167: Tree Rankers

Episode Transcript

[0:00:14 – 0:00:16] UNKNOWN: Thank you.
[0:00:35 – 0:00:35] UNKNOWN: you
[0:00:54 – 0:01:22] Adam: I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast A tree that looks at God all day And lifts her leafy arms to pray A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair A pond whose bosom’s snow has lain Who intimately lives with rain Poems are made by fools like me But only God can make a tree
[0:01:25 – 0:01:27] Adam: Welcome to Tumble Home, a Boundary Waters podcast.
[0:01:27 – 0:01:30] Adam: My name is Adam, joined in the Tumble Shed by my best man, Eric.
[0:01:30 – 0:01:31] Adam: Hello, Eric.
[0:01:31 – 0:01:34] Erik: Hello, you little ent, you.
[0:01:37 – 0:01:39] Adam: That was Trees, Joyce Kilmer, of course.
[0:01:40 – 0:01:40] Adam: Of course.
[0:01:40 – 0:01:41] Adam: Of course, everybody knows.
[0:01:41 – 0:01:42] Adam: Of course.
[0:01:43 – 0:01:54] Adam: This is episode 0167 of Tumble Home, a proud independent podcast tonight on Tumble Home, coming to you live and after dark from the shed.
[0:01:54 – 0:01:54] Adam: We’re talking trees.
[0:01:55 – 0:01:59] Erik: It’s that episode we’ve been promising you for so long.
[0:01:59 – 0:02:00] Erik: It’s finally here.
[0:02:01 – 0:02:06] Adam: I’ve had two episodes on the list to get done in the, in a, for like a long time.
[0:02:06 – 0:02:10] Adam: They’ve been on the list and one was tree rankers and the other was costumes.
[0:02:11 – 0:02:16] Adam: And then we’re doing them back to back here to close out October tree rankers tonight.
[0:02:16 – 0:02:19] Adam: And then next week come to you live.
[0:02:19 – 0:02:20] Adam: We’re talking costumes.
[0:02:20 – 0:02:22] Adam: We already picked out the beer for that one.
[0:02:22 – 0:02:26] Adam: And we will shortly reveal tonight’s beer sponsor of the week.
[0:02:27 – 0:02:28] Adam: But, uh, it’s been, uh,
[0:02:29 – 0:02:31] Adam: It’s been a chilly day up here on the shore.
[0:02:31 – 0:02:33] Adam: We’ve got the heater cranked in the shed.
[0:02:33 – 0:02:35] Erik: I’m cooking my feet right now.
[0:02:35 – 0:02:36] Erik: They are hot.
[0:02:37 – 0:02:39] Erik: I can see my breath.
[0:02:39 – 0:02:39] Erik: I can see yours.
[0:02:40 – 0:02:41] Adam: I’ve got a top ten list.
[0:02:42 – 0:02:43] Adam: I’ve got a few honorable mentions.
[0:02:43 – 0:02:45] Erik: Wow, you have honorable mentions.
[0:02:45 – 0:02:47] Adam: Don’t look at my list, Eric.
[0:02:47 – 0:02:47] Adam: I’ve got mine.
[0:02:47 – 0:02:48] Adam: I’ve got a little divider here.
[0:02:49 – 0:02:49] Erik: Okay.
[0:02:49 – 0:02:51] Erik: I’ve got to get that divider up.
[0:02:51 – 0:02:55] Adam: I’ve got the Ron Scherer Outdoor Calendar Fact of Divider here on the table.
[0:02:56 – 0:02:56] Adam: And tonight’s…
[0:02:57 – 0:02:58] Erik: It’s a multi-purpose calendar.
[0:02:58 – 0:03:01] Erik: Yeah, the calendar is also blocking Eric from seeing my list.
[0:03:02 – 0:03:04] Adam: We’re a few days removed from the full moon.
[0:03:04 – 0:03:05] Adam: Did anybody see it?
[0:03:05 – 0:03:06] Adam: It was quite magical.
[0:03:08 – 0:03:11] Adam: Tonight’s Ron Shara Outdoor Calendar Fact of the Day.
[0:03:12 – 0:03:15] Adam: October 22, 2021.
[0:03:16 – 0:03:18] Adam: Woodcock Migration Peaks, Eric.
[0:03:19 – 0:03:21] Adam: Sunset, 6.15 p.m.
[0:03:22 – 0:03:45] Adam: accurate uh there’s only one other fact for this whole week it’s a classic shara on monday the 18th visit rebuild old deer stand visit slash your outdoor calendar chore of the day check your deer stand make sure those bolts are tight if you don’t want a rickety ladder
[0:03:47 – 0:03:56] Adam: Yeah, just came up the shore from Ron’s house and flipped off a couple people at Betty’s Pies.
[0:03:56 – 0:03:56] Adam: It felt great.
[0:03:57 – 0:04:08] Erik: Yeah, I was down in the Twin Ports region myself this last week for a China buffet extravaganza.
[0:04:08 – 0:04:09] Erik: Actually, it wasn’t a buffet.
[0:04:09 – 0:04:16] Erik: It was one of those Chinese restaurants where you just have to order off the menu, but then they still give you a wheelbarrow full of food.
[0:04:17 – 0:04:36] Erik: of the number 11 yeah i was like how is this place making money i just pay you to have extra rice seven dollars and fifty cents for a full meal including a tiramisu dessert yeah 750 that’s like what and they gotta pay to heat that building
[0:04:36 – 0:04:41] Erik: Yeah, and everything that goes into a building, the staff.
[0:04:42 – 0:04:45] Erik: I’m sure it was just one man furiously cooking in the kitchen.
[0:04:45 – 0:04:47] Adam: Yeah, they got those margins dialed in, I’m sure.
[0:04:48 – 0:04:48] Erik: Oh, I’m sure.
[0:04:49 – 0:04:51] Adam: You got it when you’re operating on the edge like that.
[0:04:51 – 0:04:51] Adam: Yeah.
[0:04:54 – 0:04:55] Adam: That’s a lot of food.
[0:04:55 – 0:04:57] Erik: That’s a lot of food that we took.
[0:04:57 – 0:04:58] Erik: We took food home.
[0:04:58 – 0:05:11] Erik: I’m like, and then I was telling you, we went and then afterwards went to a classic Wisconsin liquor store where, yeah, if you’re looking for the bathroom, invariably you will find the door to the lounge.
[0:05:11 – 0:05:24] Erik: Where there was clearly like a teacher sitting at the bar talking to the bartender about how he talks to his kids about like, if you eat your lunch, you can get dessert, but dessert’s not dessert.
[0:05:24 – 0:05:26] Erik: At school, it’s a banana.
[0:05:26 – 0:05:26] Erik: What?
[0:05:27 – 0:05:29] Erik: It’s like, it’s 3.30 on a Wednesday, sir.
[0:05:29 – 0:05:30] Erik: When did school get up?
[0:05:30 – 0:05:32] Erik: The kids were bad today.
[0:05:33 – 0:05:41] Erik: I’m drinking in a strip mall bar and just having come from a Wisconsin Chinese food restaurant.
[0:05:42 – 0:05:43] Erik: This all sounds right.
[0:05:43 – 0:05:46] Erik: And I think we spent like negative $40.
[0:05:47 – 0:05:49] Erik: Somehow we made money on the deal.
[0:05:49 – 0:05:58] Erik: I am glad to a certain degree that this level of food for this price does not exist in the immediate vicinity because it’s probably all I would eat.
[0:05:58 – 0:05:59] Adam: Yeah, it’d make it hard to cook.
[0:05:59 – 0:06:00] Adam: Yeah, $7.50?
[0:06:00 – 0:06:01] Adam: Mainly because of dishes.
[0:06:02 – 0:06:03] Adam: I like to cook.
[0:06:03 – 0:06:04] Adam: I hate doing dishes, though.
[0:06:04 – 0:06:05] Erik: Yeah, I mean…
[0:06:05 – 0:06:08] Adam: I’ve spent like a third of my life doing dishes, I feel like.
[0:06:08 – 0:06:12] Adam: And yeah, if you could just eat Chinese food all the time and never do dishes, it would be pretty tempting.
[0:06:13 – 0:06:13] Erik: Not going to lie.
[0:06:14 – 0:06:14] Erik: Yeah.
[0:06:15 – 0:06:19] Erik: And, like, the pints at the bar, they had a solid lineup of taps.
[0:06:19 – 0:06:19] Erik: Yeah.
[0:06:19 – 0:06:21] Erik: It was like, I don’t know.
[0:06:21 – 0:06:24] Erik: I panicked, and I ordered a Surly Furious, and I was like, well.
[0:06:24 – 0:06:25] Adam: That’s a solid order.
[0:06:25 – 0:06:27] Erik: It was $4 for a pint, though.
[0:06:28 – 0:06:32] Erik: At the back, like, whatever, some, like, speakeasy at a liquor store in a Wisconsin strip mall.
[0:06:32 – 0:06:36] Adam: You got to tell them the story about the picture of the guy that said, call 911.
[0:06:36 – 0:06:37] Adam: Oh, yes, and then, of course.
[0:06:37 – 0:06:40] Adam: This made me laugh pretty heartily.
[0:06:40 – 0:06:58] Erik: yeah every bar it seems like in wisconsin comes with that like taped up on the back of where all the bottles like the the high shelf the top shelf bottles yeah yeah it’s clearly a picture goldschlager yeah clearly yeah extra flakes clearly nice stuff like printed off of like a computer printer
[0:06:59 – 0:07:15] Erik: dot matrix printer a matrix printer of a picture of a man taken from the security cam footage like from like the bird’s eye view and it was like it was just like permanent marker written on top of the the horrible photo and it just said like brian lafonda if seen call 9-1-1
[0:07:18 – 0:07:20] Adam: Yeah, that’s my favorite part.
[0:07:20 – 0:07:21] Adam: Like, don’t kick him out.
[0:07:21 – 0:07:22] Adam: Don’t refuse him to let him.
[0:07:22 – 0:07:24] Adam: Don’t let this guy in.
[0:07:24 – 0:07:26] Adam: No, just call 911 immediately.
[0:07:26 – 0:07:28] Adam: He’s that big of a derelict.
[0:07:28 – 0:07:30] Erik: Yeah, and you could tell by the picture.
[0:07:30 – 0:07:32] Erik: It was like, oh, he was sitting right over there.
[0:07:32 – 0:07:37] Erik: But you could also tell he had crazy, just crazy Wisconsin alcohol eyes.
[0:07:37 – 0:07:38] Adam: Can’t believe you’re sitting in Brian’s stool.
[0:07:39 – 0:07:42] Erik: And there was like all the TVs on with the daytime television.
[0:07:42 – 0:07:48] Erik: And one of them was just like, I don’t even know where you get this channel or if it just comes with like opening a bar.
[0:07:48 – 0:07:49] Adam: Was it the real estate listings?
[0:07:49 – 0:07:49] Adam: No.
[0:07:50 – 0:07:51] Erik: Oh, no.
[0:07:51 – 0:07:52] Erik: Not quite that.
[0:07:52 – 0:07:55] Erik: No, it was just the fail army, like constant videos.
[0:07:55 – 0:07:59] Erik: It was like America’s Funniest Home Videos, but just all like…
[0:07:59 – 0:08:03] Erik: You can go to YouTube and type in like top 100 fails of 2020.
[0:08:03 – 0:08:06] Adam: It’s probably just a continuous loop.
[0:08:06 – 0:08:06] Erik: It is.
[0:08:06 – 0:08:07] Erik: It’s all it is.
[0:08:07 – 0:08:09] Erik: And there weren’t even commercials.
[0:08:09 – 0:08:11] Erik: It was just a constant loop of fails.
[0:08:11 – 0:08:13] Erik: Sounds great.
[0:08:13 – 0:08:15] Adam: Sounds better than the real estate listings.
[0:08:15 – 0:08:19] Erik: Me and Tori were taking bets on like… And after a point, it was like, yeah, there’s not even a bet.
[0:08:19 – 0:08:22] Erik: It’s over 50% of these are concussions.
[0:08:22 – 0:08:22] Erik: Oh, yeah.
[0:08:23 – 0:08:33] Erik: Concussions or cracked nuts or like horribly like wrecked vehicles and or like borderline like close to like deadly dangerous.
[0:08:34 – 0:08:40] Erik: Like a lot of people like jumping into pools with skim ice where they don’t like quite break the ice and they just crack their heads.
[0:08:41 – 0:08:42] Erik: I’m like, I don’t know if I…
[0:08:43 – 0:08:48] Erik: And then there was just like crazy English game shows that I had no idea what was going on.
[0:08:48 – 0:08:49] Erik: Random trivia.
[0:08:49 – 0:08:50] Adam: Oh, that sounds fun.
[0:08:50 – 0:08:50] Erik: Yeah.
[0:08:50 – 0:08:51] Adam: I like that.
[0:08:52 – 0:08:55] Erik: That was my little mini vacation down to Superior, Wisconsin.
[0:08:56 – 0:08:56] Adam: Yeah.
[0:08:57 – 0:08:57] Adam: Yeah.
[0:08:58 – 0:09:18] Adam: uh yeah we were just down there uh we didn’t go over the bridge uh but we’re in Duluth and uh shout out to Sir Ben’s Sir Ben’s is pretty legit we had lunch at Sir Ben’s and uh not no uh nobody was on the most wanted list there at least that I know of but shout out Sir Ben’s shout out Belknap Liquors and Lounge
[0:09:20 – 0:09:20] Adam: Yeah.
[0:09:20 – 0:09:23] Adam: Any liquor store that has a lounge in the back.
[0:09:23 – 0:09:23] Adam: Yeah.
[0:09:23 – 0:09:24] Adam: That’s high quality.
[0:09:24 – 0:09:24] Adam: Yeah.
[0:09:24 – 0:09:29] Erik: One of the other things like we pulled up and one of the it wasn’t even like a sign like hand drawn.
[0:09:29 – 0:09:46] Erik: It was like the kind of acrylic stickers that you probably have to purchase from some kind of a like a store website and get like purpose purposefully like made and then like press on with like one of those like sticker little slider things where you press on your window.
[0:09:46 – 0:09:50] Erik: We pulled up and I saw this and I was like, we should just leave because I don’t want to support a business like this.
[0:09:51 – 0:09:54] Erik: But it had it on all three of their doors and it just said hoodies down.
[0:09:55 – 0:09:55] Adam: Oh.
[0:09:55 – 0:09:58] Adam: I was like, what?
[0:09:58 – 0:10:01] Adam: Well, all my homies like their hoodies up.
[0:10:02 – 0:10:04] Erik: Lightly, if not aggressively racist?
[0:10:05 – 0:10:05] Adam: I guess so.
[0:10:06 – 0:10:06] Erik: Maybe?
[0:10:06 – 0:10:07] Adam: I wear hoodies all the time.
[0:10:07 – 0:10:09] Adam: Actually, I didn’t wear a hoodie today.
[0:10:09 – 0:10:13] Adam: First time in a long time, and I put up the Phantom hoodie.
[0:10:13 – 0:10:16] Adam: This is the new Daniel Day-Lewis movie, Phantom hoodie.
[0:10:16 – 0:10:17] Adam: The Phantom hoodie.
[0:10:17 – 0:10:20] Adam: Before 7 a.m., I tried to put up my hoodie five times.
[0:10:21 – 0:10:22] Adam: I was like, I have to stop.
[0:10:22 – 0:10:23] Adam: I have to stop.
[0:10:23 – 0:10:23] Adam: This is sick.
[0:10:24 – 0:10:25] Erik: Yeah.
[0:10:25 – 0:10:26] Adam: Anyways, I love a good hoodie.
[0:10:26 – 0:10:27] Adam: Yeah.
[0:10:27 – 0:10:27] Adam: That’s crazy.
[0:10:27 – 0:10:29] Adam: But yeah, you should have walked away.
[0:10:29 – 0:10:31] Adam: You should have walked.
[0:10:31 – 0:10:33] Adam: You could have walked two blocks and gone to a different lounge.
[0:10:33 – 0:10:34] Erik: Probably, yeah.
[0:10:34 – 0:10:36] Erik: It turned into a great experience.
[0:10:36 – 0:10:42] Erik: The secret, not-so-secret lounge in the back that was filled with a bunch of people at 2 in the afternoon.
[0:10:42 – 0:10:45] Erik: Wednesday, sitting in front of…
[0:10:45 – 0:10:52] Erik: I also am always very surprised at the level of just random bar-slash-lounge gambling that does occur in Wisconsin.
[0:10:52 – 0:10:52] Adam: Pulleys?
[0:10:53 – 0:10:53] Adam: You did them pulleys?
[0:10:54 – 0:11:03] Erik: I didn’t do any pulleys, but these were big, full-blown LCD gaming screens that people were sitting in front of.
[0:11:03 – 0:11:13] Erik: The only thing that was missing was just the dangling, un-ashed half of a cigarette from a lip, from a gray lip.
[0:11:14 – 0:11:14] UNKNOWN: Yeah.
[0:11:15 – 0:11:37] Erik: uh as always sponsored by our fine friends on patreon transition we are the kings of transition very rosy lipped friends on patreon rosy nosed gray-lipped patrons thank you and uh it’s been a little bit of a slow uh trickle of content on the patreon this month um i am i will be
[0:11:38 – 0:11:39] Adam: The internet’s been out.
[0:11:39 – 0:11:42] Adam: We had a geomagnetic storm.
[0:11:42 – 0:11:42] Adam: Yes.
[0:11:42 – 0:11:43] Adam: Internet’s out.
[0:11:43 – 0:11:49] Erik: Back into the full-blown access to a home here shortly.
[0:11:50 – 0:11:51] Erik: And you can look forward to it.
[0:11:51 – 0:12:01] Erik: It’s probably going to be a double feature next week with Army of Darkness and American Psycho.
[0:12:01 – 0:12:01] Erik: Yeah.
[0:12:02 – 0:12:02] Adam: Classic.
[0:12:03 – 0:12:03] Adam: $5 a month.
[0:12:03 – 0:12:04] Adam: Fake blood.
[0:12:04 – 0:12:05] Erik: Thank you.
[0:12:05 – 0:12:06] Erik: Lots of fake spraying blood.
[0:12:08 – 0:12:33] Adam: um what about the fantasy hockey draft did that make it out ever i listened to it and i don’t know if it needs to see the light of day i can put it up i guess for free sure it’s just a thing it’ll just be a thing on patreon sure all right fine people want to know what happened why why did my team beat your team so badly week one we got to find out it all started in the draft when eric started making fun of vladimir tarasenko
[0:12:33 – 0:12:37] Erik: It all started when Austin Matthews didn’t play the first three games of the season.
[0:12:37 – 0:12:41] Adam: Well, neither did Nathan McKinnon literally caught COVID like an hour after the draft.
[0:12:41 – 0:12:42] Adam: So, I mean, we were pretty much even there.
[0:12:42 – 0:12:44] Erik: One of those players is much better than the other.
[0:12:46 – 0:12:47] Adam: You’re darn tootin’.
[0:12:47 – 0:12:50] Erik: This week we have beer sponsors, of course.
[0:12:51 – 0:12:53] Erik: And these ones actually have names written on them.
[0:12:53 – 0:13:00] Erik: We were going through the fridge and unfortunately ran into a couple of sponsors that don’t have names written on them.
[0:13:01 – 0:13:04] Adam: We have one picked out for next week’s show for the costume party, and it’s unnamed.
[0:13:04 – 0:13:14] Adam: So listen in, and if it’s you, make sure you call us up on Instagram, tumblehomecast at Instagram, tumblehomecast at gmail.com.
[0:13:15 – 0:13:16] Adam: Is the answering machine still live, Eric?
[0:13:16 – 0:13:17] Adam: Nobody knows.
[0:13:18 – 0:13:21] Erik: Yes, so those ones were Drekker Freak Shows.
[0:13:22 – 0:13:22] Adam: Yeah, Drekker?
[0:13:23 – 0:13:25] Erik: Did you drop off a Drekker Freak Show?
[0:13:25 – 0:13:30] Erik: And then there was also a Moab Northeast India Pale Ale, 10.5%.
[0:13:30 – 0:13:31] Erik: That one looks crazy.
[0:13:32 – 0:13:33] Erik: No name on that one either.
[0:13:33 – 0:13:36] Adam: That one looks like you’re going to go through a portal if you drink that one.
[0:13:36 – 0:13:38] Erik: Yeah.
[0:13:38 – 0:13:40] Adam: Looks like it might have a demon on it.
[0:13:40 – 0:13:42] Erik: Yeah, that one’s a Devil’s Milk.
[0:13:42 – 0:13:45] Erik: What was that one we… Dragon’s Milk.
[0:13:45 – 0:13:46] Erik: Dragon’s Milk.
[0:13:46 – 0:13:48] Erik: Some Devil’s Milk sounds good, though.
[0:13:48 – 0:13:50] Erik: It’s real black.
[0:13:50 – 0:13:54] Erik: But yes, these ones do, in fact, have some permanent marker written on them.
[0:13:54 – 0:13:56] Erik: We’ve got some hazy double IPAs.
[0:13:56 – 0:13:56] Erik: What do you know?
[0:13:57 – 0:13:57] Erik: Love it.
[0:13:57 – 0:13:59] Erik: Deja vu on the show here.
[0:13:59 – 0:14:00] Erik: You’ll love to see it.
[0:14:00 – 0:14:01] Erik: You’ll love to see it.
[0:14:01 – 0:14:05] Erik: This is a Hailstorm Brewing Company.
[0:14:07 – 0:14:07] Erik: Company?
[0:14:08 – 0:14:08] Erik: Company?
[0:14:08 – 0:14:09] Erik: It just says Hailstorm Brewing.
[0:14:09 – 0:14:10] Erik: I don’t know if they’re a company or not.
