Czech Yamadori

In the course of the  summer as my heart and nearly broken sole have recovered from the blow - see the previous post -  I have started to circle around the tree closer and closer.  Finally,  it has landed on my workbench again  and we have started the second round. At the ring bell I have focused my effort on the upper dead branch.   A place where I felt a soft spot on the tree.  And yes, I do belive I have managed to remove a good amount of wood.  Now I think there is a good movement and taper. At least if you look at it under the condition of a deteriorated visibility and perhaps you are in a reasonable distance of more than 10 metres from it.   Unfortunately,  if you get any closer you will be able to see the naked truth - NO GO again. Autumn 2017 Determination.  Persistence. Innovation.   All these characteristics helped our predecessors to get down from the trees and to conquer savannahs.  With this in my mind, I have decided to continue with this proje

In the early spring I have decided to move a little bit further with the work on the dead wood of the cornelian cherry_double trunk. The existing deadwood looks really great.  I wonder if I could get any closer to the Nature with my hands.... And the quality of the bark makes a nice match with it... Initial work completed in spring 2016 Target: a) convert the top dead branch in a lookable jin              b) remove the visual weight of the dead wood in the middle section of the trunk Before sharing the pic of the results of the first GO I should say that the wood of this species is much harder than I thought...Bad luck.  The result looks bad.  Well, not just bad,  but B A D.   Definitely needs better tools than just chisels. Clear KO in the first round.  So it is  1 :  0 for the Cc. At least on the first sight but in fact it is a clear loss for both of us... btw Back in 2016 I have planned to get rid of this cc.  Well , I am going to keep it. In

Another tree that makes me happy this year.   Good development and promise for years to come. Maintenance 2017: A summer reduction from 60 cm to remove  the top section of the trunk with no taper. Defoliation on 10th August.  Fully leafed by the end of August.  I am curious  to compare with the other birches I have to see if there is any impact of a bit late defoliation on the timing of the leaves drop or they colour. Current height: 45 cm Target height:   55-60 cm Nevertheless... This tree will never make a typical lowland birch silhuette.  The trunk is a bit more stout than it should be and the structure of branches looks again hmm well different to put it that way.   You may find similar outline on slopes fully exposed to the south with restricted water availibility though... The way we were in 2009 More details about this tree in  here

The older you get it is more easy to loose your balance or to stumble over something...   As I am quite clumsy I do stumble quite often.  Sometimes it is a tree with a good potential to become a bonsai or a nice piece of wood... This is the result of one of my stumbling over a piece of root: hand made jiita... Plates cut with the foxtail saw The texture of these plates is excellent   38 x 15 cm Drying.  I have found that old newspapers are quite handy for this process. Rough removal of the bark with steel brush  Manual cleaning with a steel pricker What's next?   Drying, drying and drying. ...to be continued.

The Magic Light Main characters in alphabetical order: Late summer sunset Water drops Very special guests: Rainbow # 1 Rainbow # 2 The wind has brought few clouds and little bit of rain.  Nothing special.   But for a very short moment there was a very special light that is a DREAM for any photographer.  I was a bit late but still managed to get this one...

Birch_Do I really know where I go?  After the collection the little birch has spent some time in the ground.  Just a tiny layer of soil sitting on the rock bed.   That was my way of building a flat nebari at that time.  After a couple of years the tree has been potted.  The little bit indistinct suspicion that the tree is  "out of proportion" appeared in the most naked form. I had to drop the idea of a graceful a bit formal upright format  and the main trunk has been removed. Well,  if I start to overhaul something than it is difficult to stop me. You know that kind of itching urge " what about to change it a little bit here and there?"     So we have ended up with a number of root and branch thread grafts.  You remember the tree with the carry on handle don't you... Jan 2016.   I have started to fulfill one of my New Year's resolutions - Use your bonsai tackle wisely... Nov 2016.  What a growth. In just a si

Another day in a woodland... I  have spent few hours in the nearby woodland today.   While the single target for the day was quite  clear: go out and find some decent blackthorn(s), I could not resist to make few photographs... Beeches are ready for the winter.  Nice thick bedding to cover their roots. I have never seen such buttress roots on a native tree.  Much more typical for a rainforest then for a mixed forest in our country  Wood ear   Auricularia auricula-judae - ready, well nearly, for the harvest:) Finally. after spending a good amount of time mostly on my knees pushing my way through the blackthorn undergrowth  I have found this massive trunk.    As mentioned somewhere in one of my earlier post.   To find a sloe with a good potential is quite difficult in my area.  Difficult but possible:) To bring it home and keep it alive - well, that's another story...