…And We Thought It Was All About The Trees

[Bonsai Nut]

I realize people need places to live but ripping everything out like that just seems wrong.

I hope that someone at least makes some firewood out of that.

Any chance of root cuttings?

There are truly thousands of square miles of juniper scrub in California. The challenge is finding junipers that would work for bonsai. They can actually become quite large trees in the wild - 12' tall and just as wide. Miles and miles of big scrubby trees with 75% deadwood and pretty soon the ranchers don't like them, the dirt bikers don't like them, the off-roaders don't like them... They plow them down or rip them up with a tow chain. To find the good ones for bonsai you have to go to a big area of junipers and go to the edge of where they occur... either the high elevation where the winters get cold and the wind is strong, or the low elevations where it gets too hot and dry. That is where you will find the stunted twisted ones. But then you have to worry about the roots and whether the tree is collectible. I would say 1 in 100... or even fewer... California junipers are appropriate for collection as bonsai. It still kills you when you see someone bulldoze down a big one, however...

 

[Vin]

They ain't kicked me out yet.
But then again I probably come off as more personable than Vin.

Ouch! You must have a touch of the winter doldrums. Here's a bit of the Florida white stuff to cheer you up

 

[milehigh_7]

You want sad? There are literally hundreds of miles of fence posts made from RMJ in Colorado were trees used to grow. Then the land was over grazed and now it is just cactus and weeds.

 

[Woodland Spirit]

You want sad? There are literally hundreds of miles of fence posts made from RMJ in Colorado were trees used to grow. Then the land was over grazed and now it is just cactus and weeds.


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Humans are part in the earth but in general have not learned to harmonize.
There are ways to live with nature and yet have most of the convenience of modern life. Green living as we know it is an infant state of such a thing.
I am no environmentalists. I simply feel all things have a place in nature and humans have stepped out of that place to a degree.
They are however progressing, at least where the people care.
I by no means feel that human kind is a blight. They are kinda cute sometimes after all. And can be useful some times.
It's entertaining to watch the mature ones think they have the adolescent ones under control. Are you still reading this?
Then you need a free kitten.

 

[Anthony]

Meow

 

[milehigh_7]

Humans are part in the earth but in general have not learned to harmonize.
There are ways to live with nature and yet have most of the convenience of modern life. Green living as we know it is an infant state of such a thing.
I am no environmentalists. I simply feel all things have a place in nature and humans have stepped out of that place to a degree.
They are however progressing, at least where the people care.
I by no means feel that human kind is a blight. They are kinda cute sometimes after all. And can be useful some times.
It's entertaining to watch the mature ones think they have the adolescent ones under control. Are you still reading this?
Then you need a free kitten.

Your posts are a written version of the Thorazine shuffle...

 

[jomawa]

If you're referring to this part:mentioning Penjing was never meant to be a cheap shot, I have several books on Penjing as well as Bonsai and respect the two artforms equally - the point I was trying to make was that if we are talking Bonsai the focus is primarily the tree. In Penjing, not so much if you're looking at a landscape style planting. I was eluding to the Japanese zen ideal of a sort of "less is more" in reference to singular Bonsai Trees. So If you're judging a Bonsai by Bonsai standards, then yes all that Penjing stuff is considered "visual clutter." But in Penjing, it's par for the course. Bonsai is Bonsai. Penjing is Penjing. But I'm still trying to wrap my head around what exactly some of these images are. Just don't put Penjing in front of me and expect me to believe you when you say it's bonsai. That's the point I was making with that comment.
Apologies if I did not articulate my thoughts well enough for you to comprehend my meaning.

Ya know folks, reading through the first few pages of this thread was really disgustingly vile, and I was tempted to jump to the end and post without wading through it all, looking for redeeming quality, (dang, there just wasn't much quality there). When I began reading, my thoughts were those (R Stevens) "displays" aren't even bosai. Then I pondered and decided Penjing was really not an appropriate term either, (yet I was truly only guessing, per only my research between Bonsai - tree in a pot, and Penjing - tray landscape/scenery). Yet was actually, sorta kinda, hoping (hadn't started praying yet) of all the bnutters, surely someone would mention those displays could be Penjing, maybe. Then as soon as Brewmeister (finally) makes mention of Penjing, he is immediately rebuked for it. Really people, you just might want to do yourselves a favor, go back to kindergarten and learn what Merriam-Webster (ya know, the dictionary) did for communication. Just because you don't want to call a spade a spade, or would rather call a basketball a golf ball, or try to call a display with a bonsai, a "bonsai", or you have no desire to use google (kind sorta the new encyclopedic dictionary yet with translation too) to double check your own verbage or check someone else's verbage, welcome to the foundations of kindergarten, where we "shoul'da" learn't that a great deal has already been thunk, and made into what is called reference books, which tend to nullify "wull, I think it should be ..." or "well, I think it should be called ..." I'll throw this challenge out, "has anyone read Steven's explanation or his own critique of these stunning "art works?" And, if so, "how'd he do at accomplishing what he intended, or conveying a/the thought?" And brewmeister83, way to go!!! But you ain't the one who needs to be apologizing.

 

[M. Frary]

"has anyone read Steven's explanation or his own critique of these stunning "art works?"

Don't need to to form our own opinions. Either you like this crap or you dont. I'm in the don't category.
I like penjing. They are landscape displays. There aren't giant chrome hands in the landscape.
These are just bonsai with trash laying around them.
No apologies needed. I'll be O.K.

 

[Vin]

You want sad? There are literally hundreds of miles of fence posts made from RMJ in Colorado were trees used to grow. Then the land was over grazed and now it is just cactus and weeds.


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Very poor wiring job. Whoever wired it needs to watch the Colin Lewis video.

 

[Vance Wood]

There are a few things going on that tend to occupy our minds when confined indoors and unable to work on trees. One of the first to come along is the issue of climate change. I know the PC environmentalists blame human activity because in this world, when something goes wrong, or contrary to what we desire or imagine, we have to blame someone. Why someone? Because it is pretty hard to blame the Sun or the angle of the rotation of the Earth or the combination of the two.

It is easier to blame white Americans with their internal combustion engines, factories and flatulating cattle. We, on one hand point to the historical record, geological record and archeological record as to the evidence of many climate changes that could not possibly have been the fault of man or any one species of critter then in existance, but turn and blame our modern society for climate chage, ignoring the historical record. We think somehow the world got to a point, climate wise, about Two-Hundred years ago where the climate reached a magical parity. A magical parity where it was written in stone that the climate is now as perfect as it was intended (by whome?) and can not change and if there is a change it is our fault.

 

[sorce]

Sorce

 

[Woodland Spirit]

There are a few things going on that tend to occupy our minds when confined indoors and unable to work on trees. One of the first to come along is the issue of climate change. I know the PC environmentalists blame human activity because in this world, when something goes wrong, or contrary to what we desire or imagine, we have to blame someone. Why someone? Because it is pretty hard to blame the Sun or the angle of the rotation of the Earth or the combination of the two.

It is easier to blame white Americans with their internal combustion engines, factories and flatulating cattle. We, on one hand point to the historical record, geological record and archeological record as to the evidence of many climate changes that could not possibly have been the fault of man or any one species of critter then in existance, but turn and blame our modern society for climate chage, ignoring the historical record. We think somehow the world got to a point, climate wise, about Two-Hundred years ago where the climate reached a magical parity. A magical parity where it was written in stone that the climate is now as perfect as it was intended (by whome?) and can not change and if there is a change it is our fault.

It's true for the most part.
But humans also sometimes tend to destroy things that don't need to be destroyed. My point is there is room for improvement.