[0:14:10 – 0:14:12] Adam: This was canned on 3-23-21.
[0:14:12 – 0:14:14] Adam: Pretty good day.
[0:14:14 – 0:14:15] Adam: I remember that day.
[0:14:15 – 0:14:16] Erik: Yeah, this is a Stratus.
[0:14:18 – 0:14:23] Erik: Oh, very reminiscent of the American Campground, which the final episode of that is out now.
[0:14:24 – 0:14:25] Erik: In the background, the little stars.
[0:14:26 – 0:14:27] Erik: See them?
[0:14:27 – 0:14:31] Adam: Yeah, well, it also is reminiscent of the bowling alley in The Big Lebowski.
[0:14:31 – 0:14:33] Adam: It’s got a bowling alley motif here.
[0:14:33 – 0:14:38] Erik: Well, with the circles with brewing going down, these are from Steve and Rob.
[0:14:38 – 0:14:40] Adam: I think this is Bold Deco.
[0:14:40 – 0:14:41] Erik: Bold Deco.
[0:14:41 – 0:14:45] Erik: Oh, it’s gone bad.
[0:14:45 – 0:14:46] Erik: No, it’s good.
[0:14:57 – 0:14:58] Erik: It’s solid.
[0:15:00 – 0:15:01] Erik: That’s a double hazy.
[0:15:02 – 0:15:04] Adam: The way this is written, I thought it said 18%.
[0:15:04 – 0:15:06] Adam: Yeah, oh boy.
[0:15:06 – 0:15:07] Adam: It’s only eight.
[0:15:07 – 0:15:08] Erik: 18%.
[0:15:08 – 0:15:09] Erik: It’s a barley wine.
[0:15:10 – 0:15:12] Erik: Hang on to your hats.
[0:15:15 – 0:15:15] Erik: Yeah, that’s good.
[0:15:16 – 0:15:17] Erik: It’s definitely a double.
[0:15:17 – 0:15:21] Adam: What’s with the little scorecard over here on the flavor profile?
[0:15:21 – 0:15:22] Erik: Yeah, I don’t know.
[0:15:22 – 0:15:26] Erik: I guess I would give this a 1 out of 10 in terms of, like, font juxtaposition.
[0:15:27 – 0:15:28] Erik: It’s a little much going on.
[0:15:28 – 0:15:31] Erik: But mouth juxtaposition, mm-mm.
[0:15:31 – 0:15:35] Erik: I’m going to give this 9 foamy tongues out of mouth feel.
[0:15:36 – 0:15:38] Adam: I’m going to give this a strike thrown by Donnie.
[0:15:39 – 0:15:41] Adam: He was a good man and a good bowler.
[0:15:42 – 0:15:42] Erik: Cheers again.
[0:15:42 – 0:15:49] Adam: He enjoyed the beaches all the way up to Pismo.
[0:15:49 – 0:15:49] UNKNOWN: Yeah.
[0:15:51 – 0:15:53] Erik: Yeah, tree rankers finally coming at you.
[0:15:54 – 0:15:55] Erik: I’m excited.
[0:15:56 – 0:16:00] Adam: I pretty much locked my rank in a couple days ago.
[0:16:01 – 0:16:02] Adam: Cha-chunk.
[0:16:02 – 0:16:04] Adam: I fiddled with it a little, but not too much.
[0:16:05 – 0:16:07] Erik: I put mine together in about five minutes before the show.
[0:16:07 – 0:16:09] Adam: Classic Danielson maneuver.
[0:16:10 – 0:16:10] Erik: Yep.
[0:16:11 – 0:16:15] Adam: But, I mean, I think I actually put mine together pretty quickly.
[0:16:15 – 0:16:18] Adam: I just kind of made a list of the trees I thought should make the list.
[0:16:20 – 0:16:21] Adam: And then I had a beer.
[0:16:22 – 0:16:25] Adam: I thought about it a little bit, and then I kind of just numbered them in the direction I felt.
[0:16:26 – 0:16:27] Erik: And then I had another beer.
[0:16:27 – 0:16:30] Adam: Then I had another beer, and I started writing down honorable mentions.
[0:16:30 – 0:16:32] Erik: And then I had another beer, and I lost the list.
[0:16:32 – 0:16:33] Adam: Pretty good.
[0:16:33 – 0:16:37] Adam: And then I was like, Eric, you seen that list I was working on?
[0:16:37 – 0:16:38] Adam: He hadn’t seen it.
[0:16:38 – 0:16:39] Erik: Yeah, hadn’t seen it.
[0:16:39 – 0:16:43] Erik: I’ve got one other thing to just throw out.
[0:16:43 – 0:16:44] Erik: I don’t even know if I…
[0:16:44 – 0:16:48] Erik: I’ve been going back and forth as to whether or not I should mention it, but I just want to get it off my chest.
[0:16:49 – 0:17:00] Erik: And this person, if they’re listening, and if they still do, I would appreciate it if you stopped listening, unsubscribe, do whatever you need to do to just go ahead and leave the community.
[0:17:00 – 0:17:02] Erik: What?
[0:17:02 – 0:17:02] Erik: Carrie…
[0:17:04 – 0:17:05] Erik: You’re not an outfitter.
[0:17:05 – 0:17:06] Erik: You’re not a guide.
[0:17:07 – 0:17:14] Erik: You’re a scab, and you can… Off.
[0:17:16 – 0:17:17] Adam: You dirty old scab.
[0:17:19 – 0:17:20] Adam: Yeah, scab’s the right word.
[0:17:20 – 0:17:22] Erik: Yeah, felt good to bring back the loon bleep there.
[0:17:24 – 0:17:31] Erik: I’m not going to go into too much detail on that, but that person knows who they are and has a little bit something to do with Clearwater.
[0:17:35 – 0:17:35] Erik: Moving on.
[0:17:38 – 0:17:39] Adam: Carrie.
[0:17:41 – 0:17:41] Erik: Yeah.
[0:17:42 – 0:17:43] Erik: We’ll just sum it up.
[0:17:43 – 0:18:00] Erik: A listener of the show filled a vacuum at Clearwater and has been going around calling himself an outfitter and a guide and making a mush-mouthed capitalist crook make it through the season at Clearwater.
[0:18:01 – 0:18:01] Erik: So.
[0:18:03 – 0:18:05] Adam: Oh, did he badmouth you or something?
[0:18:05 – 0:18:08] Erik: No, he didn’t badmouth me at all.
[0:18:09 – 0:18:14] Erik: I don’t know if it was because of this show that he learned about the opportunity or somehow found about it in another way.
[0:18:15 – 0:18:19] Erik: But basically, what was once friend of the show…
[0:18:21 – 0:18:24] Erik: Filled a scab need.
[0:18:24 – 0:18:27] Adam: You don’t want to break the picket line, Kerry.
[0:18:27 – 0:18:28] Adam: Yeah.
[0:18:28 – 0:18:30] Adam: You got to stand in solidarity with labor.
[0:18:30 – 0:18:31] Adam: What the hell is wrong with you?
[0:18:31 – 0:18:31] Adam: Yeah.
[0:18:32 – 0:18:32] Adam: All right.
[0:18:32 – 0:18:35] Adam: Well, you know, get bent.
[0:18:35 – 0:18:36] Erik: Yeah, basically.
[0:18:37 – 0:18:39] Adam: I hope your paddle breaks.
[0:18:39 – 0:18:42] Adam: We’re not going to get into negativity, though, but seriously.
[0:18:42 – 0:18:43] Erik: Yeah.
[0:18:43 – 0:18:43] Erik: Yeah.
[0:18:45 – 0:18:56] Erik: So on that note, which is not one that I like to dwell on very often, but the thought of it and the seeing of it kind of got under my skin a little bit.
[0:18:56 – 0:19:02] Erik: More than anything that that place has done since my departure in a while.
[0:19:03 – 0:19:05] Erik: Well, there’s your funeral, Kerry.
[0:19:06 – 0:19:08] Adam: And I got a little bit of information about crow funerals.
[0:19:10 – 0:19:21] Adam: Did you know, actually, this is just another podcast I want to recommend that delved into Crow and like Raven Funerals.
[0:19:21 – 0:19:24] Erik: Have we ever recommended another podcast on this one?
[0:19:25 – 0:19:25] Adam: I think we have.
[0:19:26 – 0:19:27] Adam: This is Ologies.
[0:19:27 – 0:19:28] Adam: Anybody ever heard of it?
[0:19:28 – 0:19:29] Adam: It’s a pretty good podcast.
[0:19:29 – 0:19:30] Adam: A lot of nature stuff.
[0:19:30 – 0:19:31] Adam: A lot of animal stuff.
[0:19:32 – 0:19:33] Adam: There’s a pretty good one on bears.
[0:19:34 – 0:19:34] Adam: The Ursus.
[0:19:34 – 0:19:35] Adam: I want to listen to.
[0:19:35 – 0:19:38] Adam: Have it saved and downloaded.
[0:19:38 – 0:19:39] Adam: But they had one.
[0:19:41 – 0:19:43] Adam: I swore I wrote the episode number down.
[0:19:43 – 0:20:03] Adam: anyways it’s it was like one of the more recent ones that ology just set out corvid thanatology with dr kaylee swift anybody listen to this one it’s an amazing episode wow i learned a lot even after learning a lot about ravens uh this year now i learned even more i mean i just want to keep learning more
[0:20:04 – 0:20:09] Adam: They have communal roosts in nests up in trees.
[0:20:09 – 0:20:15] Adam: And I’ve heard on this podcast that they actually incorporate bones of their victims into their nests.
[0:20:15 – 0:20:16] Adam: Wow.
[0:20:16 – 0:20:16] Adam: How metal.
[0:20:17 – 0:20:18] Adam: Yeah.
[0:20:19 – 0:20:20] Adam: And think about that.
[0:20:22 – 0:20:34] Adam: bones in a nest up in a tree so there’s that connection but one of my favorite facts was that they did talk a lot about like funerals again which I thought was interesting from the book
[0:20:36 – 0:20:37] Adam: Mind of the Raven, of course.
[0:20:38 – 0:20:40] Adam: Go back and listen to that episode if you haven’t.
[0:20:40 – 0:20:43] Adam: But do you know what a group of ravens was called?
[0:20:43 – 0:20:46] Adam: I’m a little embarrassed we didn’t include this in the original Raven episode.
[0:20:46 – 0:20:47] Erik: Is it not murder?
[0:20:47 – 0:20:51] Adam: No, it’s an unkindness of ravens.
[0:20:51 – 0:20:51] Erik: Oh, it’s crows.
[0:20:51 – 0:20:52] Adam: That’s a murder.
[0:20:52 – 0:20:53] Adam: Yes, it is.
[0:20:53 – 0:20:56] Adam: A murder of crows and an unkindness of raven.
[0:20:56 – 0:21:04] Erik: See, I think at some point and at the end of the day, I think all of those little groupings or whatever, they’re a little different.
[0:21:06 – 0:21:08] Erik: A little silly, right?
[0:21:08 – 0:21:10] Erik: Like a constitution of eagles.
[0:21:10 – 0:21:19] Adam: Dr. Kaylee Swift would definitely tell you that a serious scientist or bird lover would not use these terms.
[0:21:20 – 0:21:26] Adam: I’m not sure what the right way to describe them is, but I guess they’re just kind of fun.
[0:21:26 – 0:21:27] Adam: They’re not serious.
[0:21:27 – 0:21:32] Adam: They’re not to be taken seriously, but they’re kind of fun and poetic, some might say.
[0:21:32 – 0:21:34] Erik: Well, I mean overly poetic, really.
[0:21:34 – 0:21:36] Adam: A little too poetic when you get to an unkindness.
[0:21:36 – 0:21:38] Erik: Yeah, it’s sort of one of those conversations.
[0:21:38 – 0:21:39] Erik: A congress of eagles or whatever.
[0:21:39 – 0:21:43] Erik: Yeah, that you just find yourself having with a group of random people at some point.
[0:21:43 – 0:21:50] Erik: Did you know that a group of hedgehogs was called sonics?
[0:21:51 – 0:21:51] Adam: Did you?
[0:21:52 – 0:21:52] Adam: Yeah.
[0:21:52 – 0:22:02] Adam: Do you know a group of people hanging out in a Wisconsin bar at 2 p.m. in the afternoon is called an old fashioned of drunkards.
[0:22:02 – 0:22:04] Adam: I thought you were going to say winners.
[0:22:06 – 0:22:09] Adam: Well, none of them had won at the poll tab on this day when they named them.
[0:22:09 – 0:22:10] Erik: OK, sorry.
[0:22:11 – 0:22:13] Erik: On a Wednesday, they’re potential winners.
[0:22:14 – 0:22:15] Adam: We’re all future winners.
[0:22:15 – 0:22:17] Erik: Yeah, we’re all potential winners.
[0:22:17 – 0:22:17] Adam: Yeah.
[0:22:19 – 0:22:21] Adam: So that was the other.
[0:22:21 – 0:22:23] Adam: I did want to give a shout out to Ologies.
[0:22:23 – 0:22:26] Adam: It was a pretty great episode and enjoyed it quite a bit.
[0:22:27 – 0:22:27] Adam: You mean to tell me.
[0:22:27 – 0:22:28] Adam: So make sure to go check it out.
[0:22:29 – 0:22:30] Adam: Keep learning.
[0:22:30 – 0:22:32] Erik: That there are podcasts out there that have guests?
[0:22:33 – 0:22:34] Adam: Yeah, we’re not.
[0:22:34 – 0:22:34] Adam: Expert?
[0:22:34 – 0:22:35] Adam: We don’t have the.
[0:22:35 – 0:22:36] Adam: Guests?
[0:22:36 – 0:22:36] Adam: There’s not.
[0:22:36 – 0:22:38] Adam: We only have two microphones in the shed.
[0:22:39 – 0:22:41] Adam: So unfortunately, we can’t have guests on the show.
[0:22:41 – 0:22:46] Adam: But there are podcasts where there’s just one host with a guest.
[0:22:47 – 0:22:48] Adam: It works for them, you know.
[0:22:49 – 0:22:51] Erik: Well, maybe we’ll give it a shot.
[0:22:52 – 0:22:58] Adam: We have a lot of guests on the show in the form of digital Reddit and printed Facebook comments.
[0:22:58 – 0:22:59] Erik: Oh, yeah.
[0:22:59 – 0:23:03] Erik: All of you out there listening right now, now, now, now.
[0:23:04 – 0:23:07] Erik: You are our hosts and guests.
[0:23:07 – 0:23:08] Erik: And friends.
[0:23:08 – 0:23:09] Erik: And guests.
[0:23:10 – 0:23:10] Adam: Except for you, Carrie.
[0:23:10 – 0:23:11] Adam: Yeah.
[0:23:11 – 0:23:12] Adam: Except for you, Carrie.
[0:23:12 – 0:23:14] Adam: And that’s the end of your funeral.
[0:23:14 – 0:23:16] Adam: We just turned your bones into a nest.
[0:23:17 – 0:23:18] Adam: In the top of a tree.
[0:23:19 – 0:23:21] Adam: And this is Tree Rankers.
[0:23:22 – 0:23:23] Adam: Tree Rankers.
[0:23:23 – 0:23:24] SPEAKER_00: We’re doing a top ten.
[0:23:24 – 0:23:24] SPEAKER_00: That was pretty good.
[0:23:24 – 0:23:26] SPEAKER_00: Pretty good.
[0:23:26 – 0:23:26] Adam: Top ten?
[0:23:26 – 0:23:27] Adam: Pretty good.
[0:23:34 – 0:23:37] Erik: Adam forced me to whittle it down to 10.
[0:23:37 – 0:23:38] Erik: I was going to go top 25.
[0:23:38 – 0:23:40] Adam: I had at least a solid top 13.
[0:23:42 – 0:23:42] Adam: How many trees?
[0:23:43 – 0:23:48] Adam: Well, all right, so we’ve got to set a parameter here.
[0:23:48 – 0:23:52] Adam: We’re mainly talking about trees of Cook County, Minnesota, I would say.
[0:23:52 – 0:23:54] Erik: BWCA tree rankers.
[0:23:54 – 0:24:03] Adam: Yeah, BWCA tree rankers, but I definitely have a few that are fringe BWCA trees, but I didn’t rank them highly because of that, even though I respect that tree.
[0:24:04 – 0:24:07] Erik: If it’s a tree that you can bring into the Banji waters, doesn’t count.
[0:24:08 – 0:24:11] Erik: Lime tree that you somehow managed to bring in in a small pot.
[0:24:11 – 0:24:12] Erik: Does not count.
[0:24:12 – 0:24:12] Erik: Does not count.
[0:24:12 – 0:24:13] Erik: Just let’s be clear.
[0:24:13 – 0:24:15] Erik: I know a lot of people are probably wondering.
[0:24:15 – 0:24:17] Erik: Are they going to talk about citrus?
[0:24:18 – 0:24:18] Erik: No.
[0:24:18 – 0:24:19] Adam: It’s against the rules.
[0:24:19 – 0:24:20] Erik: No citrus.
[0:24:21 – 0:24:22] Adam: Illegal.
[0:24:22 – 0:24:22] Adam: Illegal.
[0:24:23 – 0:24:24] Adam: Keep it in the south.
[0:24:24 – 0:24:25] Erik: Keep it in the south.
[0:24:26 – 0:24:27] Adam: Or your atrium.
[0:24:28 – 0:24:29] Erik: Solarium.
[0:24:29 – 0:24:29] Adam: Solarium.
[0:24:30 – 0:24:31] Erik: Another solarium?
[0:24:32 – 0:24:33] Adam: Window box garden.
[0:24:35 – 0:24:39] Erik: How’s the mini, what do you call it?
[0:24:39 – 0:24:43] Erik: The little mini plant jug?
[0:24:43 – 0:24:44] Adam: Oh, the terrarium.
[0:24:44 – 0:24:45] Adam: The terrarium.
[0:24:45 – 0:24:47] Adam: The mini plant jug.
[0:24:47 – 0:24:48] Adam: Yes.
[0:24:49 – 0:24:56] Adam: Yeah, well, there’s several tiny sequoias growing in there, but they don’t count, even though they are in Cook County.
[0:24:56 – 0:24:58] Adam: There goes the finger again.
[0:24:58 – 0:24:59] Adam: There goes the finger.
[0:24:59 – 0:25:00] Adam: I’m going to get you a pointing.
[0:25:00 – 0:25:02] Erik: Yeah, I need a mitten.
[0:25:02 – 0:25:03] Erik: That pointing mitt.
[0:25:04 – 0:25:22] Adam: uh yeah the tiny little sequoias in the terrarium jug in the master bath they do not count but they are doing pretty good i would say good like i said i just had uh i told you before the show watch the jets blow a two zero lead in san jose in the bathtub what is she doing
[0:25:24 – 0:25:26] Adam: But the terrarium is looking good.
[0:25:26 – 0:25:27] Adam: The Jets, not so good.
[0:25:27 – 0:25:28] Erik: Not so good.
[0:25:29 – 0:25:34] Adam: Anybody who invested heavily in the Jets, you’re not happy with your fantasy hockey team.
[0:25:34 – 0:25:37] Adam: Let me tell you, Paul Maurice, you better get your head out of your ass.
[0:25:37 – 0:25:38] Adam: There’s another one.
[0:25:38 – 0:25:40] Adam: We might as well just start bleeping the whole show.
[0:25:41 – 0:25:42] Erik: No, we’ll just put an E in front of it.
[0:25:42 – 0:25:44] Adam: This is an explicit episode.
[0:25:44 – 0:25:44] Adam: Sorry.
[0:25:45 – 0:25:50] Erik: No, I got to dust off the loon bleep chops.
[0:25:50 – 0:25:50] Erik: It’s been a while.
[0:25:50 – 0:25:52] Adam: Yeah, right.
[0:25:52 – 0:25:55] Adam: What’s the time stamp on that Paul Murray’s disc?
[0:25:55 – 0:25:56] Erik: 25 or so.
[0:25:56 – 0:25:59] Erik: There’s a highly concentrated number of loon bleeps.
[0:25:59 – 0:26:01] Adam: You’ll find those all early.
[0:26:01 – 0:26:03] Adam: No problemo.
[0:26:03 – 0:26:05] Erik: Don’t sprinkle any more in mysteriously at this point.
[0:26:05 – 0:26:07] Adam: I will try and keep it clean, Eric.
[0:26:08 – 0:26:10] Adam: Those white pines, my God.
[0:26:10 – 0:26:10] Adam: All right, 25, 32.
[0:26:10 – 0:26:11] Adam: Take it easy.
[0:26:11 – 0:26:13] Adam: Kids, I think, do still listen.
[0:26:18 – 0:26:19] Adam: They do, yeah.
[0:26:19 – 0:26:28] Adam: No, I mean, there’s a lot of children in town, and I gave out stickers to children who were fans of Tumble Home, apparently, or being forced to listen to Tumble Home by their parents.
[0:26:29 – 0:26:30] Adam: Either way is fine.
[0:26:30 – 0:26:34] Adam: They seemed enthused by the sticker.
[0:26:35 – 0:26:40] Adam: And, yeah, I was told, a friend of the show, they’re like, they’re little bundles of joy.
[0:26:40 – 0:26:43] Adam: I believe you, and I’m excited.
[0:26:43 – 0:26:48] Erik: I cannot wait to find out where you force your child into listening to and experiencing Tumble Home.
[0:26:49 – 0:27:15] Adam: just ologies and packers games that’s it yeah uh everything else is up to them everything else that’s the only two things you’re gonna mandate they don’t have to be a packers fan but they cannot be a fan of the seahawks or the bears i do appreciate the openness in which you are referring to them as a they already absolutely uh well uh you know well yes yes yes but we don’t have to cross that bridge too far
[0:27:16 – 0:27:17] Adam: Also the Vikings.
