I wish I could call it a Gowanus flotilla, but for that there would need to be several more vessels involved. This is more like a jerry rigged catamaran sans sail. The crew used long hooks to snag the base of the Union Street Bridge so they could carry out some sort of inspection. A friendly crew, they tolerated lots of excited waving and photography. Sadly, they couldn't tell me what kind of tree this was thriving next to the canal.
In my mom's village in RI I saw a flyer describing the illuminated flotilla they were going to be having in the Bay. No motors permitted. In and around Providence they love to mix fire and water, but on Brooklyn's Gowanus, it's a pretty chancy proposition.
5 comments:
That tree, and there's one on either side of the bridge, is a royal paulownia, a.k.a. princess tree, Paulownia tomentosa. It has big, showy pale purplish flowers that are rather trumpet shaped. The fruit, or seed pods, seen in the photo, will split soon to release kerjilllions of tiny winged seeds. T
I wonder if that tree is a Royal Paulowna. I seem to remember there was one down there, but I am not sure where.
Thanks to you both. When I saw those large leaves I thought catalpa but the fruits are all wrong.
I came across this tidbit about the Paulownia tree just now: "Ancient Lore has it, that when the legendary Phoenix flew across the Orient, it would only land on Paulownia Trees… bringing prosperity and wisdom to those who were near."
So keep your eyes peeled for that Pheonix!
Strange to hear from you today Daniel. I was sitting in front of your church eating a cupcake with my daughter and wondering if I'd see you. We don't get to loafe around there very much, and whenever we do I always try to get a good picture of old first but I just don't have the right lens. Can never fit the whole thing in the frame.
Hope you're having a good summer.
Check out this link:
http://www.pratie.com/feature/steeple/
wow!
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