretum. It didn't last long, but was lovely to see.
DeleteBonsai worries me, and I suspect that for every success story there are many deaths.
The cooler weather is kinder to me than summer, so I have been revelling in our winter. I do sympathise with those who are suffering though.
Oh, I love the winter woollies!
ReplyDeleteOur maple leaves are sweating here, was 114 degrees F, with the humidex yesterday.
Karen: 114??? I am so sorry. You have had a vicious summer this year. I do hope you can stay cool.
Deletesome neat 'creatures'
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed.
Author R. Mac Wheeler: There were some neat creatures weren't there. And I am v glad to see that the dragon trees are emerging.
DeleteHi EC - how wonderful to see what your local arboretum is doing ... aren't they fun - what a great installation. Yarn bombing ... I hadn't come across it til recently - but have used it in a post that will appear in August ...
ReplyDeleteLove the bonsai ones, and as you say 'the snow' on the cold edge of the trunk ... but the bonsai against the stone wall - with the new flowers ... wish I could remember its name from South Africa but I can't ...
Lovely enjoyed the look around ... cheers Hilary
Hilary Melton-Butcher: That was real snow on the tree. I think the flowering bonsai against the wall was a flowering plum - but my memory is unreliable.
DeleteMore lovely pictures to lift the spirit ... sweater-wearing trees and snow-dusted hills ... Thank you.
ReplyDeletePaper Chipmunk (aka Ellen): Lovely to see you here. The arboretum was a wonderful interlude. It was chilly (even I noticed that) but the smiles were big.
DeleteSome cool trees. I remember you posting images of them wrapped last year. We're to be close to a hundred degrees all week, so that chill looks good.
ReplyDeleteAlex J. Cavanaugh: I much prefer our temperatures to yours.
DeleteThe trees certainly look colourful in winter..nice to see something different.
ReplyDeleteMargaret-whiteangel: I think it is a lovely initiative. Anything which brings more people to appreciate our baby arboretum is a winner in my eyes.
DeleteWoollies for the trees, how fun. And the leaf is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSandra Cox: The leaf was huge too. It would have been easily twenty feet across, and probably more.
DeleteI love seeing yarn bomb installations, so I was sitting here grinning like an idiot while looking through your photos. It's the knitter in me. *shrug* I think even more than the yarn-bombed trees, I loved the knitted bird. My knitting mojo may have gone on vacation, but your pictures reminded me that even pieces the rest of the world might dismiss as 'pointless' have a purpose. Thanks you!
ReplyDeleteCarolyn McBride: So nice to think of other people smiling like idiots with me. I really, really liked the knitted bird too. I hope it has a family next year.
DeleteAre those scarves in the yarn bombing pictures? They look so pretty and if they can be used by people afterwards what a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteKathleen Valentine: After a month in the weather I am not sure that the scarves could be used by people. I believe that they are unravelled, washed and knitted again for next years display. And while people need warmth too, I don't think it is an either/or proposition.
DeleteI always love the woollies for the trees.
ReplyDeleteStrayer: So do we. It is an annual pilgrimage for us.
DeleteHow "cool"! :D I like the scarves much better than the crocheted-to-the-tree things I see happen in the States. And the giant maple leaf! <3
ReplyDeletex
Austan: It was cool - on a cold day. And I really liked the scarves. And that they were all different.
DeleteWhat fun! When we get unusually cold spells here in FL people sometimes cover their trees for protection, but I've never seen trees wearing such stylish mufflers!
ReplyDeleteRoll on Spring!
Molly Bon: I am in no hurry for spring. She is fine, but her ugly sister summer is always too close on her heels.
DeleteLOVE the knitted bird in the tree! Is it my imagination or are there a lot more scarves this year than last? It seems better populated. Awesome tradition. :)
ReplyDeleteRiver Fairchild: There ARE more. And I suspect each year the numbers of woollies will increase. Which makes me smile. And, as I said in response to another comment, I hope the bird has a family in years to come. A big family.
DeleteI've never seen a knitted bird before. That was my favorite, but the bonsai sure are pretty. That bench looked singularly uninviting to sit upon. :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan: There is a lovely view from that bench, but I felt no inclination to sit on it that day. None.
DeleteI love looking at a bonsai plant and yours has a knitted on it :) All lovely photos.
ReplyDeleteNas: Thank you. I am ambivalent about bonsai, but did like their woollies.
DeleteIt must be cold, poor trees, wrapped up in scarfs. Fantastic photos ER.
ReplyDeleteBob Bushell: It was chilly that day. Single figure temperatures. And a biting lazy wind which carved its way through us rather than going round.
DeleteWhat a wonderful spot...and those woollies are warm and cozy on those trees....it was nice to see a bit of a chill given our heat wave and drought right now.
ReplyDeleteDonna@LivingFromHappiness: Not only is our chill welcome, we have had some much needed rain as well. I hope you get some relief soon.
DeleteLove them. How cool to wrap up a tree in a knitted scarf! It really adds a lot of colour to the winter landscape.
ReplyDeleteLL Cool Joe: It does doesn't it? I am a big fan of colour.
DeleteWoolies for the trees, what a novel idea! Sometimes we put Styrofoam cups on the ends of long cactus branches, but even that is pretty extreme. They look better in Christmas bulbs ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe woolies certainly make the winter look festive. I'm surprised the bench didn't have one too ;-) Those bonsai trees are gorgeous! I've never seen one in bloom.
diedre Knight: Its fun isn't it? I am ambivalent about bonsai, but loved them in their woollies and appreciated the flowers.
DeleteI love the varied colors on the trees, really makes for a visually interesting landscape and photo. Not too keen on Bonsai though. Have a good week.
ReplyDeletee: I too am not keen on bonsai. I described it as tree torture for a reason. I do love trees.