[0:27:17 – 0:27:17] Adam: Come on.
[0:27:18 – 0:27:21] Adam: I mean, pick a team that’s a winner.
[0:27:21 – 0:27:25] Adam: I could handle the Bears even, but not the Vikings.
[0:27:25 – 0:27:25] Adam: Come on.
[0:27:26 – 0:27:28] Erik: You could handle the Bears but not the Vikings.
[0:27:28 – 0:27:28] Erik: Wow.
[0:27:28 – 0:27:30] Adam: Yeah, and that’s saying a lot because I hate the Bears.
[0:27:30 – 0:27:31] Adam: Yeah.
[0:27:31 – 0:27:36] Adam: Even though we just beat them and now we are actually everybody who owns the Packers is now part owner of the Bears.
[0:27:37 – 0:27:37] Adam: Take that.
[0:27:38 – 0:27:40] Adam: We own you, Chicago.
[0:27:41 – 0:27:42] Adam: We own you.
[0:27:42 – 0:27:44] Adam: Sorry, Chicago, but we do.
[0:27:45 – 0:27:50] Adam: It’s good to see that rivalry even kind of back up after a long lull.
[0:27:51 – 0:27:52] Adam: But we’re back, you know.
[0:27:53 – 0:27:53] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:27:53 – 0:27:57] Adam: It would hurt me to see them be a fan of the 49ers.
[0:27:57 – 0:27:58] Erik: Or the Jaguars.
[0:27:59 – 0:28:01] Adam: I can handle that just fine.
[0:28:01 – 0:28:02] Erik: That’s okay.
[0:28:03 – 0:28:04] Erik: That’s like one of those create your own teams.
[0:28:04 – 0:28:06] Erik: I just don’t want to see somebody be hurt.
[0:28:06 – 0:28:06] Erik: In Madden.
[0:28:07 – 0:28:08] Erik: Yeah, pick a team that’s got a chance.
[0:28:09 – 0:28:09] Erik: Come on.
[0:28:10 – 0:28:12] Erik: Just the logo, the team name.
[0:28:12 – 0:28:14] Erik: It just seems like one of those 24 clip art logos.
[0:28:14 – 0:28:15] Erik: Yeah, it is.
[0:28:20 – 0:28:21] Erik: Where are the Jaguars?
[0:28:21 – 0:28:29] Erik: Although, for a hot second before they got sued by the automobile company, when they had the pouncing Jaguar logo, that was sweet.
[0:28:30 – 0:28:33] Erik: But then the car company was like, that’s kind of our guy there.
[0:28:34 – 0:28:35] Erik: Sits on the front of our car.
[0:28:35 – 0:28:40] Adam: When was the last time you’ve seen a Jaguar car in Cook County?
[0:28:40 – 0:28:41] Erik: Cook County?
[0:28:41 – 0:28:42] Erik: Been a while.
[0:28:42 – 0:28:43] Adam: It’s been a piece.
[0:28:44 – 0:29:07] Adam: yeah all right i’m gonna come in hot with a are we ready to start on this i’m gonna come in hot with a honorable mention just um just to get it going here yeah the lead let’s just uh set let’s set the mood dogwood what do you feel about dogwood not making my top 10 dogwood solid wood yeah that’s a they’re solidly in the shrub i think it’s a tree
[0:29:08 – 0:29:10] Erik: Well, we’ve had some hard frost.
[0:29:10 – 0:29:11] Erik: The leaves are down.
[0:29:11 – 0:29:12] Erik: Yeah, they are.
[0:29:12 – 0:29:28] Erik: The darkness is upon us, and we are talking about trees and all their glory from A to B, from day one to day 365, and what they bring, what they make you feel, and how it affects you as you are traveling around the Boundary Waters.
[0:29:28 – 0:29:28] Erik: Dogwood.
[0:29:29 – 0:29:29] Erik: Dogwood.
[0:29:29 – 0:29:30] Adam: Doesn’t inspire joy.
[0:29:30 – 0:29:31] Erik: It gives me nothing.
[0:29:32 – 0:29:32] Adam: Okay.
[0:29:32 – 0:29:33] Adam: We’re going to throw that one out.
[0:29:34 – 0:29:34] Erik: Out.
[0:29:34 – 0:29:35] Erik: You’re out of here, Dogwood.
[0:29:35 – 0:29:38] Erik: Okay, you’re just throwing stuff at the wall to see if it sticks right now?
[0:29:38 – 0:29:39] Adam: Yeah, what about here?
[0:29:39 – 0:29:41] Adam: I want to ask this in the same vein.
[0:29:41 – 0:29:43] Adam: Is the Saskatoon a tree?
[0:29:45 – 0:29:48] Adam: I got some Saskatoons as tall as my house around here.
[0:29:48 – 0:29:50] Erik: I would say closer to a tree than Dogwood.
[0:29:50 – 0:29:52] Adam: Okay, now we’re getting somewhere.
[0:29:52 – 0:29:53] Adam: Honorable mention.
[0:29:54 – 0:29:55] Adam: Saskatoon.
[0:29:55 – 0:29:55] Adam: HM.
[0:29:55 – 0:29:56] Adam: Juneberry.
[0:29:57 – 0:29:57] Adam: What are the other ones?
[0:29:58 – 0:30:02] Adam: I like that Saskatoon has like 10 names.
[0:30:02 – 0:30:03] Adam: Yes.
[0:30:03 – 0:30:04] Adam: Serviceberry.
[0:30:04 – 0:30:05] Adam: Is that the same one?
[0:30:05 – 0:30:06] Adam: Yes, it is.
[0:30:06 – 0:30:07] Adam: They’re all the same thing.
[0:30:08 – 0:30:11] Adam: But they’re pretty, and I think they are a tree.
[0:30:12 – 0:30:15] Erik: Okay, I’ll go ahead and give you a small tree awarding on that.
[0:30:15 – 0:30:16] Adam: Okay, thank you.
[0:30:17 – 0:30:18] Adam: Do you have any honorable mention?
[0:30:18 – 0:30:19] Erik: Mm-mm.
[0:30:21 – 0:30:22] Adam: Okay, that was it.
[0:30:22 – 0:30:23] Adam: All right.
[0:30:23 – 0:30:23] Adam: That was it.
[0:30:23 – 0:30:25] Adam: That was it for the honorable mentions.
[0:30:26 – 0:30:28] Adam: And I’m ready to get into it.
[0:30:28 – 0:30:29] Adam: Do you want to start with your number 10?
[0:30:30 – 0:30:31] Erik: Episode 167.
[0:30:31 – 0:30:34] Erik: Let’s just title this one Grasping at Straws.
[0:30:34 – 0:30:36] Adam: This is serious tree ranker stuff.
[0:30:36 – 0:30:37] Erik: All right, fine.
[0:30:37 – 0:30:38] Erik: We’re into it now.
[0:30:38 – 0:30:38] Erik: 10.
[0:30:39 – 0:30:41] Adam: Put the ham steak on the bobby.
[0:30:42 – 0:31:06] Erik: put the ham steak on the lure we’re headed to trout air for some big old slabs of trout we’re gonna bring it up to that man who is so sick and tired of cleaning your fish for your wild white wild rice and trout dinner when are we doing a field trip down there we gotta go i mean you would only just end up at a defunct gander mountain you think they’re open in october the gander mountain
[0:31:07 – 0:31:08] Adam: No, I want to go fish for the trout.
[0:31:08 – 0:31:09] Adam: They’re still in there.
[0:31:09 – 0:31:10] Adam: I know they’re in there.
[0:31:10 – 0:31:12] Erik: They’re just underground somewhere.
[0:31:12 – 0:31:13] Adam: No, they’re just hiding them.
[0:31:13 – 0:31:16] Erik: I’m sure if you excavated the land, there would be a lot of fish bones.
[0:31:18 – 0:31:19] Adam: I don’t like that.
[0:31:19 – 0:31:21] Adam: All right, what’s your number 10 there?
[0:31:21 – 0:31:22] Erik: Well, how are we going to do this?
[0:31:22 – 0:31:26] Erik: I say my 10 and then you say if it’s on your list or just go bang, bang, back and forth.
[0:31:26 – 0:31:29] Adam: Yeah, because I figure our top three are probably close to the same.
[0:31:29 – 0:31:31] Adam: So you just do 10 and then I’ll do my nine.
[0:31:32 – 0:31:34] Adam: And if they overlap, we’ll figure it out as it goes.
[0:31:34 – 0:31:38] Adam: It’s a horse apiece, as they say in Superior, Wisconsin.
[0:31:38 – 0:31:39] Erik: As they say in Monaco.
[0:31:39 – 0:31:44] Adam: And no, they don’t say about horse in Monaco.
[0:31:46 – 0:31:49] Erik: It’s a loon bleep episode.
[0:31:50 – 0:31:51] Erik: Screw up, Monaqua.
[0:31:51 – 0:31:52] Erik: Screw off, Carrie.
[0:31:54 – 0:31:54] Adam: What?
[0:31:55 – 0:31:59] Adam: We got to light some positive crystal energy in this shed.
[0:31:59 – 0:32:01] Adam: 3142, you said?
[0:32:02 – 0:32:02] Adam: Yes.
[0:32:02 – 0:32:02] Adam: Sorry.
[0:32:02 – 0:32:03] Erik: Yes.
[0:32:03 – 0:32:03] Adam: All right.
[0:32:03 – 0:32:04] Adam: So I’ll start.
[0:32:04 – 0:32:05] Adam: You start with your number 10.
[0:32:05 – 0:32:06] Adam: 10?
[0:32:06 – 0:32:06] Adam: I’m going.
[0:32:06 – 0:32:09] Adam: We’re going to flow on this thing tree style.
[0:32:09 – 0:32:09] Adam: Tree style?
[0:32:09 – 0:32:16] Adam: We’re talking favorite trees in the North Country, but specifically trees of the Boundary Waters, but also just trees of Cook County.
[0:32:16 – 0:32:16] Erik: Yes.
[0:32:16 – 0:32:18] Erik: This is what you have all wanted.
[0:32:18 – 0:32:18] Adam: Everybody.
[0:32:19 – 0:32:20] Adam: Nobody’s clamoring for this.
[0:32:20 – 0:32:20] Adam: I have been.
[0:32:21 – 0:32:24] Adam: I have been clamoring desperately for this episode.
[0:32:24 – 0:32:25] Adam: I’m eager to find out.
[0:32:26 – 0:32:29] Adam: I’ve been asking everybody in my life this whole last week.
[0:32:29 – 0:32:30] Adam: What’s your favorite tree?
[0:32:30 – 0:32:32] Erik: Has it affected your ranking system?
[0:32:32 – 0:32:33] Adam: It has, actually.
[0:32:33 – 0:32:34] Adam: Yeah, it has.
[0:32:34 – 0:32:35] Adam: Yeah, and I have a good story.
[0:32:35 – 0:32:39] Adam: I have a good story to end on for my number one.
[0:32:39 – 0:32:40] Adam: So hang around for that.
[0:32:41 – 0:32:43] Adam: Hang around for a good story.
[0:32:43 – 0:32:45] Adam: Good story about our derelict attorney.
[0:32:45 – 0:32:46] Adam: Everybody loves that character.
[0:32:47 – 0:32:47] Adam: And I did.
[0:32:48 – 0:32:53] Adam: I played around a disc golf out there with a derelict attorney, and actually he’s doing a lot better.
[0:32:54 – 0:32:55] Erik: He’s doing a lot better.
[0:32:55 – 0:33:03] Adam: He actually cleared up that whole snafu we had, and it seems like he’s gotten his stuff together.
[0:33:04 – 0:33:08] Erik: The folks of ill repute from Jersey City are no longer on his back?
[0:33:09 – 0:33:11] Adam: No, it seems like he’s in the clear.
[0:33:12 – 0:33:16] Adam: So we had a pretty good round of golf, and he told me a story about a tree.
[0:33:16 – 0:33:19] Adam: I was like, is it okay if I tell this story on the show?
[0:33:20 – 0:33:20] Adam: And he said, no.
[0:33:21 – 0:33:22] Adam: I’ll allow it.
[0:33:22 – 0:33:26] Erik: You had to sign some kind of a legal form that he just had on him.
[0:33:26 – 0:33:30] Adam: I may have signed away all our Bitcoin, which did hit an all-time high this week.
[0:33:31 – 0:33:33] Adam: And I may or may not have signed a form.
[0:33:34 – 0:33:36] Adam: So we’re going to have to watch her back.
[0:33:37 – 0:33:39] Adam: But I think the attorney is on the straight path.
[0:33:39 – 0:33:41] Adam: And the story was pretty great.
[0:33:41 – 0:33:43] Adam: So we’re going to tell that story at the end.
[0:33:43 – 0:33:50] Adam: And that one did kind of sway me along with a few other votes because I was in a real pickle at the top.
[0:33:50 – 0:33:54] Adam: And it’s like, how do you separate these two beautiful trees?
[0:33:55 – 0:33:56] Erik: These two beautiful trees.
[0:33:56 – 0:34:04] Adam: So you’re going to have to stick around until the end of the Hailstorm Brewing Company 18% double, triple, hazy IPA.
[0:34:05 – 0:34:05] Erik: Double, triple.
[0:34:06 – 0:34:08] Erik: That means that’s like times five.
[0:34:08 – 0:34:09] Erik: Sex teplet.
[0:34:10 – 0:34:10] Adam: Yeah.
[0:34:10 – 0:34:10] Adam: Yeah.
[0:34:12 – 0:34:12] Adam: Ten.
[0:34:12 – 0:34:12] Adam: Then you’ll find out.
[0:34:13 – 0:34:13] Erik: Ten.
[0:34:14 – 0:34:14] Erik: Starting at ten.
[0:34:14 – 0:34:16] Erik: Somehow we’re starting at ten.
[0:34:16 – 0:34:19] Adam: Yeah, we’re definitely starting at ten.
[0:34:19 – 0:34:20] Erik: I’m going Jack Pine.
[0:34:21 – 0:34:22] Adam: Jack Pine made your list?
[0:34:22 – 0:34:23] Erik: Yes.
[0:34:24 – 0:34:24] Erik: At ten.
[0:34:25 – 0:34:33] Erik: For the simple and pure aspect of an immediately blazing hot fire in the winter.
[0:34:34 – 0:34:36] Adam: Yeah, do you have any BTU facts on the jack pine?
[0:34:36 – 0:34:38] Erik: I don’t have any BTU facts.
[0:34:38 – 0:34:59] Erik: This is all anecdotal, but I know I have been told in the past by people of wilderness travel expertise that the jack pine, although it is a bear of a tree to actually process for the wood stove, probably a little…
[0:35:01 – 0:35:11] Erik: Dangerous to be burning inside in the wood stove regularly because of its, I imagine, for the same reason that it burns as hot as it does, concentration of oils.
[0:35:12 – 0:35:17] Erik: Probably not a great one to be coating the inside of your chimney and or stovepipe.
[0:35:18 – 0:35:19] Erik: Yeah, you don’t want that.
[0:35:19 – 0:35:23] Erik: Outside and desperately needing an immediately hot fire.
[0:35:23 – 0:35:34] Erik: Those lower branches on the somewhat sickly looking and generally gnarly and unappealing looking.
[0:35:36 – 0:35:36] Erik: It looks ill.
[0:35:37 – 0:35:38] Erik: They just look scraggly.
[0:35:38 – 0:35:40] Erik: It looks like something out of…
[0:35:41 – 0:36:02] Erik: It looks like something out of a horror movie generally, but the pure aspect of the amount of heat and just explosion of fire that those lower branches that die off in kind of a nice way where, yes, you really shouldn’t be just cutting off branches, but a lot of times those lower ones will just die and fall off or just snap them off.
[0:36:03 – 0:36:03] Adam: Snap them off.
[0:36:04 – 0:36:06] Erik: Yeah, they’re already dead and I guess maybe…
[0:36:06 – 0:36:07] Adam: There’s a Bobby trick of the day for you.
[0:36:07 – 0:36:09] Erik: There’s your Bobby trick of the day.
[0:36:09 – 0:36:10] Erik: Just snap them off.
[0:36:10 – 0:36:11] Adam: Bobby trick of the day.
[0:36:12 – 0:36:16] Erik: Pile up a few jack pine branches and you’ve got an immediate brat cooking lunch.
[0:36:17 – 0:36:21] Adam: Yeah, a jack pine kind of looks like a zombie that hasn’t eaten any brains.
[0:36:22 – 0:36:26] Erik: But it also looks like it doesn’t have any brains because it doesn’t seem like it knows what it’s doing.
[0:36:26 – 0:36:27] Erik: It’s like, I’m going to grow.
[0:36:28 – 0:36:29] Adam: They’re all over the place.
[0:36:29 – 0:36:29] Adam: Yeah.
[0:36:29 – 0:36:30] Adam: Can’t trust them.
[0:36:30 – 0:36:32] Erik: We’re splitting off.
[0:36:32 – 0:36:37] Erik: No, that’s detrimental for your long-term health as a tree.
[0:36:37 – 0:36:38] Erik: No, I’m splitting right here.
[0:36:38 – 0:36:42] Adam: I think the jack pine should be the official tree of the United States of America.
[0:36:43 – 0:36:43] Adam: Yeah, basically.
[0:36:44 – 0:36:46] Adam: Basically, the jack pine is what America is.
[0:36:47 – 0:36:51] Erik: Yeah, we’re going to be fine, but we’re kind of ugly in the process.
[0:36:52 – 0:37:00] Erik: And at any moment, half of the tree could just crack off because it decided to split at four feet up from the bottom.
[0:37:00 – 0:37:01] Adam: But it burns red hot.
[0:37:01 – 0:37:04] Erik: But we burn red hot, especially if you light us on fire.
[0:37:04 – 0:37:05] Erik: Do not light us on fire.
[0:37:05 – 0:37:06] Adam: Don’t even think about it.
[0:37:07 – 0:37:09] Adam: All right, I like it.
[0:37:09 – 0:37:11] Adam: I didn’t have it on my top ten.
[0:37:11 – 0:37:15] Adam: I was thinking about an honorable mention, but I thought maybe you’d have it.
[0:37:15 – 0:37:18] Adam: So I left it, and I’m glad I did.
[0:37:18 – 0:37:19] Adam: Love the jack pine.
[0:37:21 – 0:37:22] Adam: Very good firewood.
[0:37:23 – 0:37:23] Adam: Indeed.
[0:37:23 – 0:37:24] Erik: Small firewood.
[0:37:24 – 0:37:28] Erik: Not good for like big firewood because it’s unsplittable wood.
[0:37:28 – 0:37:29] Erik: It’s so gnarly.
[0:37:30 – 0:37:30] Adam: Mine number 10.
[0:37:31 – 0:37:31] Adam: Here we go.
[0:37:31 – 0:37:32] Adam: Spruce.
[0:37:33 – 0:37:34] Adam: The spruce.
[0:37:34 – 0:37:35] SPEAKER_00: Wow.
[0:37:35 – 0:37:37] Adam: Mine.
[0:37:37 – 0:37:38] Adam: Black or white spruce.
[0:37:39 – 0:37:42] Erik: I’ve got spruce much higher than this, but for a specific reason.
[0:37:42 – 0:37:43] Erik: I would love to hear what yours is.
[0:37:45 – 0:37:46] Adam: Okay, well, here’s my reason.
[0:37:46 – 0:37:49] Adam: It’s mainly the argument you had on the jack pine.
[0:37:49 – 0:37:53] Adam: It makes a really nice firewood if you can find dry spruce.
[0:37:53 – 0:38:00] Adam: But spruce is very resilient, and you don’t often find them like dead standing spruce.
[0:38:00 – 0:38:07] Adam: But if you can get a dead standing spruce, good firewood, a lot of sap.
[0:38:09 – 0:38:17] Adam: But the main reason I wanted it on the list was because when I was a youth, I befriended a tree named Bruce the Spruce.
[0:38:17 – 0:38:18] Adam: Yeah.
[0:38:19 – 0:38:21] Adam: And a friend of the show, Bruce the Spruce, still out there.
[0:38:22 – 0:38:26] Adam: Still now, I mean, Bruce is twice my height at least.
[0:38:26 – 0:38:29] Adam: So I don’t know.
[0:38:29 – 0:38:33] Adam: I like the spruce, but I could not justify pushing them higher on my list.
[0:38:33 – 0:38:36] Adam: I’d love to hear a story on why they should be higher, I guess.
[0:38:36 – 0:38:41] Erik: Well, we’ll wait until we get to my placement of the spruce and my reasoning behind it.
[0:38:41 – 0:38:44] Adam: Yeah, I got no dissing on the spruce.
[0:38:44 – 0:38:44] Adam: I love them.
[0:38:45 – 0:38:50] Adam: They’re everywhere up here, especially if you’re in a boreal setting.
[0:38:51 – 0:39:00] Adam: I guess I’ll take this moment to say everybody up here talks about coming up on the North Shore, the Boundary Waters, and you’re in a boreal forest.
[0:39:01 – 0:39:17] Erik: Yeah, and that’s going to definitely be one of my main reasons for why I have it as high as I do is because of its exact correlation to a description to what
[0:39:18 – 0:39:28] Erik: Well, essentially the Boundary Waters, if not more than that Quetico is, because both of those parks are on the edge of true boreal forests.
[0:39:28 – 0:39:29] Adam: Right on the edge.
[0:39:29 – 0:39:34] Adam: And I would argue, actually, the more I learned about it, I always thought that we’re in the boreal or whatever.
[0:39:34 – 0:39:35] Adam: We’re not.
[0:39:35 – 0:39:37] Adam: We’re right on the edge, barely.
[0:39:38 – 0:39:44] Adam: We’re actually more northern hardwoods, northern hardwoods, especially here at the shed.
[0:39:45 – 0:39:49] Adam: Most of the boundary waters is not true boreal, you know.
