#Red Cedar

[pickleweed2]

Beautiful cascading structural roots of a large multi-stem Western Red Cedar, Thuja plicata, growing atop a boulder.

Olympic National Park| 11-30-2023

[wenbochenphoto]

Just when I thought all the old Red Cedar trees had been logged long ago, today we found a remnant one. I guess it survived because of the remoteness and rugged topography. So happy to see such a giant still exists in Gondwana Tea Mountain.

[alcnfr]

An Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) around the lot today...

[uxbridge]

Many old conifers on this trail through the glade

[summerwages]

no argument from me..cougar marking its territory on a cedar tree..loss of habitat makes for cozy woodland relationships..

[kindheart525]

What if some of the Dottieverse cast met my pony next gens?

Don’t worry Ell gets to meet someone she actually likes

Let me know who else from the Dottieverse and Auraverse or Thirdverse you’d like to see interact and I’ll add to this!

[jadeseadragon]

Red Cedars on the Move, Eating Up Grasslands. 

One of the biggest threats to Great Plains grassland ecosystems today is woody encroachment by invasive redcedars. Once grasslands are converted into woodlands, prairie wildlife species are lost, along with grassy areas for livestock grazing. As new woodland bird and wildlife species move in, they eat and expel the powder-blue cedar berries—and seed the advancing wave of cedars across the prairie. From left to right: pronghorns, Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlark, cows, Burrowing Owls, Greater Prairie-Chicken, American Robin, Cedar Waxwings. 

Illustration by 2023 Bartels Science Illustrator Maria Klos.

[stonedntired]

[tsyllaes]

LEAF DRAGONS! I've been really looking forward to drawing these little guys <3 They can grow to be huge, with the oldest, Oak, the size of a small forest, but these ones are just little, the thickness of your index finger. Llayan dragons all share their appearance with the trees around them.

I always associate Llayad with golden colours, therefore autumn, but deciduous trees from Australia are thin on the ground (there are two, one of which is subtropical) and I've not found one at all in South Africa. The single temperate deciduous tree I've got is the tanglefoot fagus, represented by the middle dragon here. Llayans therefore refer to autumn as the 'turning of the fagus.' There are three other related faguses (fagi? idk), all of which are evergreen and one of which is actually Kiwi, but screw you I'm bringing them into Llayad and making them deciduous: the myrtle fagus, flat-leafed fagus and the silver fagus.

Red moulmein cedar, represented by the top dragon, is the one that's technically subtropical but I'm stretching it into the Llayan mountains so it can also be temperate. Ditto the white lilac, which is more of a tropical tree that goes gold when it feels like it (so far as I can tell). There's one next to the cafe I often have lunch at and I had no idea it was Australian. Definitely not native to my area but there you go, Llayad can have them.

Finally the, almond of flame, represented by the bottom dragon, is again a straight up tropical tree I'm making temperate, native to south-east Asia so y'know what it counts. That's as native 'deciduous' as I've managed to get.

This is all relevant to the dragons, because the deciduous ones will turn to autumn colours and subsequently lose their leaves in winter, so they can no longer fly until they get new bright green growth in spring. They have seedpods which grow at the tip of their tails, which they'll then drop in the ground and let it grow into a tiny new sapling of a new dragon!

Dragons are very much creatures of magic, nothing to do with fire (though, idk, maybe those which do well with fire and need it to germinate seeds do make fire) but they have some connection with the wind and the weather. I know exactly what that connection is but that's spoilers, so shh. They communicate with twists of wind around the ankles, an uncomfortable breeze up the back of the neck or a soft waft through the hair, up to destructive gales and dark clouds full of lightning.

They may or may not be related to the sea dragons of Tsayth, who can tell?

[sylverra]

Responsibly wildcrafted red cedar tips at sylverra

Link above | $5 flat shipping all US orders | Free US shipping over $50

[florenrune]

Plant Appreciation Post! (These lovelies were all photographed in Ohio by me on Monday)

[senome]

June 2: Red Cedar and Senome

Small update-

THIS IS NOT MY NEW CONLANG, THIS IS SENOME, THE NEW ONE IS SENOM

I’m currently working on incorporating the many ideas I have for it into a nature collection and how Senumians use them, as well to showcase the logographs I’ve been working on

This is a prototype to a digital version, so it looks weird. Also, I’m also working on the logographs and how to make pictograms of abstract ideals, but there is a preview in this prototype here!

[alcnfr]

A Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) in an Eastern Red Cedar tree (Juniperus virginiana)...

[uxbridge]

Cedars in the snow🌲❄️

[wolfnowl]

Pathways

[kindheart525]

To most, Lyra and Bon Bon’s basement was a garbage dump, dirty and unfurnished except for one small, tattered couch in the corner. It served no purpose except as a place for storage, littered with boxes and assorted equipment, some of which hadn’t been touched in years.

But to Flurry Heart, Blueberry Sticks, and Red Cedar, it was so much more than that. This crappy old basement was a place where ideas were born and brought to life, where they could release their creative energy and make music in a place where nobody would bother them. It wasn’t a real studio, but it was the best they had. It was also a place where they could just hang out and talk about life, which they were doing now after just finishing another round of practice.

Flurry sank into the old tattered couch next to Cedar.

“That’s a wrap! I think we finally got it down today. Maybe Luster will get off my ass about it being off-key now.”

Blueberry chuckled as she settled on the ground below them both, stretching out her legs to relax a little after a long day of practice. 

"I like Luster and all, but she can be a pain in the neck sometimes can't she? She reminds me of that one bitch-" 

Cedar interjected right away, her nose crinkling up in irritation. 

"You mean that one mare. I think she was just thoughtful, she cared about you. And so does Luster!" 

This fell on deaf ears, of course. 

"I know a lot about being thoughtful. I don't just get licks in on...on the uh...the snare drum." 

The awkward attempt at a innuendo ended with a cough and a nudge into Flurry’s leg.

Flurry scoffed, humoring her.

“Don’t we know it. You wouldn’t shut up about getting Peach Rings AND Patty Cake in your bed! You’re not special for getting two sisters to play your drums.”

A sly grin spread across her face.

“Jeweled Steps is more of an accomplishment anyway. Do you know how long it took till she agreed to pluck my strings?”

Blueberry gasped at the mention of Jewel and sat up, putting her arm to her chest and turning up her nose. When she spoke, she put on a snooty Canterlot accent and swayed her body side to side seductively. 

At this point, Cedar had shoved her face into the couch to try and block it out. 

"Ooou Flurrence Sparkleglitter Heart, how I dooooo miss your charms! They don't call me Strawberry Essence for nothing you know! I thought my sweet juices-" 

This was when Cedar blew her top. She clasped her arms around Blueberry’s mouth and began to speak over her. 

"I personally think we shouldn't be talking about these mares this way! They trusted you to do a very personal and intimate act! I would never do anything like that."

“You won’t even look at a stallion before he pops out a ring! Let alone-“

Flurry gasped mockingly.

“THINK about kissing him! So what authority do you have to tell us how to have a one night stand?”

Cedar scowled at her as she spit out a rebuttal.

“That’s not true! I’m just waiting for the right time! I know how to actually savor something special instead of treating it like a game like you do!”

Once Cedar was through ruining the mood as per usual, Blueberry, who was much less affected than Flurry, simply shrugged. 

"I don't know, you might meet some stallion you REALLY can't resist! Pre-marital eye contact worthy, even!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Next: Slow Talkin'