DeleteKnit-bombed trees! How delightful.
ReplyDeleteLady Fi: It is. Each year.
DeleteThose bonsais are beauties.
ReplyDeleteRawknrobyn: They are good of their kind, but I am ambivalent (at best) about bonsai. It reminds me of foot-binding.
DeleteI can see why you love the arboretum. The trees are so colorful you can't help but smile. I had never seen bonsai trees bloom. I didn't realize they did.
ReplyDeleteMason Canyon: I was surprised to see the bonsais blooming in winter, but they do have a sheltered corner.
DeleteThat's so neat! I love the knitted parrot in the tree.
ReplyDeleteLynn: That was my favourite too. Quirky fun.
DeleteThat was rather beautiful !! There is some yarn-booming that goes on here in NQ, but only at Xmas time 😃
ReplyDeleteI meant bombing, sigh
ReplyDeleteMad Cat Lady: How nice to see that someone else suffers from dyslexic fingers. I did know what you meant.
DeleteI don't think I've ever seen a bonsai in bloom. How pretty! And the scarves are a lovely bit of color when everything else has lost theirs.
ReplyDeletemshatch: They have some bonsai fuschias in there too, which I imagine are spectacular in bloom.
DeleteI loved scrolling through and suddenly coming across the woolly parrot in the tree.
ReplyDeleteGranny Annie: I loved that parrot, and am so glad I saw it. He was all on his own, but I hope there are more next year.
DeleteWhat creative decorations for the trees! The parrot was so cute. I love bonsai but can't grow one. I have tried several times. These are pretty
ReplyDeleteKim@stuffcould...: I have never tried bonsai. There are already more than enough things I cannot grow - and have given up trying because I really don't like killing things.
DeleteI so love warm trees. You live in such an interesting and wholesome place.
ReplyDeleteSonya Ann: My city is well known for being boring. I think they are wrong, but it is a common description of the city.
DeleteHi Sue,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the tree next to the bottom that is flowering, but has short stubby branches?
Thanks for stopping by Lisa's. Appreciate ya.
Sandra Cox: I am pretty certain that one is an ornamental plum.
DeleteI think these are even nicer than last year's! I love all the bright colours and patterns and especially the buttons on a couple of the scarves. And the tiny wraps for tiny trees. Even the trees themselves - some of those big ones are so uniquely shaped. Thanks for sharing these. You live in (and near) such beauty.
ReplyDeletejenny_o: The Warm Trees exhibit is getting bigger each year. Which I love to see. And the buttons, and the leaves are a lovely addition.
DeleteTop shot of the hill quite entranced me. Then your wonderful shots delighted me throughout!
ReplyDeleteCloudia: Thank you. It was chilly (some would say cold) but very, very beautiful.
DeleteI had no idea trees needed warm wraps. But what a delightful and colorful display they make. Beautiful images again.
ReplyDeletecleemckenzie: I suspect the trees would do just fine without the wraps. But quirky fun never goes astray. Nor colour.
DeleteLove the tree warmers and the plum? blossom bonsai
ReplyDeleteSue in Italia/In the Land of Cancer: I am pretty certain you are right and the blossoming bonsai was a plum. The other flowering ones were a grevillea and a lantana.
DeleteYay for tree warmers.
Bonsai trees boldly originate in many different forms and appear quite magnificent.
ReplyDeleteSpacer Guy: Trees are a marvel. I prefer them left to grow naturally though.
DeleteBonsai trees are so neat! That knit bird was cool ;)
ReplyDeleteTammy Theriault: That little knitted bird has a lot of fans doesn't it?
DeleteThis has been interesting. Wow, those trees look colorful. :D
ReplyDeleteLux G.: It is nice to see colourful trees - at any time of the year.
DeleteWhat a great installation! Is it a fund raiser or simply fun?
ReplyDeleteAnne in the kitchen: No money changes hands. It is a fun way of tempting people to come to the arboretum in winter, its quietest season.
DeleteAww, the trees were all dressed up for you!
ReplyDeleteJohn Wiswell: And anyone else who was prepared to brave the weather.
DeleteWhat a nice way to display the trees.
ReplyDeleteStarting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: Isn't it? And there is always room for quirky fun in my world.
DeleteI remember learning about this on your blog last year! I love the bright colors and the quirkiness of it all really appeals to me. So glad you braved the blustery day and shared the pictures with us too. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
DMS ~ Jess: Thank you. I am so glad that my repetitive posts don't bore you to sobs.
DeleteI like the woolly bird in the tree. Grin.
ReplyDeleteSandra Cox: So did I. Lots.
DeleteAWWWWWW, I just want to hug those trees!!! xx
ReplyDelete...because I'm a Tree Hugger!
My Inner Chick: I am a tree-hugger too. Big time. Hugs.
DeleteWell, those knitters must be a productive bunch since they have had to open a --- "branch office".
ReplyDelete(I can't help myself sometimes.)
Thank you for sharing your arboretum visit It looks like a wonderful place to spend a day.
FREE THE BONSAI!
Wally Jones: Love your pun. The arboretum IS wonderful, but like you I have difficulties (big ones) with bonsai.
DeleteIt's interesting how the winter woollies highlight the shape of the trunks. I especially like the little bird too, no surprises there!
ReplyDeleteKim: They do don't they. And of course you liked the little bird. As so many of us did.
DeleteI'm so happy to see other tree lovers. I somehow don't think people in my country love and appreciate trees.
ReplyDeleteWhich makes me think...maybe I should go around teaching people.
Your post has revived the eco-gal :-D
neena maiya (guyana gyal): Tree lovers of the world unite? Sound good to me. And hooray for eco-gal.
DeleteI like this knitting art. The trees are now dressed.
ReplyDeleteorvokki: It is fun isn't it?
Delete