solved: silver bells

[Tom]

Here is a flower submitted by DonP.  His description says that it was blooming 2 weeks ago in the mountains west of Asheville, N.C. along with Paulownia which was blooming prolifically and simultaneously.

Kinda makes me want to visit the Blue Ridge.

What is it?



Here is one of those insects on the flower.  I wonder what it is?

[Bud Man]

Viburnum and click beetle or tiger beetle

[Tom]

that's not a click beetle.  I don't know what it is for sure, just put it on out of curiosity.

I have the name of the plant that DonP gave to me and it isn't Viburnum

[CHARLIE]

Pear, or crabapple or dogwood........... :P

[Jeff]

Loblolly-bay or Gardonia

[bjorn]

umbrella magnolia?

[Jeff]

bjorn yer looking at the same reference book I am arntcha>? :D

[DanG]

English Dogwood and a lightning bug?

[Tom]

Nope, nope, nope, no, no, no and nope.  It has to be eggzakly what I have on Don's email. :D

Lightning bug. hmmmm.  I hadn't thought of that DanG.  You might be right, It does favor one doesn't it.  I wish the image was clearer so that I could try to match it to my books. :P

[Jeff]

I refuse to try any more until I know that you are not hiding Don P in your shop. How come you got his pics? Where is Don P? Somethin spicious here...

[bjorn]

Jeff,

Dendrology at Virginia Tech?  A great reference.  Oops!  Hope I am not giving away secrets.  Ah shucks...everyone should look at that site.

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/main.htm

[Don P]

Hi Guys,
I'm in and out using a former clients connection, sorry about the mystery.Sure is hard to keep up :'( :D.Thanks Tom for shrinking and posting my pics, you're a good friend.
All that stuff was in bloom around the same time (well, the ones I recognize) Hey how far north do dogwoods grow? We seem to have run out of them in mid IL.
The tree pictured is pretty infrequent but a real beauty to stumble across when in bloom...almost brings a Christmas song to mind...hmmm :D :D ;D

[bjorn]

Carolina silverbell aka Styracaceae Halesia carolina

 8)

[Tom]

bjorn You Got It !

That's eggzackly what Don put on his email.  Yer pretty smart!

[Tom]

Jeff,

No need to try any longer, Bjorn already got it.  He's a pretty swift cookie.

DonP dropped those pictures off at the house on his way to Nausea.  Seems he won a big Lotto drawing and he and Michelle flew into Jax on their private Jet with a Caribean tour on their agenda.  DonT believe him when he says he's in Ill.   He's just trying to throw you off. ;D

I'm hoping he dosn't come back calypso'd.

[Jeff]

Hes in your shop aint he. Eating peas and workin like a dog and livin in yer shop. I know if Don P won the Lotto he would come and see ME first. Probably talk me into allowing 30 KB for picture size instaed of less then 15. That way you could make a picture clear enough for me to GUESS RIGHT ONCE IN MY LIFE. ;)

While I am on the subject, as of today we have 715 photos in our gallery. WOW.

Count them here. https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/album.cgi

[Don P]

Good show Bjorn, forgive me if I've asked before but you must be from my neck of the woods...where are you? Our place is in Grayson Co. VA  when we're home sweet home. I'd love to visit you're shop Tom or Jeff but I've been lured in by home grown deevine bovine, got nothin against peas tho'...as a side  :D :D
 I'm tending Michelle's maters and peppers up here in IL, had to rush out and get them in ahead of a frost the night before last, hard to believe its almost Memorial day .

[bjorn]

DonP

We live in Albemarle County Virginia,  about 15-20 miles SW of Charlottesville.  In the hills, although not quite the hills that you have in the Grayson Highlands.  I've been there a few times, Mt. Rogers and stuff.  Beautiful country.  

[Jeff]

Is that the same Charlottesville mentioned in the Waltons? Loved that show. Remember when John boy was blinded in a sawmill accident?

[Corley5]

I remember something about that.  What always amused me was "Little House on the Prairie".  Charles worked in the mill all day and walked out clean and fresh .  Not real authentic ;D :D ;)

[Frank_Pender]

Yep and now we have a lumber company named Plumb Creek. :'(

[Don P]

OK , got you Bjorn. We built a house near lake Anna several years back. That's some old country around there. Trying to bring up the name of the co seat but oldtimers must have already started :D. What sticks in my mind was that while digging the porch footings we hit chunks of pure sulfer, the old inspector told me it had been mined in the war for use in powder...the lead came from Lead Mines in my neighborhood, they changed hands numerous times. There's a shot tower on the New north of me where the molten lead was poured down to form balls as it fell and cooled, it was then screened and used...man, can I digress or what :D :
Jeff, Charlottesville is the one you heard of. Its also Thomas Jeffersons old stomping grounds...Tom's Hill, Monticello is in the neighborhood. I better leave room for Bjorn to tell more about Walton's Mountain and his neighborhood.
Frank, there must be a story there on Plum Creek I haven't heard. I've sought out their carsiding and boards as good product in the past, whats up?

[bjorn]

That's right!  Charlottesville is the town of both Thomas Jefferson as well as John Boy Walton.  However, the true family name that the Walton's were named after were the Hamner's.  Actually, Charlottesville was not there home, but the "Big City" that they would travel too.  They lived in a small Hamlet by the name of Schyler (sp?).  That is right down the road from me.  In fact, an old abandoned graveyard in the orchard below my house is full of Hamners from the early 1800 through to the early 1900's.  

Don P, I checked out your web site.  Some nice looking log homes.  So true about needing dry logs to begin with.  I used to (about 12 years ago) work for a company that reconstructed homes, barns, etc. from old cabin logs that we salvaged throughout Virginia and West Virginia.  

Bye the way, I've been cutting with my new Turner Mills bandmill that arrived on Saturday.  manual mill with Hydraulic Loaders.  It's not the Woodmizer that I used to own (also about 12 years ago), but a real nice machine for the price.  I'me cutting framing lumber for the barn I'm building, and managed to cut around 500 BF on Sunday, my first day with the mill.  Working by myself, I don't think that's a bad start.  

Cheers.