Isn't it good Norwegian wood?

Sitting at a Sir Terence Conrad's Habitat "Chilton" Pine Desk to write this Blip. Purchased 7th January 1989 for £199.00 at Habitat's Oxford store.

I mention this as I was involved on some comments on EmmaDavies entry yesterday where she asked why fir trees lost their leaves in Autumn in the Alps. I happened to be the first to comment on her quandary.

My Blip today shows the answer - the Larch. One of the few conifers that loses it's leaves in Autumn but before doing so, helps by contributing to the wonderful autumn colours.

The forests in Bavaria are about 70% conifers, planted almost exclusively for commercial purposes. The State Forestry shows it's proportions as - 42% common or Norway spruce, 16% pine, 4% larch, 2% fir and 1% others. For the record the deciduous trees account for 18% beech, 6% oak and the rest "others".

Larch is a very highly prized wood as it is extremely waterproof and thus ideal for many building projects such as cladding and of course waterway use (incl. boat building) and fence posting. Spruce is the everyday all-rounder which grows fast and can be used for firewood, paper and indoor building

Due to global warming and it's impact on the general environment, water levels and increase of disease added to the increase in the strength of storms, the forestry owners are having to reduce their reliance on monoculture conifers with their shallow rooting systems and change to mixed deciduous forests. Cheap soft conifer wood is anyway better grown further north e.g. in Norway where it grows more slowly and is thus stronger.

The extra photo shows some of the various stages - Top left: long standing common spruce, in front of them left probably self sown spruce seedlings that naturally stay small until their older family are harvested and they get light. To their right, some planted deciduous trees, normally a high proportion of birch which give protection in the early years and are often simply felled when half grown, and in the background a large section of spruce forest with some yellow larch to be seen making a bit of colour.

Sadly my Blip also shows the desperate need I have of doing a photography course and indeed I did enrol in Emma's 2016 course for a few weeks until I got deeply depressed by the amazing quality of my fellow students work and above all understanding of all the technical terms, knobs and buttons. And without getting involved in the current disgraceful news of mainly male harassment, the majority of the excellent course work came from female students  and I felt wholly inept - as a male I should know more about dials and speeds and apertures etc. and that without looking up a handbook. I gave up fairly quickly. However I would highly recommend her tuition style and methods.

Not part of today's Blip but an old story that makes me smile whenever I think of it. So not for public consumption.

The current harassment affairs does make one think if one could ever be accused of such a deed. As far as I can recall, neither as a boss of female colleagues or as junior of a female boss have I ever been involved, witnessed or been subjected to such events. I do recall having a run in with one of the most spectacularly beautiful (almost too much so) young ladies I have ever met. She a pilot, together with two sets of Irish (pre-Ryanair company) plane crews, a young budding English singer/songwriter desperate for a break in to the music business but forced to earn her keep as a hotel bar piano player and myself were in the same hotel for months on end and got together almost every night for a session - the majority (8) were Irish and only one had to stay sober. On her final night before returning to Ireland, she took me to one side and asked me why I had never made a pass at her! I know that is the one and only Ego booster in my hidden away drawers!