[0:39:49 – 0:39:52] Adam: So I love the spruce.
[0:39:52 – 0:39:59] Adam: To me, it epitomizes boreal forest, but we don’t actually have boreal forest.
[0:39:59 – 0:40:00] Adam: Most of it’s in Canada.
[0:40:00 – 0:40:00] Adam: Yeah.
[0:40:01 – 0:40:02] Adam: The true boreal.
[0:40:02 – 0:40:04] Adam: So I love the word.
[0:40:04 – 0:40:05] Adam: I love the idea.
[0:40:05 – 0:40:07] Adam: And I love the spruce.
[0:40:07 – 0:40:16] Adam: We have one out back that is, it probably predates the horse farm out here, back in the way, in the reindeers even, way back in the day up here.
[0:40:18 – 0:40:25] Adam: But it died from that beetle thing or whatever out there on hole eight of the disc golf course.
[0:40:26 – 0:40:28] Adam: That thing’s a true full hugger.
[0:40:28 – 0:40:30] Adam: I mean, with a crazy root system.
[0:40:32 – 0:40:36] Adam: And the other one, I got the hanging basket and that other big spruce.
[0:40:36 – 0:40:38] Adam: I mean, I love a good spruce, but…
[0:40:39 – 0:40:42] Adam: You know, to me, there are other trees that deserve to be ahead of it.
[0:40:43 – 0:40:44] Adam: I’ll leave it at that for now.
[0:40:44 – 0:40:53] Adam: I do like the spruce, and I’m glad it made the top 10, and I am excited to hear how high up your list it got, Eric.
[0:40:53 – 0:41:00] Erik: Yeah, it’s definitely up on my list, and I will extrapolate farther and further on it when we get there.
[0:41:01 – 0:41:01] Erik: My nine.
[0:41:04 – 0:41:07] Erik: And it’s probably almost more to do with the…
[0:41:10 – 0:41:33] Erik: association that this tree has with so many i don’t know what you want to call them like northwood’s old wives tales or um farmer’s almanac-esque trying to guess like the future holds is it going to be a rough winter it’s going to be cold oh i can tell because
[0:41:36 – 0:41:39] Erik: The ash tree has so many berries.
[0:41:40 – 0:41:41] Erik: The berries are laden.
[0:41:41 – 0:41:43] Erik: The branches on the ashes, they’re bending.
[0:41:43 – 0:41:45] Erik: You know it’s going to be a hard winter.
[0:41:46 – 0:41:52] Erik: And it’s almost specifically because of this time of year and those insane, like,
[0:41:54 – 0:42:02] Erik: Grape, like the grape-esque packets of little red berries that the mountain ash trees produce.
[0:42:03 – 0:42:04] Erik: I have a question.
[0:42:04 – 0:42:07] Erik: Sitting back and getting to watch just a quick little story.
[0:42:07 – 0:42:09] Erik: The other day I was at Cascade State Park.
[0:42:09 – 0:42:09] Erik: Yeah.
[0:42:09 – 0:42:14] Erik: And I was coming to grips with my reality of living in the back of my car.
[0:42:16 – 0:42:18] Erik: And the door was open.
[0:42:18 – 0:42:19] Erik: I was laying down.
[0:42:20 – 0:42:33] Erik: Completely on my back and just looking up into the trees as a huge woodpecker came soaring over and perched in the top of a mountain ash tree.
[0:42:35 – 0:42:35] Erik: Pileated?
[0:42:36 – 0:42:36] Erik: Pileated?
[0:42:37 – 0:42:37] Erik: Plated.
[0:42:38 – 0:42:38] Adam: Plated.
[0:42:39 – 0:42:47] Erik: Was just sitting there like screeching back and forth to a partner and then in between the screeching was just like chugging ash berries.
[0:42:48 – 0:42:51] Erik: It’s like, huh, I never really even thought that would be a thing.
[0:42:51 – 0:42:53] Erik: But he was just sitting there.
[0:42:53 – 0:42:57] Erik: He wasn’t using his big sharp bill for any reason.
[0:42:57 – 0:42:58] Erik: He was using his hand.
[0:42:58 – 0:43:03] Erik: Yeah, he was just basically pelicaning berries into his gullet.
[0:43:03 – 0:43:06] Adam: It looked like he had made fresh baked ciabatta buns.
[0:43:07 – 0:43:11] Adam: It was just bun and mountain ashberry.
[0:43:11 – 0:43:12] Adam: Yeah.
[0:43:12 – 0:43:13] Erik: I don’t know.
[0:43:13 – 0:43:18] Erik: It’s just one of those trees that it’s got like an aura of the Northwoods to it.
[0:43:18 – 0:43:18] Erik: Yeah.
[0:43:18 – 0:43:22] Erik: And it’s got like when the red berries are one of the few colors remaining.
[0:43:23 – 0:43:40] Erik: And also this time of year when they’re juxtaposed with that like burnt orange of like, okay, we haven’t had a big wind, but there’s still like these almost done, if not essentially done turnt colors on like the aspens and the birches.
[0:43:40 – 0:43:41] Erik: They’re fully cooked.
[0:43:41 – 0:43:47] Erik: All they’re waiting to do is the slightest like fart from a deer to come wafting up and those leaves are going to fall.
[0:43:47 – 0:43:51] Erik: But then you get those like bright red bunches of mountain ash berries.
[0:43:51 – 0:43:52] Erik: Yeah.
[0:43:52 – 0:44:20] Adam: uh i dig it i like it it’s my number nine i love it i had ash on for number eight so we can just continue the conversation but here’s my question is the mountain ashberry thing different from the big ash that we have out back here gotta get that ash big old ash that’s uh and uh you know pretty good firewood too the ash oh it’s big ash but i think those are different from the mountain ash the tree people are gonna hate this um
[0:44:21 – 0:44:24] Adam: Because it’s an obvious answer that I do not know.
[0:44:24 – 0:44:27] Adam: But I’m relating more to the big ash.
[0:44:27 – 0:44:30] Adam: But I acknowledge and love the mountain ashberry.
[0:44:30 – 0:44:31] Adam: Yeah.
[0:44:31 – 0:44:33] Adam: And specifically the berry, the clumps.
[0:44:33 – 0:44:34] Adam: Yes.
[0:44:34 – 0:44:35] Erik: You got to love those clumps.
[0:44:35 – 0:44:36] Erik: I’m mostly relating to the.
[0:44:37 – 0:44:39] Adam: There’s a bunch of them out there right now.
[0:44:39 – 0:44:39] Adam: Yeah.
[0:44:39 – 0:44:41] Adam: He’s doing the thing with the thumb.
[0:44:41 – 0:44:43] Adam: Look at all them clumps.
[0:44:44 – 0:44:46] Erik: I mean, at this point, I’m fine with the thumb.
[0:44:46 – 0:44:50] Erik: But if you get a little bit more aggressive with it, we’re going to have to get you a thumb mitt as well.
[0:44:51 – 0:44:53] Adam: He’s got mittens on both hands.
[0:44:53 – 0:44:53] Adam: He’s got double mitts.
[0:44:54 – 0:44:58] Adam: I can’t tell if he’s pointing or thumbing.
[0:44:58 – 0:44:59] Erik: I love the ash.
[0:44:59 – 0:45:06] Erik: To speak of it in terms of firewood, it takes three years for that stuff to dry out.
[0:45:07 – 0:45:14] Erik: But then you put one of those on, it’s as close to a hardwood as we get up here.
[0:45:14 – 0:45:16] Erik: It’s basically like Northwood’s coal.
[0:45:17 – 0:45:18] Adam: It’s harder than maple, I would say.
[0:45:18 – 0:45:20] Erik: If you can get it dried.
[0:45:20 – 0:45:20] Erik: Yeah.
[0:45:20 – 0:45:28] Erik: I mean, I’ve got wood in my woodshed from the first year we bought wood in the form of ash, and it’s still like, how are you hissing?
[0:45:29 – 0:45:29] Erik: Yes.
[0:45:29 – 0:45:30] Erik: How do you still have moisture?
[0:45:31 – 0:45:33] UNKNOWN: I’ll never tell my secrets, Eric.
[0:45:36 – 0:45:37] Erik: Stop it, ash.
[0:45:38 – 0:45:44] Erik: But specifically the mountain ash and its ubiquity in the Banshee waters, it just gives a nice little late fall pop.
[0:45:46 – 0:45:48] Erik: And what’s your nine then?
[0:45:50 – 0:45:50] Adam: Poplar.
[0:45:51 – 0:45:53] Adam: Yeah, Poplar made the list.
[0:45:53 – 0:45:54] Adam: Did not make my list.
[0:45:54 – 0:45:55] Adam: Well, all right.
[0:45:55 – 0:45:56] Adam: And it probably shouldn’t.
[0:45:57 – 0:45:58] Erik: The osteoporosis of trees.
[0:45:59 – 0:46:03] Adam: My main problem with Poplar is then when people call it Aspen.
[0:46:04 – 0:46:07] Adam: Which isn’t, I mean, okay, it’s fine.
[0:46:07 – 0:46:08] Adam: Call it whatever you want.
[0:46:08 – 0:46:09] Erik: It’s definitely not.
[0:46:09 – 0:46:18] Adam: You know, driving back up from Duluth and whatnot today, and there’s like Aspenwood, Aspenwood Court, Aspen Drive.
[0:46:19 – 0:46:19] Adam: Yeah.
[0:46:19 – 0:46:22] Adam: It’s just like, oh, God, Aspen.
[0:46:23 – 0:46:29] Erik: It’s the typical, it’s that classic old statement of like all of the trees that got cut down and then the streets got named after them.
[0:46:30 – 0:46:36] Adam: But I lived on Poplar Lake for seven years, and it’s a pretty good lake.
[0:46:36 – 0:46:37] Adam: I’ll give you that.
[0:46:37 – 0:46:40] Adam: And Poplar is a softwood.
[0:46:40 – 0:46:46] Adam: It’s the complete opposite of ash, but it does make a good kindling, and it’s everywhere.
[0:46:46 – 0:46:47] Adam: You can get it for free.
[0:46:48 – 0:46:55] Adam: and it’s a good kindling, and it’s not going to smoke up your wood stove pipe like the spruce would ever do.
[0:46:56 – 0:46:57] Adam: And I did have to.
[0:46:57 – 0:47:03] Adam: I hate going on a ladder, and I had to go up on the roof and clean the chimney this week, and I hate it.
[0:47:03 – 0:47:09] Adam: And, yeah, you don’t want to gum up your chimney with a bunch of sprucey, juicy wood.
[0:47:10 – 0:47:36] Adam: triple ipa wood you want to go in there with that clean lager that’s the poplar a clean lager and it splits like a gem and you can just split that thing down to little tinders little thin little sticks and uh it’s a really nice wood to split and work with as a kindling uh so if you’re ever on a trip you find a downed poplar don’t ever call it an aspen in front of me you know
[0:47:37 – 0:47:40] Adam: Get a chunk of that at least for your startup wood.
[0:47:40 – 0:47:41] Adam: You’re not going to want to try and cook on that.
[0:47:42 – 0:47:46] Adam: I mean, you could, but it’s everywhere.
[0:47:46 – 0:47:46] Adam: And it’s pretty.
[0:47:46 – 0:47:51] Adam: And sometimes, here’s the kicker, sometimes they get really big anyways.
[0:47:52 – 0:47:54] Adam: And as a big tree, very cool.
[0:47:54 – 0:47:55] Adam: Yeah.
[0:47:55 – 0:47:57] Adam: And underrated, I would say.
[0:47:57 – 0:47:58] Adam: So that’s why I made my list.
[0:48:00 – 0:48:01] Adam: Probably not a…
[0:48:01 – 0:48:04] Adam: It’s borderline top 10, but that’s why I made my list.
[0:48:05 – 0:48:10] Adam: I actually do appreciate it, and it’s everywhere, and let’s face the facts, as the…
[0:48:12 – 0:48:21] Adam: As the winds do what they’re going to do and the globe does what it’s going to orbit or whatever, the poplar is going to be here more and more.
[0:48:21 – 0:48:22] Adam: So learn to love it.
[0:48:22 – 0:48:23] Adam: That’s what I would say.
[0:48:23 – 0:48:25] Erik: The savannah is coming.
[0:48:25 – 0:48:26] Erik: Yeah.
[0:48:26 – 0:48:27] Adam: So poplar.
[0:48:28 – 0:48:29] Adam: It’s all right.
[0:48:30 – 0:48:31] Adam: Number nine, the poplar.
[0:48:32 – 0:48:33] Adam: It’s pretty good.
[0:48:33 – 0:48:33] Adam: It’s all right.
[0:48:34 – 0:48:34] Adam: It’s good.
[0:48:35 – 0:48:38] Erik: Have you fully expounded on your eight?
[0:48:40 – 0:48:41] Adam: Yeah, so that gets me 8 through 10 then.
[0:48:41 – 0:48:58] Erik: Okay, so my 8 is a very specific kind of tree that is, in my experience, really only found in the western regions of Quetico and the Boundary Waters, and that is the Swamp Oak.
[0:49:00 – 0:49:00] Adam: Wow.
[0:49:01 – 0:49:05] Erik: And I just love that transition where you’re like, wait, what?
[0:49:06 – 0:49:07] Adam: What the heck’s going on here?
[0:49:07 – 0:49:09] Erik: Is this an oak tree?
[0:49:09 – 0:49:10] Erik: But they’re tiny.
[0:49:10 – 0:49:10] Erik: Yeah.
[0:49:10 – 0:49:12] Erik: But they still have those big oak leaves.
[0:49:12 – 0:49:12] Erik: Yeah.
[0:49:13 – 0:49:20] Erik: And they bring me back in like a weird nostalgic way to growing up in the Twin Cities where everything was oak.
[0:49:20 – 0:49:31] Erik: And it was like, if you don’t rake your lawn of the oaks in the Twin Cities, you’re going to wake up next spring to a foot of sludge.
[0:49:32 – 0:49:34] Erik: And your lawn’s going to be dead.
[0:49:34 – 0:49:36] Adam: Well, that’s honestly not a bad thing.
[0:49:36 – 0:49:37] Adam: Then you don’t have to water it.
[0:49:37 – 0:49:41] Erik: Well, it’s not a bad thing in terms of like natural process.
[0:49:42 – 0:49:42] Adam: Yes.
[0:49:43 – 0:49:44] Erik: Processes.
[0:49:44 – 0:49:45] Erik: But in terms of like maintaining a lawn.
[0:49:45 – 0:49:49] Adam: Can I give a negative 10 to lawns right away?
[0:49:49 – 0:49:50] Erik: Well, I think we have.
[0:49:50 – 0:49:51] Erik: Lawns are stupid.
[0:49:51 – 0:49:53] Erik: Lawns are really stupid.
[0:49:53 – 0:49:55] Erik: And yeah, generally.
[0:49:55 – 0:49:58] Adam: You should let more oak leaves just lay there and sludge up.
[0:49:58 – 0:49:59] Adam: Let them fall.
[0:49:59 – 0:50:01] Adam: Actually, I’m going to give a plus two to the oak.
[0:50:01 – 0:50:03] Erik: One of the coolest things that.
[0:50:05 – 0:50:20] Erik: I can still remember my parents having me do was when I moved from the house I grew up in in third grade to the house that I moved away from after graduating high school was in third grade.
[0:50:20 – 0:50:32] Erik: I remember they had me go out into the yard and pick up an acorn that had fallen from one of the oak trees in the yard and put it in a mason jar with like paper towel and
[0:50:32 – 0:50:50] Erik: and water and sprouted it and then when we moved to the new house we went all the way into the back this was like a five acre speaking of lawns this was a juxtaposition my dad for like manicured this five acre lawn and took away probably a lot of wetlands got ruined in
[0:50:51 – 0:50:52] Adam: No, that wasn’t a wetland.
[0:50:52 – 0:50:54] Adam: All the ducks had to go.
[0:50:55 – 0:50:56] Adam: We had to use this lawn.
[0:50:56 – 0:50:57] Adam: God dang it.
[0:50:57 – 0:51:02] Erik: Just free time from my youth where I spent five hours mowing this lawn.
[0:51:02 – 0:51:04] Erik: But there was this back patch that they kept.
[0:51:04 – 0:51:05] Adam: Taught you a good lesson.
[0:51:05 – 0:51:07] Erik: Yeah, they kept the back patch wild and free.
[0:51:08 – 0:51:12] Erik: And one of the first things that I did was plant that sprouted acorn.
[0:51:12 – 0:51:37] Adam: yeah and did it work it’s still there what yeah it’s like a 20 year old oak tree now in the back of this lot in wow fill in the blank where i grew up yeah we should try and plant some oaks up here i bet they’d go now oh sure yeah yeah it’s soft i mean it hasn’t even snowed what is it the 22nd of october we haven’t even had snowfall i haven’t even had a fire in the wood stove yet we’re going to zone four i think eric
[0:51:38 – 0:51:40] Erik: I think we can support oaks now.
[0:51:40 – 0:51:40] Erik: 51-40.
[0:51:41 – 0:51:42] Erik: Let’s just get some palms going.
[0:51:45 – 0:51:46] Erik: We’re not doing any palm trees.
[0:51:46 – 0:51:49] Erik: I’m pre-loon bleeping.
[0:51:49 – 0:51:49] Erik: Thank you.
[0:51:49 – 0:51:53] Erik: But yeah, so in terms of like the… No, but I think it would work here in oak.
[0:51:54 – 0:51:54] Erik: Yeah.
[0:51:54 – 0:51:55] Adam: Oh, for sure it would work.
[0:51:56 – 0:52:21] Erik: i mean they’re they work on a smaller scale to the west of us and they’re kind of along the same side the same lines of those jack pines they’re like scraggly yeah but the way that they fill out and just like hang on to their leaves yeah it’s just there’s also just there’s something i don’t know if there’s any other tree on this list besides maybe one other that we’re going to get to yeah that has uh like a very highly associated smell with it and it’s like
[0:52:22 – 0:52:31] Erik: Dead oak leaves, just like I can get a candle and you could transport me to so many different portages in Quetico in the late fall.
[0:52:32 – 0:52:35] Erik: And not Quetico, just western boundary waters.
[0:52:35 – 0:52:41] Erik: That’s the one thing I kind of forget about is like there really aren’t any of those trees on this side of the park, the east side.
[0:52:42 – 0:52:51] Erik: But the western half and for sure like the western third, there’s some serious like and surprising like oak forests.
[0:52:51 – 0:53:16] Adam: yeah i always think of oak when i’m like going back down to northwest wisconsin hang out the old wisconsin buddies at the lounge you know do a little ice fishing lounge drink a little cocktail at 11 a.m yeah you know they got oaks you know as soon as you get south of the twin ports basically you start to see them oak country once you get out especially once you get out of the lake superior basin then you really get them you know and you’re like
[0:53:16 – 0:53:20] Adam: These oaks, I forgot about these oaks you guys got down here.
[0:53:20 – 0:53:22] Adam: They’re really a nice tree.
[0:53:22 – 0:53:28] Adam: You don’t see them where we’re at right now a whole often, unless it’s somebody who planted one or whatever.
[0:53:28 – 0:53:34] Erik: Yeah, and even when they do run wild in the bodge waters, they’re not huge oaks.
[0:53:34 – 0:53:40] Erik: They’re not like your big Forrest Gump lane running down to the old slave house-sized trees.
[0:53:40 – 0:53:43] Erik: They’re maybe double-wrist at most width.
[0:53:44 – 0:53:47] Adam: Yeah, they don’t ever get – well, you know, we’ll see in 20 years.
[0:53:47 – 0:53:48] Adam: Maybe they will get big.
[0:53:48 – 0:53:49] Erik: But they fill out.
[0:53:49 – 0:53:50] Erik: They really fill out.
[0:53:51 – 0:54:01] Erik: So, yeah, it’s kind of a – I was surprised that I got oak as high as I did on it, but I kind of went along the lines of, like, trees that I could just, like, picture in my mind.
[0:54:02 – 0:54:15] Erik: and then like some of the other senses that came along with them and yeah oak is uh is i can picture portages specifically on the malign river in cuetico is laden with oak
[0:54:17 – 0:54:27] Adam: I’m going to jump into my number seven, which is also a tree that isn’t really in the Boundary Waters, but is, and is a beautiful tree.
[0:54:28 – 0:54:33] Adam: The maple, the moose maple you see in the Boundary Waters.
[0:54:33 – 0:54:34] Erik: It’s also my seven.
[0:54:35 – 0:54:43] Adam: But the big maple that you get on the front slope and the secondary hill off the big lake, that’s the stuff I’m talking about here.
[0:54:44 – 0:54:47] Adam: But the moose maple is the technicality that allows me in.
[0:54:47 – 0:54:49] Erik: I think that’s exactly the thinking I had.
[0:54:49 – 0:54:52] Adam: And I seem to moose maple on the basswood portage or whatever.
[0:54:52 – 0:54:53] Adam: So they’re out there.
[0:54:54 – 0:54:55] Adam: You see moose maple.
[0:54:55 – 0:54:55] Adam: Yeah.
[0:54:56 – 0:54:58] Adam: But moose maple is not real maple.
[0:54:58 – 0:55:00] Adam: I would assume it’s some sort of variant.
[0:55:00 – 0:55:01] Adam: Yeah, small.
[0:55:01 – 0:55:02] Adam: Maple people come at me.
[0:55:02 – 0:55:03] Adam: I’m here for it.
[0:55:03 – 0:55:05] Adam: But I love the maple.
[0:55:05 – 0:55:07] Erik: There’s some silver maples over in Ely.
[0:55:07 – 0:55:07] Adam: Sure.
[0:55:08 – 0:55:09] Adam: I love the maple.
[0:55:09 – 0:55:11] Adam: We got a couple right outside the shed here.
