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ARBUTUS / MADRONE Today, when I was answering Kofla's question about hating Winter, I mentioned the Arbutus trees on the bluff and later realized that most people would not have seen Arbutus unless they have lived on the West Coast.....and I had forgotten that they are known as "Madrone" in the US. They are magical trees......Here, they mostly grow on steep rocky bluffs overlooking the ocean.....but can be found many miles inland too. They are evergreen and have thick waxy leaves. In the Spring they have clouds of waxy, creamy white flowers that turn into orange-red berries. The bark is smooth and pink/orange/brick-red......that over the Summer, slowly curls off to expose chartreuse new bark.......They often resemble naked Humans dancing on the bluffs........Many legends, poems and songs have been made about the Arbutus......       |
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I heard a folk song from Scotland ......There was a young girl.....the daughter of the king....sixteen years of age. She was in love with a young local boy....they had sworn love to each other.. Her father decided to marry her to a an old man for political reasons. The old man would marry her only if she was a virgin and sent a man to test her virginity.... The young princess was horrified and begged her father for mercy.....that she be allowed to marry the boy she loved......But the king wa determined and she was ordered to undress and spread her legs for the man-servant to check her virginity......and instead of complying, she fled toward the ocean and turned into an Arbutus tree......PS.....it sounds very dramatic and convincing in the song......
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I just read your comment on Kofla's blog. Your description of winter in your area was breath-taking, and your passion for it was palpable. May I ask, what is the average temperatures for your area in the winter? Do you experience snow and ice? Be a prism, spreading God's light and love, not a mirror reflecting the world's hatred.
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Sometimes it's below freezing, but usually only overnight or for a few days, Some years we get as much as 8 inches of snow, but it's usually followed by rain and is gone in a day or two......Some years we don't get any snow.....We haven't had any snow or even a frost so far this Winter.....It's 43 right now...
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Beautiful pictures Sparkle of the Arbutus tree. I am not sure if I have seen one of those. There are some high cliffs as you walk along the seawall in Stanley Park. So perhaps there are some of those tree that sit at the top of those cliffs.
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Sparkle, I sang that song with the school choir, at least, I think it's the same one! We were never told the story...probably because the nuns would never teach children such a tale. All I can remember is the first verse... My love's an arbutus By the borders of Lene, So slender and shapely In her girdle of green. And I measure the pleasure Of her eye's sapphire sheen By the blue skies that sparkle Through the soft branching screen. ............................................................ Thank you for the memory!
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PS. And the beautiful pictures!
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A very beautiful and interesting tree for sure. I loved your comment on Koffla's blog too, full of passion and love. 
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I have seen them many times. An old forester I knew once told me they would be great for making furniture.
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Sparkle, I sang that song with the school choir, at least, I think it's the same one! We were never told the story...probably because the nuns would never teach children such a tale. All I can remember is the first verse... My love's an arbutus By the borders of Lene, So slender and shapely In her girdle of green. And I measure the pleasure Of her eye's sapphire sheen By the blue skies that sparkle Through the soft branching screen. ............................................................ Thank you for the memory! ARBUTUS (trad/Grater) Our king, he has a daughter fair; Arbutus is her name And he has gone a soldiering to the court of the king of Spain. Where our harpers sang of her gentle grace, of her beauty and her face And the Spanish king's declared his love, begged she might share his name Our Irish king, he's hurried home with all speed he could command And there he's told his daughter fair he's promised away her hand Her lovely eyes were filled with tears and her cheeks were scarlet red "Oh Father, dear, I can't marry him; I'd rather you see me dead." "Oh but you shall do as I command, I swear it on my sword! Go dress yourself in bright array; I'll hear not another word." "But Father dear, I love a man, Will Winsboro is his name, And I'd not leave my own true love for the hand of the king of Spain." "But I swore you were a maiden fair, and my Chiefs did all agree! I command you now, take off your gown that I may examine thee." "Oh, Father dear, don't shame me so; I would rather you see me dead Before I'd let your noble lords search for my maidenhead." "Take off, take off your very brown gown and stand upon the stone, For if you be a maiden or none, the truth it must be known." So she's taken off her very brown gown, and she's let the gown fall free But before its hem could touch the ground, she's turned into a tree And her lover's turned to the gentle breeze; through her branches he does play And she has shed her soft brown bark 'till this very day.
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Thanks Sparkle... sounds about right! Much more right, in fact, there are many bawdy songs in Scotland...none of them taught by nuns! 
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That makes me happy......someone who shares my love of the Arbutus...
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It's evident from your blogs that your focus is on manufactured objects.....to each hi own....
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