Switzerland: Bantiger, Tree wrecks

Hello again

One of my recent Sunday excursions took me to a nearby hilltop called Bantiger. As in many other woodlands in Switzerland, the wood at the foot of the "peak" is dotted with trees bearing the scars of hurricane Lothar of December 27, 1999. Here are just a few striking examples:
Next post: a few photos showing the dramatic view to be enjoyed from the top of the communications tower on Bantiger.

Switzerland: Guggisberg, Guggershorn -- tree wrecks from "Lothar" (Dec. 99)

Hello again

While listening to a pretty heated post-election radio debate (in Swiss German) on the new situation in Swiss politics (you can listen in at DRS2 webradio on http://www.drs.ch -- look for "Doppelpunkt"), I am keeping my promise of day before yesterday to post some impressive tree-wreck photos taken a couple of weekends ago in the Guggershorn/Schwendelberg/Guggisberg area:This tree must have been damaged by a falling trunk that shaved off its living (?) bark right down to the older wooden core. It's hard to see in this photo but the tree is dead and the wood scored by map-like trails of bark beetles.
The following photos show what I am calling tree wrecks. The sheer force of the hurricane slamming into these old trunks must have been frightening.
When "Lothar" hit I was up in Engelberg. The power went down, fallen trees blocked both road and rail access. About twelve hours later I passed through a gap the roadworkers and foresters had cut into a fallen tree -- the bus had less than two inches of air either side. Pretty hair-raising. In the plain at the top of Lake Lucerne, orchards looked as though a huge comb had gone over them: the root clumps of the trees grabbed at the air, their crowns and trunks were all stretched out in the same direction.
At home in Bern, a massive fir tree had come crashing down between the nearby church (Pauluskirche) and the adjacent house, narrowly missing the roof and slamming into a cast-iron fence. The church spire had lost some of its copper sheeting. On my balcony, a fairly substantial marble table had been toppled. All around, gardens and streets were littered with debris, tiles, flower pots, sheeting, plastic chairs, branches...
As we're heading for the winter holidays – this here blogger doesn't celebrate the christian holidays – I think the above is a fitting final point: I like the flame-shaped sweep of this wreck.

Time to close for now. Thank you for your comments, and come again.

Curious trees -- Berne area, Iona, Argyll, Scotland

Hello again

I spent a few days in the central Swiss mountains. More of that in one of my next posts. Here and now I want to share with you a couple of photographs of a curious tree that reminded me of the last wild tree on Iona. Sadly, that specimen was dead when I first visited the island in 2004 (see above). The one I came across just before Easter this year is still going quite strong although no-one knows for how much longer.