[0:55:12 – 0:55:18] Adam: And I think episode three of Tumble Home, we tapped a maple tree right out back here.
[0:55:18 – 0:55:18] Adam: Yeah.
[0:55:19 – 0:55:20] Adam: Not too far from the shed.
[0:55:20 – 0:55:21] Erik: Bag is still hanging.
[0:55:22 – 0:55:23] Adam: It’s still out there.
[0:55:23 – 0:55:23] Adam: One of these days.
[0:55:23 – 0:55:24] Adam: It’s plump.
[0:55:24 – 0:55:26] Adam: One of those days we’re going to get enough syrup.
[0:55:26 – 0:55:29] Erik: I think you got to let them sit for like four or five years.
[0:55:29 – 0:55:32] Adam: I think you got to let it naturally ferment in the sack bag.
[0:55:32 – 0:55:33] Erik: In the sack?
[0:55:33 – 0:55:33] UNKNOWN: Yeah.
[0:55:34 – 0:55:38] Adam: But the maple, you know, it’s obviously amazing.
[0:55:39 – 0:55:40] Adam: Great firewood.
[0:55:40 – 0:55:41] Adam: Great to look at.
[0:55:41 – 0:55:43] Adam: Makes some maple syrup out of it.
[0:55:43 – 0:55:50] Erik: It gives us our true, like our only true hard vein of red coloring in the fall up here too.
[0:55:50 – 0:55:52] Adam: Yeah, the best fall color.
[0:55:52 – 0:55:56] Adam: It’s in, you know, obviously the heart of the Canadians.
[0:55:56 – 0:55:58] Adam: Any Canadian listeners out there love the maple.
[0:55:59 – 0:56:02] Adam: It’s on the logo of both the leafs, obviously.
[0:56:02 – 0:56:03] Adam: And the Jets.
[0:56:03 – 0:56:04] Adam: It’s in there.
[0:56:04 – 0:56:05] Adam: Go Jets.
[0:56:06 – 0:56:07] Adam: Got to win finally.
[0:56:09 – 0:56:11] Adam: Yeah, got to love the maple.
[0:56:11 – 0:56:18] Adam: So had to make the list, and I thought seven was about the right spot to push it to on the list.
[0:56:19 – 0:56:32] Adam: I couldn’t really justify pushing it any higher, but one of my favorite trees is definitely, I would say it’s at least a third of my fire, my woods, what do you call them, a woodshed portfolio.
[0:56:32 – 0:56:34] Adam: Yes, you have to diversify.
[0:56:34 – 0:56:37] Adam: Yeah, you don’t want to go all in on one kind of wood, so I have a lot.
[0:56:37 – 0:56:44] Adam: I’d say I have a third maple, probably a third ash, and a third birch right now is my woodshed portfolio.
[0:56:45 – 0:56:54] Adam: I’m sure I’ll hear from the birch fan club in the future, but I had to get in on the maple right away on seven.
[0:56:54 – 0:56:55] Erik: I’m going 100% poplar.
[0:56:55 – 0:56:56] Erik: Is that bad?
[0:56:57 – 0:56:58] Adam: it’s fine.
[0:56:58 – 0:56:59] Adam: You’re just going to need a lot of it.
[0:56:59 – 0:57:02] Adam: You’re going to need, it’s not going to gum up your works.
[0:57:02 – 0:57:03] Erik: Your hesitation has me worried.
[0:57:03 – 0:57:05] Adam: No, but it’s, you’re going to need a lot of it.
[0:57:05 – 0:57:08] Adam: It’s just not going to last on those 30 below nights.
[0:57:08 – 0:57:18] Adam: No, it’s, maple, you know, ash, say what you want about ash and birch, but like those nights when it’s 30 below, get a big old hunk of maple and throw it in the wood box.
[0:57:19 – 0:57:19] Adam: You know, you’re good.
[0:57:20 – 0:57:22] Erik: Preferably one large enough that you can’t even close the fire.
[0:57:22 – 0:57:24] Erik: You just barely get the door shut.
[0:57:24 – 0:57:24] Adam: Yeah.
[0:57:25 – 0:57:25] Adam: Yeah.
[0:57:25 – 0:57:26] Adam: It’s Christmas Eve and you’re like,
[0:57:27 – 0:57:51] Adam: get in there yeah yeah you’re gonna make everybody take off their sweaters and then you’re gonna still have plenty of embers left in the morning open up some windows completely air it out air the thing out maple it’s the only wood that allows you to air out your uh your cabin in the middle of winter middle of winter yeah so there you go yeah and they’re pretty too aren’t they and who doesn’t you know who doesn’t love a little maple syrup on their waffle
[0:57:52 – 0:57:54] Erik: Northwood’s, I think, the prettiest trees.
[0:57:54 – 0:57:54] Erik: I love…
[0:57:55 – 0:57:59] Erik: I just love the… After coming to explore and…
[0:58:03 – 0:58:29] Erik: become more like knowledgeable of the area just knowing like where those maple ridges are there’s so many roads where you’re just like it’s all just take that road and it’s just a it’s a maple dream scenario yeah uh i mean lutsen that’s obvious like you gotta watch out on those roads don’t go too fast no you can come over the top of a hill and just see a car parked right there right in the middle of the road yeah yeah i mean they don’t think about it you know
[0:58:29 – 0:58:31] Erik: You’re kind of right on the edge of it, too, here.
[0:58:31 – 0:58:39] Erik: And, like, it just runs this interesting little elevation, basically from, like, Grand Portage down to, like, Tofty almost.
[0:58:39 – 0:58:48] Adam: Yeah, it’s in an elevation corridor where you’re just so far off the lake but not too far inland where you get the real big ones, you know.
[0:58:48 – 0:58:51] Adam: Got a couple real nice ones close by here.
[0:58:52 – 0:58:54] Erik: And they run a little early in terms of changing.
[0:58:54 – 0:58:54] Erik: Yeah.
[0:58:55 – 0:58:56] Erik: So, like, it’s kind of nice.
[0:58:56 – 0:58:58] Erik: You get to break up that fall color.
[0:58:58 – 0:59:01] Erik: It extends the fall leaf peeping season for people.
[0:59:02 – 0:59:02] Erik: And I’m not going to lie.
[0:59:03 – 0:59:04] Erik: I also love peeping the leaves.
[0:59:04 – 0:59:06] Erik: Everybody loves to peep.
[0:59:07 – 0:59:08] Erik: To get those early reds.
[0:59:09 – 0:59:10] Erik: And then, like…
[0:59:11 – 0:59:15] Erik: Kind of transitioning into your yellows, your birch, poplar, aspen.
[0:59:17 – 0:59:28] Adam: One of my favorite days is usually the 20th of September when you’re walking in the woods and you find that first fallen bright red maple leaf just laying on the forest floor.
[0:59:29 – 0:59:32] Erik: And then you put it up to your face and you have somebody do portrait mode and you post it on TikTok.
[0:59:33 – 0:59:34] Erik: Yeah.
[0:59:34 – 0:59:34] Adam: Yeah.
[0:59:35 – 0:59:43] Erik: With a double fisting, double cupping, a steaming mug of cappuccino artwork.
[0:59:45 – 0:59:47] Erik: Pumpkin artwork.
[0:59:47 – 0:59:50] Adam: Tiny pumpkins.
[0:59:50 – 0:59:52] Adam: Sweater made of socks.
[0:59:53 – 0:59:56] Erik: All right.
[0:59:56 – 0:59:57] Erik: That’s both of our sevens.
[0:59:57 – 0:59:59] Erik: That’s the first one that’s fully matched up.
[0:59:59 – 1:00:01] Adam: We’re in line.
[1:00:01 – 1:00:03] Erik: Are we going to sync up on six?
[1:00:03 – 1:00:04] Adam: I don’t know.
[1:00:04 – 1:00:07] Adam: We should take a break and get a message from our sponsors.
[1:00:07 – 1:00:10] Adam: Maybe we try and clean up the language a little bit for the second half of the show here.
[1:00:10 – 1:00:16] Adam: There’s a lot of kids in Cook County this weekend listening live on WTIP right now.
[1:00:16 – 1:00:17] Adam: So maybe we got to clean up our act.
[1:00:17 – 1:00:18] Adam: God forbid.
[1:00:18 – 1:00:23] Adam: We’ll be right back after a message from these sponsors, which I believe is Trent Reznor.
[1:00:23 – 1:00:25] Adam: Is he really our main sponsor today?
[1:00:25 – 1:00:26] Adam: I think he is.
[1:00:26 – 1:00:26] Adam: All right.
[1:00:26 – 1:00:27] Adam: Hit it.
[1:00:27 – 1:00:28] Erik: You just want to play Trent Reznor.
[1:00:35 – 1:00:36] UNKNOWN: Thank you.
[1:01:01 – 1:01:29] Adam: The maple with its tassel flowers of green That turns to a red of staghorn-shaped seed Just spreading out its scalloped leaves is seen On a yellowish hue, yet beautifully green Bark-ribbed like a corduroy in seamy screed That farther up the stem is smoother seen Where the white hemlock with white umbel flowers Up each leaf strove in to the branch’s towers
[1:01:30 – 1:01:39] Adam: and moss around the stoven spreads, dark green, and blotched leaves, orchis, and the bell, blue flowers.
[1:01:40 – 1:01:42] Adam: Thickly they grow, and neath the leaves are seen.
[1:01:44 – 1:01:46] Adam: I love to see them gemmed with morning hours.
[1:01:47 – 1:01:53] Adam: I love the lone green places where they be, and the sweet clothing of the maple tree.
[1:02:03 – 1:02:10] Adam: Thank you, John Clare, for sponsoring Tumble Home, a Boundary Waters podcast, and for the beautiful poem.
[1:02:14 – 1:02:15] Adam: I think it’s about a tree.
[1:02:41 – 1:02:42] Erik: two sponsor show
[1:02:44 – 1:02:45] Adam: You got to have it.
[1:02:45 – 1:02:46] Erik: You got it.
[1:02:46 – 1:02:47] Erik: You’ll love it.
[1:02:47 – 1:02:48] Adam: You’ll love to see it.
[1:02:48 – 1:02:49] Adam: First one’s from the fridge.
[1:02:50 – 1:02:53] Adam: Second one from the shed within the shed.
[1:02:54 – 1:02:56] Adam: In Wisconsin, we call that a cabinet, Eric.
[1:02:56 – 1:02:58] Erik: That’s an outdoor fridge.
[1:02:59 – 1:03:02] Adam: An outdoor fridge, an indoor shed.
[1:03:02 – 1:03:03] Adam: It’s called a cabinet.
[1:03:03 – 1:03:04] Erik: Oh, boy.
[1:03:04 – 1:03:06] Adam: They got a couple of them at every quick trip.
[1:03:06 – 1:03:06] Erik: What do you know?
[1:03:06 – 1:03:10] Erik: It’s another hazy IPA.
[1:03:11 – 1:03:12] Erik: Things are getting too hazy.
[1:03:13 – 1:03:15] Adam: Everybody that listens to this show, I love you.
[1:03:16 – 1:03:19] Adam: With the deepest ventricle of my heart.
[1:03:19 – 1:03:23] Erik: The tippity bottom of my heart.
[1:03:23 – 1:03:26] Erik: These are from the Mock family.
[1:03:27 – 1:03:29] Erik: Some Milwaukee?
[1:03:31 – 1:03:31] Erik: Yes?
[1:03:33 – 1:03:34] Erik: Well, they’re from Milwaukee.
[1:03:36 – 1:03:40] Erik: M-K-E-M-V-P. Hazy IPA.
[1:03:41 – 1:03:41] SPEAKER_00: That’s…
[1:03:42 – 1:03:43] Erik: Local flavor.
[1:03:44 – 1:03:45] Erik: Milwaukee Brewing Company.
[1:03:47 – 1:03:48] Adam: Perfect.
[1:03:48 – 1:03:49] Adam: That was perfect.
[1:03:49 – 1:03:49] Adam: Stereo.
[1:03:50 – 1:03:50] Adam: Thank you.
[1:03:51 – 1:03:51] Adam: Mach family.
[1:03:56 – 1:03:57] Erik: We’re going deep this week.
[1:03:57 – 1:03:59] Adam: Apologies to the Claire poem.
[1:04:00 – 1:04:11] Adam: I may have botched a couple of the stanzas, but what did you guys like better, the Claire poem or the Kilmer?
[1:04:12 – 1:04:13] Adam: Get in on it.
[1:04:13 – 1:04:16] Adam: Tumblehomecast at gmail.com.
[1:04:16 – 1:04:21] Adam: Tumblehomecast on the Instagram picture application.
[1:04:21 – 1:04:24] Adam: Did you prefer the Kilmer or the Claire?
[1:04:24 – 1:04:26] Erik: Tree poem rankers.
[1:04:26 – 1:04:26] Erik: Yeah.
[1:04:27 – 1:04:34] Adam: I think I go with the Kilmer, but I’m mostly a Kilmer, a little bit Claire.
[1:04:34 – 1:04:36] Erik: I’m a little bit Kilmer.
[1:04:36 – 1:04:38] Adam: And he’s a little bit Claire.
[1:04:40 – 1:04:41] Adam: Yeah, tree poems.
[1:04:41 – 1:04:43] Adam: Who would have thought?
[1:04:43 – 1:04:44] Adam: Tree poems.
[1:04:44 – 1:04:45] Adam: Episode 167 of Tumble Home.
[1:04:45 – 1:04:47] Adam: Now you’re getting poetry?
[1:04:47 – 1:04:49] Erik: Yeah.
[1:04:49 – 1:04:51] SPEAKER_00: These guys, they’re out of control.
[1:04:51 – 1:04:52] Erik: No, we’re not out of control.
[1:04:52 – 1:04:53] Erik: What are we on, six?
[1:04:54 – 1:04:56] Adam: Yeah, and we’re breaking it down.
[1:04:56 – 1:04:57] Adam: We’re up to number six.
[1:04:57 – 1:05:01] Adam: I believe it’s to Eric’s pick for number six on Tree Rankers.
[1:05:07 – 1:05:21] Adam: tree rankers i can still see my breath but my feet are on fire it’s great it’s a great feeling yeah that’s the feeling of fall right there that’s how trees probably feel with their roots in the ground in summer
[1:05:22 – 1:05:25] Erik: Or in the early fall and winter.
[1:05:25 – 1:05:25] Adam: Or always.
[1:05:26 – 1:05:29] Adam: Probably the roots are always warm and toasty below the permafrost.
[1:05:30 – 1:05:33] Adam: And then, you know, they’re limbly bodies.
[1:05:33 – 1:05:35] Adam: Probably always a little chilled.
[1:05:35 – 1:05:35] Erik: Limbly.
[1:05:36 – 1:05:38] Adam: Where is the heart of the tree?
[1:05:38 – 1:05:40] Adam: It’s probably in the roots, I would say.
[1:05:41 – 1:05:45] Erik: I always imagined it to be right at the base of the tree where it meets the ground.
[1:05:46 – 1:05:46] Erik: Ah.
[1:05:47 – 1:05:56] Erik: But considering the soil makeup of the boreal forests and the way that roots spread out over… And the northern hardwoods forest.
[1:05:57 – 1:06:00] Erik: But with the way that the roots spread out over the rocky soil…
[1:06:01 – 1:06:01] Adam: Yeah.
[1:06:01 – 1:06:04] Erik: They’re kind of always right there at the edge.
[1:06:04 – 1:06:06] Adam: Another shout-out for another podcast.
[1:06:07 – 1:06:08] Adam: Anybody heard of Radiolab?
[1:06:09 – 1:06:10] Adam: Anybody ever heard of this one?
[1:06:10 – 1:06:17] Adam: It’s a pretty obscure podcast from, let me check my notes here, New York City, wherever that is.
[1:06:18 – 1:06:19] Erik: Never heard of it.
[1:06:19 – 1:06:26] Adam: And they had a podcast out about how roots and funguses then communicate betwixt the roots.
[1:06:29 – 1:06:34] Adam: In which trees can talk to each other and send resources and messages to each other.
[1:06:35 – 1:06:37] Adam: Kind of like you may have heard of this, text messaging.
[1:06:37 – 1:06:38] Adam: Text messaging.
[1:06:39 – 1:06:40] Erik: SMS.
[1:06:41 – 1:06:46] Adam: Yeah, they got an RSS feed going between their roots.
[1:06:47 – 1:06:53] Adam: So I would argue that this would be a fun… Is there any books out there talking more about roots?
[1:06:53 – 1:06:53] Adam: Just roots.
[1:06:53 – 1:06:54] Adam: Just roots.
[1:06:55 – 1:06:56] Adam: Just want to know more about roots.
[1:06:57 – 1:07:00] Adam: I’ve seen plenty of the trunk and the limbs and the leaf.
[1:07:01 – 1:07:03] Adam: I want to know more about the root.
[1:07:04 – 1:07:06] Adam: That’s where I’m coming away with this episode with.
[1:07:06 – 1:07:06] Adam: Sure.
[1:07:07 – 1:07:13] Erik: Just skip those chapters where they were featured as the band on the Jimmy Fallon Tonight Show.
[1:07:18 – 1:07:19] Adam: I remember that.
[1:07:19 – 1:07:20] Adam: It’s a bad roots joke.
[1:07:20 – 1:07:21] Adam: No, I remember that.
[1:07:21 – 1:07:21] Adam: Bad roots joke.
[1:07:21 – 1:07:22] Adam: I don’t think it’s a joke.
[1:07:23 – 1:07:24] Adam: I think it’s a reference.
[1:07:24 – 1:07:25] Adam: And I do remember.
[1:07:25 – 1:07:26] Adam: Okay.
[1:07:26 – 1:07:26] Adam: Six.
[1:07:26 – 1:07:27] Adam: So what’s your number six?
[1:07:27 – 1:07:28] Erik: Red.
[1:07:30 – 1:07:52] Erik: red pine yes at six yes i also have red pine at six there we go cheers cheers back to back are you giving this uh this beer i’m gonna give this one uh back to back to back aau championships with fred mcgriff and it just looks like a good time it looks it looks like baseball
[1:07:53 – 1:07:53] Adam: It does.
[1:07:54 – 1:07:55] Adam: It’s kind of brewer’s colors.
[1:07:55 – 1:07:56] Adam: It’s got brewer’s colors.
[1:07:57 – 1:07:59] Erik: The only thing I don’t like, oh, it says home run on it.
[1:07:59 – 1:07:59] Adam: Does it?
[1:08:00 – 1:08:00] Erik: Yes.
[1:08:00 – 1:08:03] Erik: I don’t like the fact that it tells me that I need to find a glass.
[1:08:03 – 1:08:04] Erik: Glass is my mouth.
[1:08:05 – 1:08:09] Adam: Robin Yount used to drink beers right out of his glove in center field.
[1:08:10 – 1:08:12] Adam: That was after they took him off a shortstop.
[1:08:12 – 1:08:13] Adam: They should have left him at shortstop.
[1:08:14 – 1:08:15] Adam: There, I said it.
[1:08:16 – 1:08:17] Erik: Finally, somebody said it.
[1:08:17 – 1:08:19] Adam: I can’t believe they…
[1:08:20 – 1:08:24] Adam: I honestly can’t believe the Bucs won the NBA championship.
[1:08:24 – 1:08:25] Erik: I don’t even remember that that happened.
[1:08:25 – 1:08:25] Erik: Go Bucs.
[1:08:26 – 1:08:27] Adam: Can you remember that?
[1:08:27 – 1:08:28] Erik: The NBA, like, get over it.
[1:08:28 – 1:08:29] Adam: They’re back.
[1:08:29 – 1:08:30] Adam: Now they’re on again.
[1:08:30 – 1:08:31] Adam: It’s like the NBA is back.
[1:08:31 – 1:08:33] Adam: What, did you take like six weeks off?
[1:08:33 – 1:08:33] Adam: Are you kidding me?
[1:08:33 – 1:08:35] Erik: Well, hockey did that too.
[1:08:35 – 1:08:36] Erik: But I guess, I don’t know.
[1:08:36 – 1:08:39] Erik: Maybe the NHL isn’t no different, but I feel like NBA is just like…
[1:08:41 – 1:08:47] Erik: Any year, whatever good players decide to go to whatever team, they’re the ones that are going to win.
[1:08:47 – 1:08:48] Adam: Yeah, but that’s not how Milwaukee did it.
[1:08:48 – 1:08:50] Adam: Milwaukee built it from the ground up, though.
[1:08:50 – 1:08:51] Adam: That’s why it was special.
[1:08:52 – 1:08:53] Adam: Was it?
[1:08:53 – 1:08:53] Adam: I don’t know.
[1:08:53 – 1:08:55] Erik: They got some people in a trade.
[1:08:55 – 1:08:56] Erik: Giannis.
[1:08:56 – 1:08:57] Erik: Yeah.
[1:08:57 – 1:09:00] Adam: There’s my honorable mention for trees.
[1:09:00 – 1:09:00] Adam: Giannis.
[1:09:00 – 1:09:01] Adam: Giannis.
[1:09:02 – 1:09:03] Adam: That’s how you say it.
[1:09:03 – 1:09:05] Adam: And brought the championship back home to Milwaukee.
[1:09:05 – 1:09:06] Erik: Back?
[1:09:06 – 1:09:07] Adam: Yeah.
[1:09:07 – 1:09:07] Adam: They won one in 71.
[1:09:07 – 1:09:08] Adam: 71.
[1:09:08 – 1:09:10] Erik: Was that before they were actually in?
[1:09:10 – 1:09:11] Erik: That was when they were in the ABA.
[1:09:11 – 1:09:12] Adam: That was when slam dunks were illegal.
[1:09:12 – 1:09:21] Adam: You had the dream step and only dream steps and hook shots and the occasional jump shooter back then.
