Siriusly

Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris) is the brightest star in the sky after the sun, with a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46. It is actually a two star system made up of Sirius A and Sirius B (or the "pup"). Although Sirius A is 10,000 times more luminous than it's companion, Sirius B was once the brighter of the two.

Part of the reason for it's brightness is the Sirius system's proximity to the Solar system. At only 8.6 light years Sirius A and B are two of the eight closest stars to us. However they are also 25 times more luminous than the Sun.

According to wikipedia, Sirius has over 50 other designations and names (emphasis mine):

In Arabic it is known as الشعرى (transliteration: 'al-ši‘rā' or 'al-shira'; English: the leader), from which the alternate name 'Aschere' derives. In Sanskrit, it is known as 'Mrgavyadha,' "deer hunter," or 'Lubdhaka,' "hunter." As Mrgavyadha, the star represents Rudra (Shiva). In Scandinavia, the star has been known as Lokabrenna ("burning done by Loki," or "Loki's torch"), while the Japanese vernacular name of the star is 青星 (Aoboshi, "blue star"). In the astrology of the Middle Ages, Sirius was a Behenian fixed star, associated with beryl and juniper. Its kabbalistic symbol was listed by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa.

I think I might start referring to it as "Lokabrenna" :)

dream

American Winterberry?

If so, then it's

Ilex verticillata
Family: Aquifoliaceae

Hemlock Wooly Adelgid

Evidence of HWA infestation, Sill Branch.

HWA graphic borrowed from here.

It seems whenever hiking through a hemlock stand anymore one sees evidence of this infestation. It was so bad near Sill Branch Falls I mistook the occasional bits of white fluff falling through the air to be snow at first.

This from Save Our Hemlocks:

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adeleges tsugae) is native to Asia where it is not a problem to native hemlocks. It was introduced to the United States in the 1920s to the Pacific Northwest, and in the early 1950s to the Washington DC and Richmond, Virginia areas. It lacks natural enemies in North America, so it has since spread throughout the eastern United States creating an extreme amount of damage to natural stands of hemlock, specifically eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana).

This from Wikipedia:

The hemlock woolly adelgid feeds on the phloem sap of tender Hemlock shoots. Unlike the balsam woolly adelgid that only attacked mature Balsam Fir, HWA infests all age classes of hemlock. In the northern portion of the Hemlock's range, death typically occurs four to ten years after infestation. Where Hemlock occurs in pure stands in that region, the most commonly observed tree species to succeed it is black (sweet) birch. In contrast, in the southern extreme of its range, Hemlock does not typically occur in pure stands but in linear riparian areas and other moist sites. Succession in these areas is vastly different for many reasons, one being the presence of Rhododendron maximum which often co-exists with hemlock, and due to a combination of influences, stricts regeneration to shade and otherwise understory-tolerant plant species. Major changes in ecosystem structure and function, including hydrologic processes, is expected with the loss of hemlock.

There are efforts being made to try to prevent the spead of this insect and to possibly fight back using beetles and fungi.

Our forests have already suffered the loss of one great tree. The great chestnut forests are gone. All that remains of them are the occasional stump remnant, rotting trunk, immature sucker or barn siding. The loss of those trees to the blight was and still is a tragedy, but I never knew those forests. The forests I have known will be no more if the hemlocks are lost.

Sill Branch Falls

02.18.08

 




 




 




 

Steele Creek Park

Went for a walk with the JC Hikers in Steele Creek park in Bristol on 3/10. Steele Creek is the third largest municipal park in the state of Tennessee and contains over 2000 acres of forested land. It was a very warm day for early March with a considerable amount of climbing. We followed the Lake trail to the Fox Glen Trail then the Power line trail and Sinks trails around to the nature center on the north side of the park.



After the checking out the nature center we crossed a branch of the lake and picked up the Hemlocks trail and the North ridge trail. Then we took the Old Logging trail (though we were looking for the Tulip Tree Trail) through Jackson Camp to the South Ridge trail, and then along the South Ridge trail to its end just before a knob above the parking area back on the south side of the park.



At this point it looked like it would be too steep to bushwhack down the other side of the knob as we had planned. We didn't want to have to go all the way back though, so we descended down the side of the ridge to the ravine below. Except for a few briar scratches we escaped mostly unscathed.



Walking on down out of the ravine, we soon joined back up with the trail on the west side of the lake and had a gentle walk the remaining distance back to the cars.



This was my first visit to this park and I believe I shall return to see what is blooming in the next few months. We saw toothwort getting ready to bloom and several spring beauties already in bloom.

My only complaint is there seems to be evidence of a considerable amount of motor bike traffic on the trails and one actually passed us on the South Ridge trail. This motorized traffic is causing a great deal of erosion on the trails.

However, this is a very nice park with an active nature program with several park naturalists. For more info on the park and Nature Center activities Click Here.

To Howard, Faye, Joy, Joel, Conrad, Bill, and Lisa it was a pleasure hiking with you and I hope to see you soon.