| Baldcypress:
Illinois |
Willard
Fell |
| Mar
02, 2005 05:17 PST |
In
re Baldcypress range;
On the east Coast, Southern Delaware and Extreme Southern NJ. In
the
Midwest it occurs in Southern Ill, and the lower Wabash Valley
in
Indiana.
|
| Remembrances
of Taxodium |
Robert
Leverett |
| Mar
02, 2005 07:08 PST |
Will:
In past crossings of southern Illinois, I well
recall the distant
forms of Taxodium on the narrow borders of streams. My wife and
I would
always comment to one another about their unmistakable
silhouettes. They
seemed out of place, but also energizing when seen as a backdrop
to the
uniform agricultural fields. In a part of the country that has
been
stripped of virtually every vestige of naturalness, almost any
species
that has a wild, woolly look provides a breath of fresh air.
Taxodium
provides that in southern Illinois.
Bob
|
| RE:
Remembrances of Taxodium |
Willard
Fell |
| Mar
02, 2005 07:25 PST |
Bob:
If you ride up Hwy 3 from Cairo up towards Wolf Lake you would
think you
were in backwater Mississippi (no offense intended). It is much
different than the area over the "hill" to the east
where agriculture
reigns. The tupelos, cypress & bottomland oaks all of a
definite
southern affinity. The area has largely escaped
"progress" and is a
haunting reminder of glory long past. Even the local drawl is
more
Tennessee than Chicago.
|
| RE:
Remembrances of Taxodium |
Robert
Leverett |
| Mar
02, 2005 08:43 PST |
Will:
Thanks for the info. I did get to a small
corner of the Illinois
"outback" when I visited Beale Woods a number of years
ago and loved it.
Beale Woods is on the border with Indiana. I'll try to route
myself back
via southern Illinois this August to see more of that country on
my
return from the Rocky Mountain west.
It is always fascinating and fun to
discover hidden spots of America
that defy our customary stereotyping. My secret desire has long
to be a
kind of Charles Kuralt on the road, meeting truly different
people and
writing about them.
Bob
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