[1:09:21 – 1:09:24] Erik: Jump shots or jump balls from the free throw line all the time.
[1:09:25 – 1:09:25] Adam: Mid-range.
[1:09:26 – 1:09:27] Adam: A lot of good mid-range shots.
[1:09:27 – 1:09:30] Erik: Yeah, lots of solid two-point shots from the free throw line.
[1:09:31 – 1:09:33] Adam: There was no three-point line in the 70s.
[1:09:34 – 1:09:34] Adam: That was illegal.
[1:09:34 – 1:09:38] Adam: It was considered highly illegal on sportsmen.
[1:09:38 – 1:09:40] Erik: I think you got one point for a dunk.
[1:09:40 – 1:09:42] Adam: Actually, you got negative points if you dunked it.
[1:09:43 – 1:09:44] Adam: It was kind of rude.
[1:09:44 – 1:09:46] Adam: What are you doing dunking it?
[1:09:46 – 1:09:48] Adam: Take it easy on that wooden rim.
[1:09:49 – 1:09:51] Adam: Yeah, that wooden rim.
[1:09:51 – 1:09:52] Adam: Take it easy.
[1:09:52 – 1:09:53] Adam: We carved that out of…
[1:09:54 – 1:10:11] Erik: mountain ash mountain ash there we go it’d be a solid red pine we didn’t carve out a red pine it’s too hard of a wood i don’t know how you would carve anything on a red pine again hard this is i don’t think it really speaks to the the beauty the symmetry and the beast
[1:10:11 – 1:10:28] Erik: and the beast and just again kind of hinting back on almost a year ago now the episode that we uh recorded about the some of the the campsites that we perceive as being well that’s a real nice site
[1:10:29 – 1:10:31] Erik: Naturally, a beautiful boundary water site.
[1:10:31 – 1:10:43] Erik: Well, actually, the reason that it’s so nice in your mind and the reason that it is so open and laden with that nice pine duff is because humans have been affecting it for hundreds of years.
[1:10:44 – 1:10:53] Erik: And specifically, those campsites are mostly riddled in a good way, depending on how you really feel about what a wilderness is with red pines.
[1:10:54 – 1:11:04] Erik: There’s never really been a great night around the campfire where I’m like, yeah, stoking it with a bunch of nice, evenly and clean split red pine.
[1:11:05 – 1:11:07] Erik: I don’t even know.
[1:11:07 – 1:11:14] Erik: Even the lower branches on red pine, you try to go and grab for one, and they just bend like licorice.
[1:11:14 – 1:11:16] Erik: It’s like, no, that’s not going anywhere.
[1:11:16 – 1:11:17] Adam: Too full of sap.
[1:11:17 – 1:11:18] Erik: They’re so sappy.
[1:11:19 – 1:11:21] Erik: They probably burn red hot if you can get a bunch of them.
[1:11:21 – 1:11:23] Adam: They are considered a hardwood for sure.
[1:11:24 – 1:11:28] Adam: People often think like, oh, red pine, white pine, same diff.
[1:11:28 – 1:11:28] Adam: No.
[1:11:28 – 1:11:30] Adam: Red pine are very hardwood.
[1:11:31 – 1:11:32] Adam: White pine, very softwood.
[1:11:32 – 1:11:48] Erik: Yeah, white pine does have, like, if you ever cut either of them down, you can notice that the ring growth seems to be much more substantial on the white pines over the course of a year versus the red pines.
[1:11:48 – 1:11:52] Erik: Though, for a pine, I think they still do grow.
[1:11:54 – 1:11:59] Erik: much more than like your birch, aspen, or maple.
[1:11:59 – 1:12:01] Erik: They’ve got bigger tree rings.
[1:12:01 – 1:12:04] Erik: And I don’t know what necessarily would cause that.
[1:12:04 – 1:12:10] Erik: It might just be because of the proliferation of that much sap running through them.
[1:12:10 – 1:12:11] Adam: They’re just hungry, Eric.
[1:12:11 – 1:12:12] Adam: They’re just hungrier?
[1:12:12 – 1:12:13] Adam: They’re hungry boys.
[1:12:13 – 1:12:14] Adam: Bigger roots.
[1:12:14 – 1:12:15] Adam: I think it’s bigger roots.
[1:12:16 – 1:12:16] Adam: Bigger roots.
[1:12:17 – 1:12:18] Erik: They want it more.
[1:12:19 – 1:12:20] Adam: Clearly.
[1:12:20 – 1:12:20] Erik: Going 110%.
[1:12:22 – 1:12:22] Adam: Always.
[1:12:23 – 1:12:25] Adam: Vince Lombardi likes a good pine.
[1:12:26 – 1:12:26] Erik: I honestly do.
[1:12:27 – 1:12:30] Erik: I think that this would be the highest that I would ever rate them.
[1:12:30 – 1:12:38] Erik: There’s something about the red pine that seems a little bit too man-made and tree-farmy.
[1:12:39 – 1:12:43] Adam: Yeah, but they were the, what was the name of the goo or whatever?
[1:12:44 – 1:12:45] Adam: The goo.
[1:12:45 – 1:12:48] Adam: Yeah, the tar and the goo.
[1:12:49 – 1:12:50] Adam: There was a name for it.
[1:12:52 – 1:12:55] Adam: You guys can look back a couple episodes back.
[1:12:55 – 1:12:58] Adam: We talked about the red pines and their production of the sap.
[1:12:58 – 1:12:58] Adam: Yeah.
[1:12:59 – 1:13:01] Adam: It was key to everything for making this goo.
[1:13:02 – 1:13:05] Erik: The factory where you can still see sites.
[1:13:05 – 1:13:06] Adam: I think it was just called Bagoo.
[1:13:06 – 1:13:07] Adam: Bagoo.
[1:13:07 – 1:13:07] Adam: Bagoo.
[1:13:08 – 1:13:10] Erik: Yeah, where there are sites where you can still see the scars.
[1:13:10 – 1:13:10] Erik: Yes.
[1:13:10 – 1:13:13] Erik: From where they were basically farming and milking.
[1:13:13 – 1:13:16] Adam: They’re more historic and more natural than you think.
[1:13:17 – 1:13:21] Adam: They look like they were growing there on a tree farm, but that’s just their nature.
[1:13:22 – 1:13:25] Erik: But it also does have something to do with any time you see a plantation-
[1:13:30 – 1:13:40] Erik: Specifically like, hey, intern, we need to put up a sign saying that we planted all of these red pines in 1975.
[1:13:40 – 1:13:41] Adam: Yeah.
[1:13:41 – 1:13:43] Erik: We’re not cutting them all down.
[1:13:43 – 1:13:47] Adam: Make sure you chisel it into the piece of wood and then paint it with yellow.
[1:13:47 – 1:13:50] Erik: We need to make sure that the granola eaters don’t get too upset.
[1:13:51 – 1:13:56] Erik: And we show them that, in fact, we are sustaining the forest.
[1:13:56 – 1:13:57] Erik: Managed forest or happy forest?
[1:13:57 – 1:13:58] Erik: Managed forest.
[1:13:59 – 1:14:01] Erik: Yeah, but maybe not.
[1:14:02 – 1:14:08] Erik: Bit of a monoculture sometimes when you come across those massive swaths of just red pines.
[1:14:08 – 1:14:09] Adam: Yeah, I still like it.
[1:14:09 – 1:14:10] Erik: I do.
[1:14:10 – 1:14:15] Erik: I mean, yeah, you get some fun, especially when you get a bit of that layering fog thing.
[1:14:17 – 1:14:39] Erik: with the layers of trees that aren’t completely lined up that’s always pretty i don’t know why yeah but it’s something about it and then again like at the end of the day the reason i put red pines as high as i did is because that they are typically found at those like four to five ish star boundary waters campsites they are they’re always there big how many nights have you spent hammocked in a red pine
[1:14:40 – 1:14:41] Erik: Many.
[1:14:41 – 1:14:42] Erik: Probably most.
[1:14:43 – 1:14:44] Adam: Oh, it’s always a choice.
[1:14:44 – 1:14:47] Adam: It’s a choice tree for your hammock strap.
[1:14:47 – 1:14:52] Erik: And underrated, the way that the wind sounds through their lofty branches.
[1:14:52 – 1:14:54] Adam: Yeah, the long needle.
[1:14:57 – 1:14:59] Erik: It’s a deep…
[1:14:59 – 1:15:00] Erik: It’s not a high whistle, though.
[1:15:01 – 1:15:02] Erik: It’s a deep, resonant…
[1:15:02 – 1:15:02] Erik: I love it.
[1:15:07 – 1:15:14] Adam: Yeah, it’s both a lullaby and sounds like you’re being attacked by a wild bear at the same time.
[1:15:15 – 1:15:18] Adam: It’s a peaceful and violent needle wind.
[1:15:21 – 1:15:22] Erik: Peaceful and violent needle wind.
[1:15:22 – 1:15:24] Erik: Well, do you have anything else to say on Reds?
[1:15:26 – 1:15:28] Adam: No, super tall, really cool.
[1:15:28 – 1:15:30] Adam: If you get your hands on a big one,
[1:15:32 – 1:15:33] Adam: It’s a special thing.
[1:15:33 – 1:15:36] Adam: Hang on to that memory.
[1:15:36 – 1:15:38] Erik: I know our fives are not going to match up.
[1:15:39 – 1:15:44] Erik: Because you’ve already said your choice for what is my five.
[1:15:44 – 1:15:48] Erik: And that is the spruce.
[1:15:48 – 1:15:48] Erik: Okay.
[1:15:48 – 1:15:49] Erik: We’ve mentioned it a little bit.
[1:15:49 – 1:15:55] Erik: I think if you were forming a new country…
[1:15:56 – 1:16:02] Erik: And you were making currency for, like, the Boreal Nation.
[1:16:03 – 1:16:05] Erik: The Northern Hardwoods Nation.
[1:16:05 – 1:16:10] Erik: I think the spruce, both black, white, red, or whatever, there’s a few different kinds.
[1:16:11 – 1:16:16] Erik: But generally, the ones we experience in our parts are, I think, the black and the white.
[1:16:17 – 1:16:21] Adam: The best spruce I ever burnt was on Batchelon.
[1:16:22 – 1:16:22] SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
[1:16:24 – 1:16:48] Adam: page like rustled one out of the woods somewhere and came back with this like beautiful hunk of black spruce that did nourish us with its its heat for a good part of a day yeah it was like one tree you found it was perfect i still remember that black spruce up against that rock yes campfire that we had yeah yeah that was uh quite the spruce
[1:16:48 – 1:16:49] Erik: That was nice.
[1:16:49 – 1:16:59] Erik: But like I was saying, I feel like if you were going to print money for the boreal forests, the spruce would have to be on one of the major denominations of dollar bills.
[1:17:00 – 1:17:00] Erik: 20 maybe?
[1:17:01 – 1:17:01] Erik: Throw it on the 20.
[1:17:01 – 1:17:03] Erik: Yeah, throw it on the 100.
[1:17:03 – 1:17:15] Erik: I feel like it is such a representation of the harshness of the boreal forests and the way that it grows and where it grows and specifically…
[1:17:17 – 1:17:20] Erik: The expanses of spruce bogs.
[1:17:21 – 1:17:30] Erik: There is kind of along the lines of those oak trees in the western parts of the Boundary Waters and Quetico.
[1:17:30 – 1:17:32] Erik: The far northern reaches of Quetico.
[1:17:33 – 1:17:46] Erik: The Darkwater River comes to mind where you come around some of those corners and you are just in an absolute over the garden wall-esque like
[1:17:48 – 1:18:10] Erik: spooky but also comforting yeah depth of a spruce bog where you just you’re just looking through as far as the eye can see the same exact width of a tree as far into this like boggish there’s like you know like could you walk through there i don’t know it doesn’t look like you can walk through there
[1:18:11 – 1:18:18] Erik: But there’s these trees growing on these like hummocks of like kind of dead grasses.
[1:18:18 – 1:18:24] Erik: And the darkness and the depth and the feeling that that produces in me.
[1:18:26 – 1:18:34] Erik: As a tree, standing alone probably wouldn’t necessarily be as high or even maybe make my list.
[1:18:34 – 1:18:43] Erik: But in a group, especially when you’re paddling through those meandering back and forth rivers…
[1:18:44 – 1:18:51] Erik: And you get that ominous, on both sides, spruce bogs.
[1:18:51 – 1:18:59] Erik: There’s nothing that really comes to mind that reminds me of the Boundary Waters more than those kinds of forests.
[1:18:59 – 1:19:03] Adam: Go ahead and try and saw the branch off of a dead spruce even.
[1:19:03 – 1:19:05] Adam: Yeah, and it’s also like rock solid.
[1:19:05 – 1:19:07] Adam: It probably will bend your saw blade somehow.
[1:19:08 – 1:19:09] Adam: Spruce are nuts.
[1:19:10 – 1:19:10] Erik: It’s a hardy tree.
[1:19:10 – 1:19:12] Erik: You think of them a lot of times as…
[1:19:14 – 1:19:17] Erik: Like, just like, oh, yeah, there’s just a bunch of spruce out there.
[1:19:17 – 1:19:18] Erik: But they’re, I mean.
[1:19:20 – 1:19:21] Adam: They’re strength in numbers.
[1:19:21 – 1:19:21] Adam: Yeah.
[1:19:22 – 1:19:24] Adam: And they are a fierce tree.
[1:19:25 – 1:19:35] Adam: And whereas you’re describing them being on the bend of a river, I like to be on a portage where all of a sudden you’re ensconced in a stand of spruce.
[1:19:36 – 1:19:41] Adam: And it can be a little, like, scary, as you said, almost over the garden wall, like into the darkness.
[1:19:41 – 1:19:41] Adam: Yes.
[1:19:41 – 1:19:45] Erik: Yeah, they can add a darkness immediately.
[1:19:45 – 1:19:46] Adam: Oh, yeah.
[1:19:46 – 1:19:50] Adam: You get into a big clump of spruce, and it can blot out the sun.
[1:19:51 – 1:19:52] Erik: Oh, God, yeah.
[1:19:52 – 1:19:53] Adam: Even on the brightest of day.
[1:19:53 – 1:20:01] Adam: And then you get in there on a cloudy day or the night, and it just feels like you’re in the real heart of darkness in the spruce.
[1:20:01 – 1:20:04] Adam: I’ve learned to love the spruce.
[1:20:04 – 1:20:07] Adam: I feel at ease amongst them now, and I consider them my friend.
[1:20:08 – 1:20:32] Erik: i think that yeah i do too i feel like that uh that trip down the uh the blackstone river yeah those last falls was again one of those like spruce laden rivers where it was like insanely windy but when you’re in those little narrow rivers yeah you just don’t notice it as much and the way that it dampens it just seems like something’s
[1:20:33 – 1:21:01] Erik: something’s going on it is the spruce needle like takes the sound out of it yeah and so that makes it it makes everything a little bit more eerie which is nice yeah and they just seem like they’re they never change they’re always the same you know they don’t even they probably blow some needles occasionally in the fall but you know as far as the human eye can tell they’re like always just being a spruce
[1:21:01 – 1:21:02] Adam: Yeah.
[1:21:02 – 1:21:12] Adam: Another tree that is always around and ever-present and lovely, the balsam fir, coming in hot at my number five.
[1:21:13 – 1:21:13] Adam: Wow.
[1:21:13 – 1:21:14] Adam: Let me check it.
[1:21:14 – 1:21:16] Adam: Yeah, it’s number five, balsam fir.
[1:21:16 – 1:21:17] Erik: You’ve got a weed at five.
[1:21:17 – 1:21:19] Adam: The junkiest of tree.
[1:21:19 – 1:21:20] Adam: It’s everywhere.
[1:21:20 – 1:21:23] Adam: You can’t ignore it, and you must love it.
[1:21:23 – 1:21:24] Adam: It’s the balsam fir, Eric.
[1:21:24 – 1:21:25] Erik: I do not love it.
[1:21:26 – 1:21:27] Erik: I actively hate it.
[1:21:27 – 1:21:29] Adam: I guarantee this isn’t in Eric’s top ten.
[1:21:29 – 1:21:30] Adam: Am I right?
[1:21:30 – 1:21:31] Erik: No, no.
[1:21:32 – 1:21:33] Erik: I thought about it multiple times.
[1:21:37 – 1:21:46] Erik: This tree is actively sought by government contractors on grants to chop them down so things don’t burn hotter and faster.
[1:21:46 – 1:21:53] Erik: And even if you’re against it, they will be back in three years as the same size tree as they were cut down.
[1:21:54 – 1:21:59] Adam: This is right up there with Alders as far as the level of quality you’re getting.
[1:21:59 – 1:22:03] Adam: You just appreciate the voraciousness of them?
[1:22:03 – 1:22:08] Adam: I do, and I’m going to throw Alders in here with them because Alders are not on my list.
[1:22:08 – 1:22:10] Adam: Another honorable mention, the Alder.
[1:22:11 – 1:22:12] Erik: So just Northwood’s bamboo category?
[1:22:12 – 1:22:15] Adam: Yeah, this is a bamboo category at number five.
[1:22:16 – 1:22:17] Adam: I love the Northwood’s Alder.
[1:22:17 – 1:22:20] Adam: Actually, I’ve learned to appreciate them because they’re everywhere and they’re obnoxious.
[1:22:21 – 1:22:22] Adam: As are the balsam.
[1:22:23 – 1:22:40] Adam: But, you know, the alder, there’s really no, I was like, maybe we could start a company in which we, you know, make wood chips from alders or paper or maybe just something useful from them.
[1:22:40 – 1:22:43] Adam: We got an unlimited supply of alder up here.
[1:22:43 – 1:22:45] Adam: They just keep coming up.
[1:22:45 – 1:22:47] Adam: You cannot kill an alder, for one.
[1:22:48 – 1:22:51] Adam: I’m a terrible gardener, but you cannot kill an alder.
[1:22:51 – 1:22:56] Erik: Something that you could do with alder or balsam to make more money.
[1:22:57 – 1:22:57] Adam: Yeah.
[1:22:58 – 1:22:59] Erik: I don’t know what it would be, though.
[1:22:59 – 1:23:01] Adam: You can squeeze them for oil.
[1:23:01 – 1:23:03] Adam: For my lamp.
[1:23:04 – 1:23:06] Adam: The dark lantern, if you will.
[1:23:07 – 1:23:10] Adam: But, no, there’s really nothing you can do with older.
[1:23:10 – 1:23:12] Erik: You can try to convince people that…
[1:23:14 – 1:23:23] Erik: Balsam tips are good to infuse with like a spirit because I know spruce tip like vodka and gin is a thing.
[1:23:24 – 1:23:28] Adam: We got to get Valkyrie in Duluth to do a balsam tip gin.
[1:23:28 – 1:23:29] Adam: Yeah.
[1:23:29 – 1:23:30] Erik: Balsam tip gin.
[1:23:30 – 1:23:31] Adam: Good luck with that.
[1:23:31 – 1:23:31] Adam: Yeah.
[1:23:32 – 1:23:39] Adam: My main reason for putting them on at number five is because they make the best Christmas tree.
[1:23:39 – 1:23:41] Adam: And I love Christmas trees and I love Christmas.
[1:23:41 – 1:23:43] Erik: This argument is a 10 spot at best argument.
[1:23:46 – 1:24:13] Adam: yeah no wholeheartedly disagree with this positioning on five for balsam all right well they’re everywhere it’s probably i would say this to leave you with this we’re not going to argue about this and we’re not going to talk about balsams forever we’re done no we’re definitely done um there’s more balsams in the boundary waters than any other tree and it’s not even close so sure balsams number five and they they shouldn’t be any higher five is probably a little too high
[1:24:14 – 1:24:18] Adam: But, you know, compare them to like maples or ashes.
[1:24:18 – 1:24:20] Adam: It’s like, okay, well, or spruce even.
[1:24:22 – 1:24:23] Adam: There’s way more balsam fir out there.
[1:24:23 – 1:24:25] Adam: Yeah, well, there’s a lot of rats too.
[1:24:25 – 1:24:31] Adam: And if you need a stick to prop up your stovepipe in the middle of winter…
[1:24:31 – 1:24:31] Adam: They’re there.
[1:24:31 – 1:24:32] Erik: All right, fine.
[1:24:32 – 1:24:33] Erik: I will give you that.
[1:24:33 – 1:24:36] Adam: If you need some logs to lay down to burn some other logs on top of, they’re there.
[1:24:37 – 1:24:40] Adam: If you need a Christmas tree, they’re there.
[1:24:41 – 1:24:52] Adam: Balsams smell nice, they look nice, and they are full of sap and quite terrible, and they are basically an alder, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the balsam fir.
[1:24:52 – 1:24:56] Erik: So they’re basically the one tree that you don’t mind bobbing.
[1:24:57 – 1:24:58] Adam: Right, yeah.
[1:24:58 – 1:25:03] Adam: If you’ve got a bobby in your group, stick them on that balsam fir in the back.
[1:25:03 – 1:25:03] SPEAKER_00: Really?
[1:25:03 – 1:25:07] Erik: I mean, I don’t want to advocate for chopping down a live tree.
[1:25:07 – 1:25:12] Adam: I mean, if you’ve got an obnoxious youth in your group, set them free on a balsam.
[1:25:12 – 1:25:13] Adam: There’s plenty of them.
[1:25:13 – 1:25:15] Adam: You’re never going to make them extinct.
[1:25:15 – 1:25:15] Adam: Right.
[1:25:16 – 1:25:19] Adam: And they’re like the rat of the Boundary Waters.
[1:25:19 – 1:25:20] Erik: That’s what I said.
[1:25:20 – 1:25:21] Erik: Yeah.
[1:25:21 – 1:25:21] Erik: Did you?
[1:25:21 – 1:25:22] Erik: Yes.
[1:25:22 – 1:25:22] Erik: All right.
