Yesterday’s witches’ broom sent me by memory to M. M. Graff’s Tree Trails in Central Park, published in 1970 by the Greensward Foundation. Possibly the first place where I first read about them… maybe in the late 1990s?
The Foundation was a precursor to the Central Park Conservancy, back in the bad old days of fiscal insolvancy, trying to get the city (citizens and government) to save the great heritage of the park. Here’s Graff’s Times obit.
My copy is rather bit foxed, but the cover, reproduced above, still packs a punch. The illustrations are by Jacques Hnizdovsky. This is very fine look at a beech, trees that are absolutely reeking with character, and I think he captured the vibrancy of the bark delightfully.
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As much as I enjoy the absurdity of the authoritarians of the Grand Old Party of Death calling the Democratic Party, of all things, “far left,” it’s good to touch base with an actual leftist every once and a while. Mike Davis, who has written brilliantly on Los Angeles, is no stranger to the politics of pandemics in history.
Back to back tweets of Trump declaring that if you’re in charge you’re responsible AND then yesterday insisting that he’s not responsible at all for his disbanding of the pandemic response team. Nearly 63 million Americans voted for this piece-of-shit con man. 63 million assholes are a lot of assholes.
Backyard and Beyond 
Beautiful and rare piece of art. Thank you.