| Cow
Pattie Cotonwood |
dbhg-@comcast.net |
| Sep
07, 2003 13:53 PDT |
John and Tim:
Your gentler reflections are the wiser coming from the two
pairs, i.e. you
two as one pair versus Joe and me as the other. We do need to
attract public
attention for just the reasons you two list. And try, we will.
ENTS:
Today I talked Jani into a ride up River Road
along the Connecticut River
and back to the spot where yesterday I shot the 115.4-foot,
10.5-foot CBH
cottonwood. Well, as an ENTS, I must confess. I cheated. I got
the height oaky,
but I guessed at the circumference to avoid a scramble over a
fence and walk
across a cow pasture. The tree's base was 139 yards away. On
occasion I do
estimate girths, but not from such a distance. Gary Beluzo and
others will
confirm that I'm seldom far off. Gary?
But from 139 yards? Well, my conscience got to
bothering me. So off to
Deerfield we went today. Now I must tell you that Jani got the
better of the
deal. As quid pro quo, I first stopped at an antique shop, which
netted her a
number of peaces of linen that she said were steals. She dearly
loves linen.
But that wasn't all. She got 4 books. I picked them all out for
her. She got a
scholarly text on Cherokee history. She got another scholarly
text on the
Indian wars of the Pacific Northwest. I found a reprint of an
1859 guide book
for travelers to the west via the famous overland trails
(Oregon, Overland,
Santa Fe, etc.), what to take, what to watch out for, etc.
Lastly, she got a
1911 book on alpine flowers and gardens of Europe with many
astounding plates.
They are incredible! I fell instantly in love with the plates.
Jani said that
because of the plates, the purchase is a treasure. I won't say
how much the
bill was, but it definitely evened things out. But wait. There's
more. Then
Jani got an excellent Chinese dinner at a restaurant we like on
the outskits of
Greenfield. Not a bad deal. Then it was off to the cottonwoods.
Now, every worthy tree needs a name. It's only
fair. Trees are people too.
Also, in the fashion of Native Americans, the name should be
associated with a
deed or event. Okay? Well, here comes its name. Remember the cow
pasture? Yes,
the name of the cottonwood is the "Cow Pattie Tree".
How did it get its name?
Do you really want to know? Okay, okay. Yes, damn it, I stepped
in a cow pattie
while trying to keep my eye focused on a spot in the tree's
crown. I wasn't
watching my feet, until, that sudden change in traction, then
came the
expletives followed by frantic scrubbing of the shoe in the
surrounding grass,
which at first does an excellent job of just smearing the
splatter generously
over the sides of the shoe. Well, Jani could easily see what had
happened and
was enjoying the proceedings. Afterwards, she proclaimed it as
strong medicine,
justly administered. I should have gone over to the tree
yesterday and taken
its girth.
So we now have the Cow Pattie Tree or Cow
Pattie Cottonwood, if you prefer.
Was the effort worth it? You bet. The girth is 11.1 feet as
opposed to my
estimated 10.5! Height? This time from considerably closer, I
got 115.7 feet. I
had a better view of the crown architecture and I new right
where the base was.
Yesterday's shot to the crown was 143 yards and to near the base
was 139 yards.
Today's distances were 92 and 87 yards respectively.
I also bagged a 10.2-foot girth,
110.8-foot tall cottonwood in the same
area. Farther up river, I got another beauty at the pair (6.7,
112.4). The ENTS
New England significant cottonwood list now stands as follows.
No Trees Measured: 107
Average Girth: 10.2
ft
Average Height: 108.8
ft
Average Hgt x Girth: 1100.8 points
Bob
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