[1:25:22 – 1:25:23] Erik: We’re on the same page.
[1:25:23 – 1:25:23] Erik: Yeah.
[1:25:23 – 1:25:27] Erik: You were saying that their numbers, the reason they’re so great is because they’re so prolific.
[1:25:27 – 1:25:28] Adam: They can survive anything.
[1:25:28 – 1:25:35] Adam: We could drop a couple of Hiroshima’s on the boundary waters and another 5,000 years of human existence.
[1:25:36 – 1:25:37] Adam: There would still be balsam.
[1:25:37 – 1:25:39] Adam: You cannot eradicate the balsam.
[1:25:39 – 1:25:40] Adam: They’re hardy.
[1:25:40 – 1:25:41] Adam: I love that about them.
[1:25:41 – 1:25:42] Erik: Who’s the balsam of the NHL?
[1:25:48 – 1:26:10] Erik: i don’t know like chara he’s big man he’s like the christmas tree of defenders i’m just thinking of a guy that just like is like kind of just does what he does is just their current current players but you could like replace him with like 10 other people that would do the same exact thing chara yeah no he’s he’s pretty unique
[1:26:11 – 1:26:13] Adam: He is, but that’s what I’m saying, though.
[1:26:14 – 1:26:16] Adam: He’s not special, but he’s unique.
[1:26:16 – 1:26:16] Erik: Maybe today.
[1:26:17 – 1:26:17] Erik: Yeah.
[1:26:17 – 1:26:18] Erik: Not back in his heyday.
[1:26:18 – 1:26:22] Adam: And he would look good with a bunch of lights on him.
[1:26:22 – 1:26:23] Adam: Who’s your boss of the NHL?
[1:26:24 – 1:26:25] Erik: I don’t know.
[1:26:25 – 1:26:28] Erik: I was thinking of basically like 90% of the wild.
[1:26:29 – 1:26:30] Adam: Oh, come on.
[1:26:30 – 1:26:31] Erik: All replacement players.
[1:26:34 – 1:26:34] Adam: Zach Parise.
[1:26:35 – 1:26:35] Erik: Yeah.
[1:26:36 – 1:26:36] Erik: He’s a boss.
[1:26:36 – 1:26:37] Erik: Does he even play anymore?
[1:26:37 – 1:26:41] Adam: Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s still getting paid $7 million a year.
[1:26:41 – 1:26:43] Erik: I know he got bought out, but I don’t think he’s playing.
[1:26:43 – 1:26:44] Erik: Maybe on the Islanders?
[1:26:45 – 1:26:45] Adam: Who knows?
[1:26:45 – 1:26:46] Erik: Who knows?
[1:26:47 – 1:26:48] Erik: That’s just five.
[1:26:48 – 1:26:52] Adam: Yeah, well, I don’t want to put him higher than five.
[1:26:55 – 1:26:56] Adam: You know, all right.
[1:26:57 – 1:26:58] Adam: And here’s another thing.
[1:26:58 – 1:26:59] Erik: You don’t have to keep arguing.
[1:26:59 – 1:27:00] Erik: No, I don’t.
[1:27:00 – 1:27:01] Adam: But I want to say one more thing.
[1:27:01 – 1:27:02] Adam: No, I don’t.
[1:27:02 – 1:27:03] Adam: I’m not arguing.
[1:27:04 – 1:27:05] Adam: I’m advocating.
[1:27:05 – 1:27:06] Adam: Okay.
[1:27:06 – 1:27:08] Adam: Devil’s advocate at this point.
[1:27:08 – 1:27:12] Adam: Baked Christmas trees are a bunch of S. I’ll give you that.
[1:27:13 – 1:27:15] Adam: And I want a real tree.
[1:27:17 – 1:27:19] Adam: And I don’t have to feel bad about cutting down a balsam.
[1:27:19 – 1:27:23] Adam: And you can always find just a beautiful balsam tree, no matter what.
[1:27:23 – 1:27:23] Adam: Yes.
[1:27:24 – 1:27:25] Adam: And they smell great.
[1:27:26 – 1:27:27] Adam: Put the little choo-choo train around them.
[1:27:28 – 1:27:29] Erik: Hang your ornaments.
[1:27:29 – 1:27:30] Erik: Do you put the choo-choo train?
[1:27:31 – 1:27:32] Adam: I haven’t.
[1:27:32 – 1:27:32] Adam: Okay.
[1:27:33 – 1:27:34] Adam: I had one.
[1:27:34 – 1:27:36] Adam: I don’t know, but I want to get one.
[1:27:37 – 1:27:41] Adam: You should have a choo-choo little train around your Christmas tree and…
[1:27:42 – 1:27:50] Adam: But the problem is the cat always is trying to get into the water of the tree, and they knock the choo-choo off the track.
[1:27:51 – 1:27:54] Adam: But I’m just saying it’s by far the best Christmas tree.
[1:27:54 – 1:27:55] Adam: It smells great.
[1:27:55 – 1:27:57] Adam: They hold up well to being indoors in your what have you.
[1:27:57 – 1:27:59] Erik: Well, this isn’t a Christmas tree ranker.
[1:27:59 – 1:28:03] Adam: Well, it’s a tree ranker, and there’s no other tree.
[1:28:03 – 1:28:11] Adam: Actually, to be fair, I’ve tried other trees as a Christmas tree, and no other tree even comes close to being a good Christmas tree as the balsam.
[1:28:12 – 1:28:13] Erik: And I love Christmas.
[1:28:13 – 1:28:15] Adam: So number five, balsam tree.
[1:28:15 – 1:28:17] Adam: And I’m not going to, you know.
[1:28:18 – 1:28:20] Erik: I’m glad we had a little bit of a contention here.
[1:28:20 – 1:28:23] Erik: We were running a little too in line for a while there.
[1:28:23 – 1:28:23] Erik: And it didn’t make for.
[1:28:23 – 1:28:24] Adam: I love your pick.
[1:28:25 – 1:28:26] Adam: No, I love your pick even more.
[1:28:27 – 1:28:28] Erik: Should we high five?
[1:28:29 – 1:28:30] Adam: We should hug.
[1:28:30 – 1:28:30] Erik: Let’s hug.
[1:28:30 – 1:28:32] Erik: Let’s hug a balsam.
[1:28:32 – 1:28:32] SPEAKER_00: I don’t know.
[1:28:32 – 1:28:33] Erik: Let’s.
[1:28:34 – 1:28:37] Erik: Yeah, I fully disagree with the fact that your tree is on this list.
[1:28:37 – 1:28:40] Adam: So Eric’s a Grinch and I love Christmas and that’s the end of number five.
[1:28:40 – 1:28:41] Adam: What do you have for number four?
[1:28:41 – 1:28:44] Erik: Number four is the Tamarack.
[1:28:44 – 1:28:45] Erik: The Larch?
[1:28:45 – 1:28:46] Erik: The Larch.
[1:28:46 – 1:28:47] Adam: Wow, I love it.
[1:28:47 – 1:28:48] Adam: Yes.
[1:28:48 – 1:28:50] Erik: It’s the most unique tree, I think.
[1:28:50 – 1:28:53] Adam: I wish you could have a Christmas tree that was a Tamarack.
[1:28:54 – 1:28:54] Adam: Yeah.
[1:28:54 – 1:28:56] Adam: Unfortunately, they dropped their needles before Christmas.
[1:28:56 – 1:28:59] Erik: It would be a horrible, horrible mess and or a very sad Christmas.
[1:29:00 – 1:29:02] Erik: I think it’s quite beautiful.
[1:29:02 – 1:29:03] Adam: A skeleton of a tree.
[1:29:03 – 1:29:04] Adam: By Christmas, though?
[1:29:04 – 1:29:07] Adam: Does Joyce Kilmer have a poem about the Tamarack?
[1:29:07 – 1:29:10] Adam: Because I wish that poem existed.
[1:29:11 – 1:29:19] Erik: I mean, this tree, the Tamarack is one that it just beats to the, it marches to the beat of its own drum.
[1:29:19 – 1:29:25] Adam: When people talk about fall colors, they talk about maples, which we’ve already talked about.
[1:29:25 – 1:29:28] Adam: But what I’m talking about is the Tammies.
[1:29:28 – 1:29:30] Erik: Late season Tammies.
[1:29:30 – 1:29:33] Adam: Oh, that bright golden hue, great glow.
[1:29:34 – 1:29:37] Adam: And this is the one I think about when I’m talking about like the bends of a river.
[1:29:37 – 1:30:01] Erik: bends of a river for sure tamaracks right on there it’s those tammies yes late late fall and that’s usually the one time that you get that rare opportunity of a snowfall with color and talk about talk about a juxtaposition of a northwood scene that would make any
[1:30:03 – 1:30:11] Erik: Anybody with a fancy camera who posts on Instagram get a little bit hot and bothered by that color.
[1:30:11 – 1:30:12] Adam: It’s the picture app.
[1:30:12 – 1:30:14] Erik: It’s the picture app.
[1:30:14 – 1:30:23] Erik: Yeah, I think there really are no redeeming qualities to the Tamarack when it comes to burning, firewood.
[1:30:23 – 1:30:24] Erik: It’s all aesthetic.
[1:30:25 – 1:30:25] Erik: It’s all the uniqueness.
[1:30:25 – 1:30:29] Adam: I’ve never tried to build a shed from Tamarack.
[1:30:29 – 1:30:30] Adam: Why would you?
[1:30:30 – 1:30:31] Erik: They’re so wispy.
[1:30:32 – 1:30:35] Erik: They’re like hardwood ferns.
[1:30:35 – 1:30:37] Adam: Yeah, I feel like they’re the orchid of tree.
[1:30:38 – 1:30:44] Erik: Yeah, they get big, but even big ones, you walk up to them and you’re like, you can just grab the thing.
[1:30:45 – 1:30:49] Erik: It’s like a fully grown Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
[1:30:50 – 1:30:54] Adam: I got a couple over there, and they’re looking pretty good right now.
[1:30:55 – 1:30:57] Adam: But yeah, don’t get too close to them.
[1:30:59 – 1:30:59] Adam: They will cower.
[1:30:59 – 1:31:00] Adam: Yeah, no.
[1:31:00 – 1:31:01] Erik: They don’t like that.
[1:31:01 – 1:31:04] Erik: Yeah, they’re kind of the scaredy cats of trees too.
[1:31:04 – 1:31:05] Erik: But I love the…
[1:31:06 – 1:31:07] Erik: I just love that…
[1:31:08 – 1:31:19] Erik: It’s even beyond that late season hardwood, not hardwood, but like broadleaf, like burnt orange, blaze orange color that you get.
[1:31:19 – 1:31:28] Erik: Like even after they’re gone, you still get just that last, hey, you’re not going to see any color for six months.
[1:31:29 – 1:31:29] Erik: I’m a Tamarack.
[1:31:30 – 1:31:34] Adam: My favorite part, though, is in the spring, the tamarack bud.
[1:31:35 – 1:31:38] Erik: The tamaracks in the spring are also- They’re the first ones to get bright green.
[1:31:39 – 1:31:40] Erik: They pop that- And that’s the tea.
[1:31:41 – 1:31:57] Erik: They insanely pop into a neon, unattainable- There’s no crayon in the world that could replicate the just so filled with life green-
[1:31:57 – 1:31:59] Adam: Yeah, it’s very verdant.
[1:31:59 – 1:32:00] Erik: Verdant, fecund.
[1:32:01 – 1:32:05] Adam: It’s electric, if you will.
[1:32:05 – 1:32:06] Erik: Electric green.
[1:32:06 – 1:32:07] Erik: I love the tamaracks.
[1:32:08 – 1:32:10] Adam: It is a tree of electricity.
[1:32:11 – 1:32:16] Erik: And I love that they’re almost always like, they’re not just like, hey, look at that tamarack.
[1:32:16 – 1:32:18] Erik: It’s always like, look at that huge patch of tamaracks.
[1:32:19 – 1:32:21] Adam: Holy smokes, Gus, look at them tamaracks.
[1:32:22 – 1:32:25] Erik: Tamarack’s my four.
[1:32:25 – 1:32:26] Erik: I had them as my three.
[1:32:27 – 1:32:28] Adam: Love the Tamarack.
[1:32:29 – 1:32:30] Adam: I love them.
[1:32:30 – 1:32:32] Adam: Nothing I love to see more than one paddling.
[1:32:33 – 1:32:35] Adam: There’s a Tamarack, as I’ve said, both in the spring and the fall.
[1:32:35 – 1:32:36] Erik: Yeah.
[1:32:36 – 1:32:37] Adam: Hell of a middle of the air.
[1:32:37 – 1:32:38] Adam: I’m always like, look at that thing.
[1:32:39 – 1:32:39] Adam: You see that?
[1:32:40 – 1:32:40] Adam: Beautiful Tammy.
[1:32:41 – 1:32:48] Erik: Yeah, and not very often does it happen, but if you do find yourself having to walk through the woods, you’re not going to be bothered by a tamarack.
[1:32:48 – 1:32:54] Erik: If anything, you’re going to be probably left smelling better, maybe a little bit of a light exfoliation.
[1:32:54 – 1:33:00] Erik: It’s not like walking through a forest of spruce or balsams where you’re just like, or jackpines.
[1:33:00 – 1:33:01] Erik: Yeah, they’re soft.
[1:33:05 – 1:33:07] Adam: It’s a wonderful thing.
[1:33:07 – 1:33:07] Erik: It’s a great tree.
[1:33:08 – 1:33:13] Erik: And again, how many trees of their kind drop their needles?
[1:33:13 – 1:33:14] Adam: What?
[1:33:14 – 1:33:16] Erik: That’s so bizarre.
[1:33:16 – 1:33:17] Adam: They’re in between worlds.
[1:33:17 – 1:33:19] Erik: Yeah, they’re a unique tree.
[1:33:19 – 1:33:21] Adam: We talk about the ethereal a lot.
[1:33:22 – 1:33:25] Adam: These are the ephemeral.
[1:33:25 – 1:33:28] Adam: These trees are the epitome of ephemeral.
[1:33:30 – 1:33:31] Adam: Unbelievable, Borea.
[1:33:32 – 1:33:34] Erik: Well, I’m glad we both had them sub four.
[1:33:34 – 1:33:36] Adam: I knew we were going to have the Tamarack high for sure.
[1:33:37 – 1:33:38] Erik: What’s your four then?
[1:33:39 – 1:33:41] Adam: My four was the Birch.
[1:33:41 – 1:33:42] Erik: Well, that’s my three.
[1:33:42 – 1:33:45] Adam: All right, so we had the flip on the Tammy and the Birch.
[1:33:45 – 1:33:47] Adam: Four, Birch.
[1:33:47 – 1:33:52] Erik: My reasoning for having them at three is specifically so I can girdle them for bark.
[1:33:52 – 1:33:52] Erik: Yeah.
[1:33:52 – 1:33:56] Adam: Yeah, I want to reupholster my Min 2.
[1:33:56 – 1:34:01] Adam: I’m going to strip all this old gel coat off and just glue a bunch of birch bark up there.
[1:34:01 – 1:34:07] Erik: Yeah, I like taking a big, big knife carving right down into the beyond the bark.
[1:34:08 – 1:34:10] Erik: So it’s just a nasty black scar.
[1:34:10 – 1:34:11] Adam: Right into the larch.
[1:34:12 – 1:34:13] Adam: Yeah.
[1:34:13 – 1:34:13] Adam: Whatever.
[1:34:14 – 1:34:15] Adam: Not the larch, the…
[1:34:17 – 1:34:17] Erik: The Cambria.
[1:34:18 – 1:34:21] Adam: Yeah, the inner magma of the tree.
[1:34:22 – 1:34:23] Adam: Do trees have magma?
[1:34:23 – 1:34:24] Erik: Yes.
[1:34:24 – 1:34:27] Erik: At this point, it’s pretty obvious what our twos and ones are.
[1:34:27 – 1:34:29] Erik: It should be interesting to see how they unfold.
[1:34:29 – 1:34:30] Erik: Absolutely.
[1:34:30 – 1:34:31] Erik: I think we’re in line here.
[1:34:31 – 1:34:33] Erik: But to speak more on birch.
[1:34:33 – 1:34:33] Erik: Yes.
[1:34:35 – 1:34:42] Erik: Obviously, the free-for-all, again, one of the craziest parts to me of the whole –
[1:34:46 – 1:35:09] Erik: mangling of birch trees specifically in campsites and campgrounds is you could walk 20 yards away from wherever you are and find birch bark laying freely on the forest floor yeah everywhere you cannot even if you tried by a better fire starter in a store right
[1:35:10 – 1:35:12] Adam: I hate stores, and I love nature.
[1:35:13 – 1:35:17] Adam: And birch is the best part of all of that.
[1:35:17 – 1:35:20] Adam: It defeats everything they can ever try and reproduce.
[1:35:21 – 1:35:26] Adam: If you find a good piece of birch bark, you bring that back to camp, you’ve done your chores for the day.
[1:35:26 – 1:35:27] Erik: Yeah.
[1:35:27 – 1:35:31] Erik: And sometimes it’s a little harder to find than others, but really it’s not that hard.
[1:35:32 – 1:35:38] Erik: All you have to do is, for a hot second, just don’t look down.
[1:35:38 – 1:35:42] Erik: Just look up and look, even if it’s not immediately in front of you.
[1:35:42 – 1:35:43] Erik: Find the tree.
[1:35:43 – 1:35:48] Erik: Find the birch and then walk towards it and then look down, and you will find plenty of birch.
[1:35:48 – 1:35:50] Adam: You don’t need to strip it off the tree itself.
[1:35:50 – 1:35:51] Adam: They’re laying all over the place.
[1:35:52 – 1:35:58] Adam: A birch bark on the ground is just as good as a birch on the tree as far as its fire-starting possibilities are.
[1:35:58 – 1:35:59] Erik: Yeah.
[1:35:59 – 1:36:03] Erik: Birch on the ground is worth two in the pocket, two in the hoodie.
[1:36:04 – 1:36:06] Adam: Well, birch on the ground is worth three in the hood.
[1:36:07 – 1:36:07] Adam: Yeah.
[1:36:07 – 1:36:08] Adam: Yeah.
[1:36:08 – 1:36:09] Erik: And we’ve talked about this in the past.
[1:36:09 – 1:36:16] Erik: And if you’re really thinking about it and you want to be a true bondage waters connoisseur, pick that stuff up on portages when nobody else is thinking about it.
[1:36:16 – 1:36:17] Erik: Stuff it.
[1:36:17 – 1:36:19] Erik: It’s like portage mulch.
[1:36:19 – 1:36:27] Adam: I’ve seen both myself and Eric just get into a campsite and unload the hoodie pocket or whatever pocket you got in front of you of birch bark.
[1:36:28 – 1:36:28] Erik: Yeah.
[1:36:28 – 1:36:29] Adam: Where’d you get that?
[1:36:29 – 1:36:31] Adam: A couple of partridges ago.
[1:36:31 – 1:36:32] Adam: I seen a tree.
[1:36:32 – 1:36:32] Adam: Yeah.
[1:36:32 – 1:36:34] Adam: Looked like I had some.
[1:36:34 – 1:36:35] Adam: I walked over.
[1:36:35 – 1:36:35] Adam: Sure enough.
[1:36:36 – 1:36:38] Erik: And it’s just one of the- It weighs nothing.
[1:36:38 – 1:36:42] Erik: It’s a large aspect of why I appreciate the birch, but it’s a big part of it.
[1:36:43 – 1:36:47] Erik: But then just also, it’s just a- It’s iconic.
[1:36:47 – 1:36:48] Erik: It’s an iconic.
[1:36:49 – 1:36:50] Erik: It’s a healthy tree.
[1:36:51 – 1:37:00] Erik: There’s nothing about it that necessarily strikes me as outside of a couple of very specific times, a great burning wood in the Boundary Waters.
[1:37:01 – 1:37:07] Adam: Birch is considered a hardwood, but yeah, in the wild, it’s hard to find good, solid hunks of it.
[1:37:07 – 1:37:07] Erik: Never in the wild.
[1:37:07 – 1:37:13] Adam: But yeah, you can buy a truck full of good, dried birch while you’re set for the winter.
[1:37:13 – 1:37:14] Adam: That’s what we got this year.
[1:37:15 – 1:37:21] Adam: Usually, a fireman got a mix, and he’s like, I got a whole truck of birch loaded up right now.
[1:37:21 – 1:37:21] Adam: You want it?
[1:37:22 – 1:37:22] Adam: $275,000.
[1:37:23 – 1:37:31] Adam: Yeah, bring her over, you know, and we’re set, you know, because with what we had off the mild winter, plus the whole truck of that birch, we’re set.
[1:37:32 – 1:37:33] Adam: I mean, that’s a good burning wood.
[1:37:33 – 1:37:41] Adam: Everybody gives, like, the props to the maple and the ash as far as, like, the good hardwood, but that birch is solid.
[1:37:42 – 1:37:42] Adam: That’ll burn great.
[1:37:43 – 1:37:45] Erik: You can cut birch, like…
[1:37:46 – 1:38:03] Erik: in a winter have it like like have it like cut up and stacked in your shed in the spring yeah and you can be burning that in the fall oh yeah but like maple and ash it’s like takes a little more time probably a year at least birch is a very agreeable wood
[1:38:03 – 1:38:12] Erik: Yeah, especially if you stack birch ripe, you stack it bark on the bottom so it actually can breathe and dry out the top.
[1:38:12 – 1:38:15] Erik: You can definitely have burnable birch within six months.
[1:38:16 – 1:38:17] Erik: Yeah.
[1:38:17 – 1:38:21] Erik: And just generally a good-looking tree.
[1:38:21 – 1:38:22] Erik: Oh, it’s a butte.
