ABCDeology

I was researching Witch Trees (trees where witches were rumored to have been hung back in the 1600s) to see if any still existed – maybe around my area of New England.

This lead me to the Witch Tree, also called Manido Giizhigance, or Little Cedar Spirit Tree by the Ojibwa Indian tribe on the shores of Lake Superior.  (Not a place where there were hangings, that is just its name.) It is named in the State of Minnesota Historic Places registry.

The Witch Tree, vintage photograph *click for bigger*

The Witch Tree is over 400 years old (French explorer Sieur de la Verendrye described it in 1731) and perhaps much older – these types of trees can be a very long-lived in certain conditions, with notably old specimens growing on cliffs where they are inaccessible to deer and wildfire; the oldest known living specimen is just over 1,000 years old, but a dead specimen with over 1,500 growth rings has been found. These very old trees are, despite their age, small and stunted due to the difficult growing conditions. Offerings of tobacco are traditionally left there by generations of Ojibwe, French voyageurs and local kayak/canoe paddlers before journeys on the Great Lakes. The tree and  land are owned by the Ojibwe tribe of the Grand Portage Reservation and there is no access unless accompanied by a tribal member (you can, however,  get close to the base of the cliff by sea on kayak/canoe).

The Witch Tree in the Evening *click for bigger*

A description from ‘The North Shore: A Four Season Guide to Minnesota’s Favorite Destination‘ by Shawn Perich:

“The weatherworn cedar stands alone on the rocky shore of Hat Point. Its roots grip the rock like aged fingers, drawing sustenance from an invisible source. It grows so close to the water that you can only wonder how it has been able to withstand the lake’s ferocity. Yet it has done so for at least four hundred years.“

Witch Tree's Roots among the Rocks *click for bigger*

Appropriately, I am listening to Jónsi & Alex  – All The Big Trees (from Riceboy Sleeps).

Riceboy Sleeps album cover

BibliOdyssey has a few illustrious Dutch picture book cover illustrations up from The Memory of the Netherlands’ ‘Picture Books from 1810 to 1950‘ website – which features 650 antique children’s books free to view in full and download. Going to waste a lot of time if I start trawling through those archives with illustrations as gorgeous as the ones PK linked; favorites so far:

'Feest in het Bosch', story by Jac. van der Klei, illustrated by D. Viel, 1927 *click thru to big*

Alle eendjes by Uitgever 1930 *click thru to big*

'Uit Huis en Hof' by Konrad Mullerfurer, 1921 *click thru to big*

'Van twee visschertjes een vertelling voor klein en groot met rijmpjes en knipsels door J.E.' by Enderlein, J. 1913 *click thru to big*

'De Gouden Haan' by Marietje Witteveen, 1940 *click thru to big*

'A dat is Aafje - door Bas van der Veer' by Bas van der Veer and Freddie Langeler *click thru to big*

'De Reis Naar de Maan' by PJ Andriessen, 1876 *click thru to big*

'De Wilgen by Adama van Scheltema', illustrated by Rie Cramer, 1918 *click thru to big*

'Waarom de slak zijn huisje altijd met zich meedraagt een verhaal van Vadertje Brombeer' by Brombeer, Vadertje 1946 *click thru to big*

'Het Theesalet van Pieteloet' by Agatha, 1860 *click thru to big*

'Landelijke Tafereelen' published by J Scholz, 1860s *click thru to big*

'Het ABC voor Holland's Kleintjes met 156 Plaatjes' by Daan Hoeksema, 1923 *click thru to big*

'Het Prentenboek der Sporten' by Yvonne, 1912 *click thru to big*

'Pierrot', text by J. Schenkman, illustrated by Louis Raemaekers, 1907 *click thru to big*

“Old children’s books are moving, intriguing, amusing and inspiring. They have value not only for the individual reader, but also for our society as a whole. Each successive Dutch generation grew up with its own specific children’s books, and each generation unconsciously adopted such moral standards and values as they contained. Children’s books serve as indispensable witnesses of an ever changing society

Within the framework of youth literature, picture books occupy a special place. In picture books, the images are just as important as the texts. They are by no means intended exclusively for young children. Old picture books reflect the views people held about good and evil, poor and rich; about education, with examples of dutiful and bad behaviour; about love for one’s own country and about people from foreign countries. They illustrate a changing world of new inventions and modes of transport, of living and fashion, of daily life in towns and villages. There is both humour and moralism to be found in children’s books; they play with the relationship between reality and fantasy.

A total of six hundred and fifty Dutch picture books, dating to the period 1810–1950, are brought together in this collection, which runs the gamut from Robinson Crusoe to Tielse Flipje (a cartoon mascot on ‘De Betuwe’ jam pot labels) and from old nursery rhymes to fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm: there is something for everyone in the collection.“

Beautiful photographs of the Eurasian Kingfisher taken by Charlie Hamilton James; some appearing in National Geographic magazine’s November 2009 issue, the Daily Mail and some from his website.

Its perch serving as lookout and diving board, a kingfisher waits above the still waters of an English river, which reflects trees and sky. This flashy hunter can dive and return with a fish in 2 seconds. *Click thru to bigger image*

The oldest Kingfisher on record was 21. There was “once a country practice of killing a kingfisher and hanging it from a thread in the belief that it would swing to predict the direction in which the wind would blow.”

Ready to dive, a hovering Kingfisher

An azure blue, a kingfisher plummets toward the water, reaching speeds of more than 25 miles an hour.

In a prey's-eye view, an adult female snaps up a stickleback, a small spiny fish, from just beneath the water's surface. Beak color gives away a kingfisher's gender- Males show mostly black, while females have an orange lower mandible that matches their feet.

The bird's aim is so unerring that even though a protective translucent membrane veils its eyes underwater, it can confidently catch fish to depths of two feet.

'The Kingfisher rises out of the black wave like a blue flower,' wrote poet Mary Oliver, paying tribute to the dashing river bird on its feeding rounds. Light scatters prismatically in microscopic feather structures to create the kingfisher's brilliant blue.

More Kingfishers rising out of black waves like blue flowers:

Kingfisher erupting out of water.

Kingfisher erupting with two fish.

Black Wave, Blue Flower: Kingfisher

James has produced a few books on the Kingfisher in his 20 years photographing and researching them. His latest,  “Kingfisher: Tales from the Halcyon River,” was assembled through exhaustive photographic work, during which he “watched and photographed kingfishers for literally thousands of hours, starting work before dawn and continuing until there is too little light for him to see.” And “the accompanying text is equally exceptional. Written in diary form, it covers the kingfishers’ habits season by season and describes them with real intimacy.”

Male Kingfishers fight.

Kingfisher Nest in bank

The Kingfisher returns to the nest with fish for its young.

In a riverbank burrow a mother feeds one of her nine-day-old chicks a small fish, which it will swallow whole.

There are also Pied Kingfishers:

Pied Kingfisher

There is much more (including more images) at James’ website. Make sure to check out the book, I know I will be!

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