Thor survives the summer

Just in case anyone is checking, Thor has survived the summer.
We are moving and I don't know where Thor will end up!
He is still in his planter so I guess he will just have to be packed up with the rest of the household items.

Has he grown?

So on this somewhat cold day in June the 2nd to be exact I went to measure Thor.
The new total =24.5 cm!
This is the last week of the project and I have to say I think Thor will make it to the one month mark.
I also am happy to report that we have new grown on the edges of the little branches!
The new growth is definately a lot greener and softer than the orginal growth.

Is Thor safe?

Yesterday I was cautious as there was a new menace in the neighbuorhood.

A squirrel likes the trees at the front of my house! He looked at me, made some noise and wagged it's tail at me at a very rapid pace.

What is the possibilities of the squirrel doing any damage to my tree?

I went in search of more information.

I found out from one website that "squirrels can destroy trees by tearing and/or eating the bark"(http://www.squirrels.org/).

Since squirrels are active all year long (they do not hybernate) Thor will have to be on his guard throughout the entire year!

The squirrel in the picture is from the UK and is said to be driving out the regular grey squirrels because it has more testosterone - making them more aggressive and more successful over the other squirrels in their territory.

I hope this squirrel stays away from my tree! I will keep a look out and let you know.

What about forest fires?

When the lightening was going on the other day it got me thinking about the upcoming summer and the possibilities of forest fires.

My mom and sister just got back from Florida where fires are a huge problem. So I thought about what the current forest fire situation was in BC?

You have to understand the levels called "the Danger Class Ratings".
Here is what they mean:
Low - Low fire danger.
Moderate - Carry out any forest activities with caution.
High - Fire hazard is serious. Extreme caution must be used in any forest activities. Burning permits and industrial activities may be restricted.
Extreme - Extremely high fire hazard. General forest activities may be restricted, including burning permits, industrial activities and campfires.

So what does BC look like right now? As a tree grower right now I have concern for all trees!

See the map? The closer to red the closer to DANGER!

Right now the blue means that there is a very low risk.
It looks good but there are currently 16 fires of note that are larger than 10 hectares (which is larger than Queen Elizabeth Park). It's early in the fire season but be careful out there in the forests this summer!

For more info go to: http://bcwildfire.ca
If you see a wildfire call toll free 1-800-663-5555 (*5555 on most cellular networks).

Thor and thunder and lightening too

It was pretty scary last night as there was a lot of thunder and lightening in YVR.

That brings me to the lore about Thor.

Thor (my tree) is named after the Norse god of thunder.
"The Norse believed that during a thunderstorm, Thor rode through the heavens on his chariot pulled by the goats Tanngrisni ("gap-tooth") and Tanngnost ("tooth grinder"). Lightning flashed whenever he threw his hammer Mjollnir".

I think that is what must of happened last night!

Check out how spiky Thor's needles look. Notice the needles are on all sides (4-angled) but they are somewhat flattened and have a pointy tip!

May longweekend!

So I just measured Thor and a new record of: 24.3cm

I think Thor has acutally grown in the week since I planted him in his planter.

Now the instructions said he could grown up to one meter this year so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Now the picture above today's entry is NOT mine. It is from a website dedicated to this species of tree: norwayspruce.com.

If Thor grows big enough cones will appear on the branches. The cones can be up to 15 cm long and the seeds will be about 1 cm long.

Everyone enjoy the sunshine!

How will Thor do in hotter temps?

This weekend is supposed to be hotter. I wonder how Thor will do?