California - these are Monterey Cypress. Originally grew only here and in Monterey, but being a sort of charismatic tree, they have been transplanted all over the world.
They were at...Fort Ross. it seems the Russians, under Peter the Great, got very interested in exploring their western end (partly, they were afraid the Chinese would get there first). They made something like 250 trips in the North Pacific, by Russians and hired explorers. One result was success in the fur trade; they got Chinese mandarins thinking fur coats were just the thing to show off superior status. So, they established fur-trading and -hunting posts in Alaska and this one, Fort Ross in northern California, partly to raise food for the other ones.
The big threat at the time was the Spanish; hence the armaments
General stores
Being Russians, of course a samovar
The Russians were as imperialistgic as everybody else: The Russiaan trading company had it's own flag; anybody else who had permission to visit had that or the Russian naval flag, the St Andrew's Cross:
The hunting from Ft Ross was done by Aaskan Eskimos, whom they inported here. They were made Russian citizens, sort of, which gave them a certain legal status; but they were still required to go out hunting a lot.
The church - they seemed to have pretty good luck converting native peoples to Russian Orthodoxy, more than American Protestant missionaries did. Interesting question why - maybe the ikons?
The bell, cast in Russia; you can see the words around the edge.
But, things eventually went wrong. The fort never did show a profit; they hunted out almost all the Sea Otters; the farming didn't go very well and they ended up contracting for food with the Hudson's Baqy Company. So, they abandoned the fort.
They were at...Fort Ross. it seems the Russians, under Peter the Great, got very interested in exploring their western end (partly, they were afraid the Chinese would get there first). They made something like 250 trips in the North Pacific, by Russians and hired explorers. One result was success in the fur trade; they got Chinese mandarins thinking fur coats were just the thing to show off superior status. So, they established fur-trading and -hunting posts in Alaska and this one, Fort Ross in northern California, partly to raise food for the other ones.
The big threat at the time was the Spanish; hence the armaments
General stores
Being Russians, of course a samovar
The Russians were as imperialistgic as everybody else: The Russiaan trading company had it's own flag; anybody else who had permission to visit had that or the Russian naval flag, the St Andrew's Cross:
The hunting from Ft Ross was done by Aaskan Eskimos, whom they inported here. They were made Russian citizens, sort of, which gave them a certain legal status; but they were still required to go out hunting a lot.
The church - they seemed to have pretty good luck converting native peoples to Russian Orthodoxy, more than American Protestant missionaries did. Interesting question why - maybe the ikons?
The bell, cast in Russia; you can see the words around the edge.
But, things eventually went wrong. The fort never did show a profit; they hunted out almost all the Sea Otters; the farming didn't go very well and they ended up contracting for food with the Hudson's Baqy Company. So, they abandoned the fort.The Russian Orthodox crosses are sort of interesting. The two horizontal pieces are supposed to represent the fact that the crosses the Romans crucified people on actually had two crosspieces - one for the arms and one for the feet. The bottom, angled crosspiece represents the two thieves that were crucified with Christ. The one on His right hand said, "Lord, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom", so he was saved. The other didn't and went to Hell, so his end of the crosspiece points down.
This is Fern Canyon: An extraordinarily narrow canyon, completely sheltered by trees, and wonderfully peaceful.
This is Fern Canyon: An extraordinarily narrow canyon, completely sheltered by trees, and wonderfully peaceful.
Lady Fern
Sword fern - about the most common out there. The commonest one on ther east Coast, which looks a lot like it, is the bracken Fern.
Deer fern
Five-finger Maidenhair fern
Here they are all together:Five-finger, sword, Deer and Lady ferns
I n a couple of places the walls had absolutely no soil on them, so you get moss and lichens.
.It needs very wet conditions...
The plants make up for the fact that the Serpentine is very short on several minerals plants need by getting the minerals from insects. The insects somehow get the idea that there is something good to eat inside the pitchers; once they get in, the sides are slippery and covered with hairs that point downward, so they can't get out again and the plants dissolve them.
Sword fern - about the most common out there. The commonest one on ther east Coast, which looks a lot like it, is the bracken Fern.
Deer fern
Five-finger Maidenhair fern
Here they are all together:Five-finger, sword, Deer and Lady fernsI n a couple of places the walls had absolutely no soil on them, so you get moss and lichens. This was a place where the underlying rock was Serpentine, a greenish material which is very alkaline. Few plants can grow in it; one that can is Darlingtonia, aka California Pitcher Plant
.It needs very wet conditions...
The plants make up for the fact that the Serpentine is very short on several minerals plants need by getting the minerals from insects. The insects somehow get the idea that there is something good to eat inside the pitchers; once they get in, the sides are slippery and covered with hairs that point downward, so they can't get out again and the plants dissolve them.
Think about that. Aren't you glad you're a Human?
No comments:
Post a Comment