[1:38:22 – 1:38:25] Erik: Except when they die, they kind of get a little bit of that weird, like…
[1:38:26 – 1:38:27] Adam: I don’t mind that, though.
[1:38:27 – 1:38:29] Adam: It’s kind of like a haunted tree thing.
[1:38:29 – 1:38:29] Adam: It does.
[1:38:30 – 1:38:31] Adam: I can appreciate that.
[1:38:31 – 1:38:40] Erik: The one thing that I do appreciate about the birch, not so much anymore because I don’t live and work at a property where I’m worried about trees collapsing on things, is the way that they come down.
[1:38:40 – 1:38:42] Erik: Like, birch trees don’t just, like, fall over.
[1:38:43 – 1:38:48] Erik: They slowly, like, rot from the top where, like, large sections of, like, six-foot chunks might come off.
[1:38:48 – 1:38:49] Adam: Right, right.
[1:38:49 – 1:38:54] Erik: But it’s not like a spruce tree where the whole thing will topple over and collapse a power line.
[1:38:54 – 1:38:56] Adam: It’s weird like that, yeah.
[1:38:57 – 1:38:59] Adam: As a living tree, if you cut it, it’s great firewood.
[1:38:59 – 1:39:02] Adam: But if you let it rot, it just sort of goes to heck.
[1:39:02 – 1:39:07] Erik: Well, and that’s what we talked about however many years ago in the campfire episode talking about wood.
[1:39:08 – 1:39:08] Erik: Yeah.
[1:39:08 – 1:39:13] Erik: How many times have you seen people trying to burn those- Those old hunks.
[1:39:13 – 1:39:17] Erik: 12-inch diameter chunks of- Yeah.
[1:39:17 – 1:39:21] Adam: The big old hunk of birch is like a classic bobbyman maneuver.
[1:39:21 – 1:39:21] SPEAKER_00: Bobbyman.
[1:39:21 – 1:39:21] Erik: Yeah.
[1:39:21 – 1:39:25] Erik: Anytime you go to a Boundary Waters campsite, you’re going to see that log of birch.
[1:39:25 – 1:39:29] Adam: Pushed off to the side, usually downhill from the fire pit.
[1:39:29 – 1:39:30] Erik: Huge scar that somebody tried burning.
[1:39:30 – 1:39:32] Adam: Who the hell tried to burn that?
[1:39:32 – 1:39:37] Erik: And it’s the same reason that the bark burns super well is because it’s packed with oils.
[1:39:37 – 1:39:37] Erik: Yeah.
[1:39:37 – 1:39:39] Erik: Is what holds the moisture in.
[1:39:39 – 1:39:44] Erik: And once it comes down and not dried properly is what rots it from the inside out.
[1:39:45 – 1:39:45] Erik: Yeah.
[1:39:45 – 1:39:55] Erik: The only time I’ve found really good birch in the boundary waters is in old burns where like a fire ripped through and scorched the bark off.
[1:39:55 – 1:40:01] Erik: And then there was just a bunch of these matchsticks standing up where it was just the birch wood.
[1:40:01 – 1:40:02] Erik: And that’s the good stuff.
[1:40:02 – 1:40:03] Erik: It was insane.
[1:40:04 – 1:40:15] Erik: Like some of the best firewood I’ve ever found in my life was over on Segal Lake after the Ham Lake, Cavity Lake fire, that whole like two, three year period going back out there.
[1:40:16 – 1:40:20] Erik: And I was like, yeah, these are just like perfectly kiln dried sticks.
[1:40:20 – 1:40:22] Erik: Like people would pay good money for this.
[1:40:23 – 1:40:26] Erik: And it’s just immediately available at the back of a campsite.
[1:40:26 – 1:40:27] Erik: I don’t know if that’s the case anymore.
[1:40:28 – 1:40:34] Erik: But probably one of like two or three occasions where I found burnable birch.
[1:40:35 – 1:40:39] Erik: So throwing out its burnability, it’s just one of those…
[1:40:41 – 1:40:44] Erik: Yeah, it’s the iconography of the tree.
[1:40:46 – 1:40:55] Adam: When the bud of the birch’s beer is the size of a mouse’s ear, the brook trout will be biting as good as they will in any year.
[1:40:56 – 1:40:58] Adam: There’s another poem for you.
[1:40:59 – 1:40:59] Adam: Yeah.
[1:40:59 – 1:41:01] Adam: Roberto Frosto.
[1:41:01 – 1:41:03] Adam: Roberto Frosto.
[1:41:03 – 1:41:07] Adam: All right, we’ll be back with a message after this next break.
[1:41:07 – 1:41:08] Erik: We have more messages?
[1:41:09 – 1:41:13] Adam: No, this is just the last break, and then we’re going to finish it out after this break.
[1:41:13 – 1:41:15] Erik: Well, we’re getting down to our last two.
[1:41:16 – 1:41:21] Erik: It’s boiling down to whether or not you have white pine at first or cedar at first.
[1:41:21 – 1:41:21] Erik: What?
[1:41:22 – 1:41:24] Erik: We haven’t even talked about willows.
[1:41:25 – 1:41:25] Erik: Are there willows?
[1:41:26 – 1:41:30] Erik: Number one, Weeping Willow, a suburb podcast.
[1:41:35 – 1:41:36] SPEAKER_00: Green plastic.
[1:41:59 – 1:42:03] Adam: A voice by a cedar tree in the meadow under the hall.
[1:42:04 – 1:42:06] Adam: She is singing an air that is known to me.
[1:42:07 – 1:42:09] Adam: A passionate ballad gallant and gay.
[1:42:09 – 1:42:12] Adam: A martial song like a trumpet’s call.
[1:42:12 – 1:42:14] Adam: Singing of men that in battle array.
[1:42:15 – 1:42:18] Adam: Ready in heart and ready in hand.
[1:42:18 – 1:42:24] Adam: March with banner and bugle and fife to the death for their native land.
[1:42:32 – 1:42:33] Erik: Down to two.
[1:42:33 – 1:42:36] Adam: Lord Tennyson would want it this way.
[1:42:37 – 1:42:37] Erik: He would.
[1:42:39 – 1:42:46] Adam: All right, so I named… No, whose pick is it?
[1:42:46 – 1:42:47] Erik: Well, I don’t know.
[1:42:47 – 1:42:49] Erik: I think it’s down to the last two.
[1:42:49 – 1:42:50] Erik: Two, one, both of us.
[1:42:51 – 1:42:51] Erik: Right.
[1:42:51 – 1:42:55] Erik: Because we both had Birch and Tamarack at three and four.
[1:42:56 – 1:42:58] Erik: And so now it’s down to the last two.
[1:42:58 – 1:43:04] Erik: And unless you’re an insane person, you have Cedar and White Pine, which…
[1:43:05 – 1:43:07] Adam: I have Cedar and White Pine as the top two.
[1:43:07 – 1:43:07] Adam: Yes.
[1:43:08 – 1:43:08] Erik: Did you go…
[1:43:10 – 1:43:11] Erik: Let’s say two at the same time.
[1:43:12 – 1:43:12] Erik: Okay.
[1:43:12 – 1:43:13] Erik: Three, two, one.
[1:43:13 – 1:43:13] Erik: White Pine.
[1:43:14 – 1:43:16] Erik: Ooh.
[1:43:16 – 1:43:17] Adam: No!
[1:43:18 – 1:43:19] Adam: I switched mine.
[1:43:20 – 1:43:26] Adam: Well, I switched them a couple days ago, but I had White Pine first, and then I had Cedar second.
[1:43:27 – 1:43:38] Adam: But I switched mine, but it was through a lot of thought and self-reflection, and then because of the story that our derelict attorney of the podcast told me,
[1:43:39 – 1:43:39] Erik: That’s right.
[1:43:39 – 1:43:40] Erik: You have a story.
[1:43:40 – 1:43:41] Adam: They pushed me over the edge.
[1:43:41 – 1:43:47] Adam: So would you like me to tell the story of the derelict attorney in the Cedar or would you like to save that until the end?
[1:43:49 – 1:43:51] Erik: I think it sounds like something that would be really great to go out on.
[1:43:51 – 1:43:53] Adam: Okay, so White Pine.
[1:43:53 – 1:43:54] Adam: Your number one.
[1:43:55 – 1:43:56] Erik: Let’s just talk about White Pine.
[1:43:56 – 1:43:58] Erik: It’s your number two, my number one.
[1:43:58 – 1:44:02] Adam: Well, it was my number one for almost the whole week, and then I switched it.
[1:44:03 – 1:44:05] Adam: Obviously, the iconic tree of the Boundary Waters.
[1:44:06 – 1:44:14] Adam: You picture any Sigurd Olsen novel cover, or you picture any trip that you can even think of that was memorable.
[1:44:15 – 1:44:17] Adam: You had a big White Pine, and…
[1:44:17 – 1:44:23] Adam: Honestly, the last time I was out a couple weeks ago, hung my hammock in a white pine.
[1:44:24 – 1:44:25] Adam: Can’t get away from them.
[1:44:25 – 1:44:25] Adam: Can’t get enough.
[1:44:25 – 1:44:26] Adam: White pine.
[1:44:26 – 1:44:27] Adam: I mean, they’re amazing.
[1:44:28 – 1:44:32] Adam: And it’s honestly the kind of tree you picture like a big owl sitting in that will give you knowledge.
[1:44:33 – 1:44:36] Adam: And that is as close to God as we will ever get.
[1:44:37 – 1:44:38] Adam: It’s the state tree.
[1:44:38 – 1:44:39] Adam: It is the state tree.
[1:44:40 – 1:45:00] Erik: yeah they’re huge and midwest sequoia it is and we love i love i know you do i know most people probably do there’s a reason that the the state and national parks exist in the west protecting them people love big trees and that’s the one thing i miss out on in the boundary waters
[1:45:01 – 1:45:22] Erik: i love like even just a few hours south you can go to northern wisconsin you get those big hemlocks and massive massive other forms of white pine and red pine they just grow them bigger down there so yeah i gotta take what i can get and i love the i love a big tree
[1:45:22 – 1:45:23] Erik: I just love a big tree.
[1:45:24 – 1:45:25] Erik: Let’s cut that.
[1:45:26 – 1:45:30] Erik: You could put that into, I don’t even know where I’m not.
[1:45:30 – 1:45:31] Erik: I’m not against it.
[1:45:31 – 1:45:32] Erik: I think it’s an amazing thing.
[1:45:32 – 1:45:36] Erik: And I think everybody, if you think hard enough and long enough, you also do too.
[1:45:36 – 1:45:37] Erik: Yeah.
[1:45:37 – 1:45:40] Adam: Bigger, bigger, the better when it comes to trees, right?
[1:45:40 – 1:45:41] Erik: Yeah.
[1:45:41 – 1:45:49] Erik: There is again, something about it that I don’t know if it’s just because it’s big, but it, it causes you to think a little bit more.
[1:45:50 – 1:45:52] Erik: Then if it was just a, yeah, look at that.
[1:45:53 – 1:45:55] Erik: That’s a pretty birch because it’s symmetrical.
[1:45:55 – 1:45:56] Erik: It’s got the nice coloring.
[1:45:56 – 1:45:57] Erik: But I’m still.
[1:45:57 – 1:46:03] Adam: There’s no poem that can capture what a white pine is about when it takes three people to hug it.
[1:46:03 – 1:46:03] Erik: Yeah.
[1:46:04 – 1:46:05] Erik: It’s like, I’m about as old as that birch.
[1:46:06 – 1:46:06] Erik: Cool.
[1:46:06 – 1:46:07] Erik: Yeah.
[1:46:07 – 1:46:13] Erik: But then you see some of those white pines and it’s like, that thing’s 10 times older than I am.
[1:46:14 – 1:46:14] Erik: Yeah.
[1:46:14 – 1:46:16] Erik: And just that aspect of it.
[1:46:18 – 1:46:24] Adam: Some of the branches on a pine, like a big white pine, are bigger than most of the trees you ever see up close.
[1:46:24 – 1:46:25] Adam: Yeah.
[1:46:25 – 1:46:27] Erik: And they’re way up there.
[1:46:27 – 1:46:29] Erik: Especially those low to mid branches.
[1:46:30 – 1:46:34] Erik: A white pine is, again, we’ve talked about how unique a lot of these trees are, but…
[1:46:35 – 1:46:59] Erik: the the way that branches on white pines grow is they get like they’re almost like the branches are taller like towards the top and or like middle than they are at the bottom usually you get like the classic triangle christmas tree growth right but white pines have these like branches in the middle that are still like straining harder than and that might where are they going where are those branches going
[1:46:59 – 1:47:03] Erik: They’re so crazy and long and so dynamic.
[1:47:03 – 1:47:16] Adam: Yeah, like a whitebine has a mind of its own like that, where it’s just like, I’m going to send this branch out, like two tree lengths over to the left towards the western sky, and we’ll see what happens.
[1:47:17 – 1:47:20] Adam: Sometimes they fall off, and sometimes you’re just looking at that branch.
[1:47:20 – 1:47:22] Erik: You’re like, how is that thing still hanging there?
[1:47:23 – 1:47:24] Erik: It’s this big around.
[1:47:25 – 1:47:27] Erik: Anybody listening, my hands are doing this.
[1:47:28 – 1:47:28] Erik: As big as a canoe.
[1:47:30 – 1:47:56] Adam: it’s literally got the tumble home of them in too yeah it’s a branch that’s 100 feet up yeah no it’s i mean got that land you know and i was like this is a pretty good deal we got this land and then like a week after we bought it we found a couple of these pine trees on it that were like double huggers you know and you’re like jesus lord yeah that’s a big tree how big is it how big is it going to be in 50 years you know like that’s a a national treasure
[1:47:57 – 1:48:06] Erik: One of the things that I do miss, not the most, but one of the things I miss is just that big ass tree that was in front of Clearwater Lodge.
[1:48:06 – 1:48:08] Erik: That was one of the biggest white pines.
[1:48:09 – 1:48:12] Adam: That one’s a true monster.
[1:48:12 – 1:48:17] Erik: It’s a monster that is sitting like six feet away from that lodge.
[1:48:18 – 1:48:32] Erik: And I know that those things don’t really blow over very often, but it’s always been one of those things where I was like, and it’s, again, it’s got one of those limbs that’s coming off at like a hard U slash Y where it’s like, that thing is as big around as a canoe.
[1:48:32 – 1:48:34] Erik: How is it supporting that right now?
[1:48:34 – 1:48:35] Adam: It’s crazy.
[1:48:35 – 1:48:38] Adam: You know, what is one of those things way in total?
[1:48:38 – 1:48:45] Erik: They’re really, especially at a certain age, like it’s probably still between 50 and 100 year old.
[1:48:45 – 1:48:45] Erik: Yeah.
[1:48:46 – 1:48:48] Erik: They’re like the best tree climbing trees too.
[1:48:49 – 1:48:53] Erik: I remember in Wisconsin going to like cabins growing up.
[1:48:53 – 1:48:53] Erik: Yeah.
[1:48:54 – 1:48:57] Erik: There were like these like medium adolescent white pines.
[1:48:58 – 1:48:58] Erik: Yeah.
[1:48:58 – 1:49:03] Erik: And they just perfect like every four feet hand grab and those limbs are just so solid.
[1:49:04 – 1:49:06] Erik: Those are like the best tree climbing trees at the right age.
[1:49:07 – 1:49:17] Adam: Not that that has anything to do with the boundary waters, but… One of my favorite individual trees in the entire world is on the portage from Clearwater to Mountain.
[1:49:17 – 1:49:23] Adam: There’s a big white pine on the left side of the portage when you’re going to Mountain, up the hill still.
[1:49:24 – 1:49:26] Adam: First 30 rods of the portage.
[1:49:26 – 1:49:30] Adam: But it also has a red pine growing out of the same root branch.
[1:49:30 – 1:49:54] Adam: ball or whatever that big double you know what i’m talking about oh yeah i every time i walk by it i’m like this would be the perfect example if anybody wanted to know the difference between a white yeah there’s a little exhibit here like a red pine and uh this is the their uh friendship you know there should be a show about these two you know i can’t help myself both ways like i’m coming or going on that portage i have to touch those trees yeah
[1:49:55 – 1:50:01] Adam: Does anybody else do this on a portage when you see a big, nice tree and you just like touch out, you just like reach out and touch it?
[1:50:02 – 1:50:03] Erik: Yeah, reach out and touch the tree.
[1:50:03 – 1:50:05] Adam: It’s not so much as a touching.
[1:50:05 – 1:50:08] Adam: It’s more of like a friendly hello to the tree.
[1:50:08 – 1:50:11] Adam: Like I can’t just like say hello to a tree mentally.
[1:50:11 – 1:50:15] Adam: I have to also touch the tree and then like telekinesis.
[1:50:15 – 1:50:16] Adam: Hello, friend.
[1:50:17 – 1:50:17] Erik: Yeah.
[1:50:17 – 1:50:18] Adam: Does anybody else do this?
[1:50:19 – 1:50:19] Erik: I would hope so.
[1:50:19 – 1:50:21] Adam: When you see a really nice tree.
[1:50:23 – 1:50:23] Adam: I do.
[1:50:23 – 1:50:25] Adam: I do all the time on a portage.
[1:50:25 – 1:50:28] Adam: I think it’s one of the best parts about being in the park.
[1:50:28 – 1:50:31] Erik: Well, it’s also the best part about double portaging.
[1:50:31 – 1:50:31] Erik: Yeah.
[1:50:31 – 1:50:38] Erik: A lot of times if I’m under a canoe or a big pack, I’m not like, yeah, I’m noticing it, but I don’t notice it.
[1:50:38 – 1:50:41] Erik: You know, you see it and then you’re just like under the strain.
[1:50:41 – 1:50:41] Erik: You keep going.
[1:50:41 – 1:50:43] Adam: You can always reach out and like give a hello.
[1:50:44 – 1:50:48] Adam: But yeah, if you’re coming back, you can really like embrace a big tree.
[1:50:48 – 1:50:52] Erik: Yeah, or just like, I remember the trip we took last year where you were noticing things.
[1:50:52 – 1:50:55] Erik: You’re like, hey, did you see that crazy like rock or whatever?
[1:50:55 – 1:50:56] Erik: And you’re like, no.
[1:50:56 – 1:50:59] Erik: But then you stop and you get the opportunity to take more time.
[1:50:59 – 1:51:00] Erik: Yeah.
[1:51:00 – 1:51:04] Erik: And specifically with trees, most of the time it just goes by as being noted.
[1:51:05 – 1:51:10] Erik: But then if you get to double portage on that backtrack, that’s when a hug might occur.
[1:51:11 – 1:51:13] Adam: Yeah, or maybe a recitation of a poem.
[1:51:14 – 1:51:15] Erik: Recitation.
[1:51:15 – 1:51:16] Erik: And there are so many like,
[1:51:18 – 1:51:44] Erik: campsites that we mentioned before that are a canopy a small like a small city of the same aged red pines yeah those are nice and they make for really nice campsites yeah but we’re almost always looking for that site that’s got the one sentinel white pine in it sentinel that’s a wonderful term
[1:51:45 – 1:51:57] Erik: covers the whole site like it takes like 12 to 20 red pines to do the same thing that one just statue of a white pine produces in terms of like creating that campsite vibe
[1:51:58 – 1:52:04] Adam: Yeah, when you get a white pine big enough where you need a friend to hang your hammock strap around it.
[1:52:04 – 1:52:05] Adam: Yeah.
[1:52:06 – 1:52:07] Erik: I might need two people.
[1:52:07 – 1:52:11] Erik: I’ve been at some sites where you can’t even get the strap around.
[1:52:11 – 1:52:12] Adam: Throw the strap around?
[1:52:12 – 1:52:13] Adam: Or throw it around, yeah.
[1:52:14 – 1:52:19] Adam: On that island camp, I had to literally get Josh over here like, hey, help me out.
[1:52:19 – 1:52:20] Adam: I got to get this strap around.
[1:52:21 – 1:52:24] Adam: It was like an easy double hugger of a tree.
[1:52:24 – 1:52:25] Adam: How old is that tree?
[1:52:27 – 1:52:36] Adam: I think the part of these big trees and especially the cedar too, which we’ll get to, is the age these things can get to.
[1:52:37 – 1:52:42] Adam: It’s amongst the oldest living organisms you can find in nature.
[1:52:43 – 1:52:45] Adam: You can easily get to.
[1:52:45 – 1:52:51] Erik: Yeah, I would say along those lines of like what you want to define as something that’s truly living.
[1:52:51 – 1:52:56] Erik: I feel like you get to like some underwater stuff and some microscopic stuff.
[1:52:56 – 1:52:57] Erik: Yeah, sure.
[1:52:57 – 1:53:00] Erik: You can get a little esoteric and in the weeds and like how old something is.
[1:53:00 – 1:53:01] Erik: But I get what you’re saying.
[1:53:01 – 1:53:06] Erik: Like something that is truly alive and has like a recognizable birth and death.
[1:53:06 – 1:53:12] Adam: As long as it just, yeah, like the thing I’m looking for is something that has this ancient wisdom to it.
[1:53:12 – 1:53:12] Adam: Yeah.
[1:53:12 – 1:53:22] Adam: That I don’t think I have the ears to hear it, but I’m trying to feel that wisdom.
[1:53:22 – 1:53:24] Adam: You know, like these old things…
[1:53:25 – 1:53:32] Adam: We’ll never be able to fully understand, but there is like an ancient wisdom when you’re in the presence of one of these big white pines.
[1:53:32 – 1:53:33] Adam: Yeah, and I think… What have you seen?
[1:53:34 – 1:53:35] Adam: What can you tell us about…
[1:53:35 – 1:53:43] Adam: They can’t tell us anything, but you can just, in your appreciation and being in their presence, can feel that, I would say.
[1:53:44 – 1:53:45] Erik: No, I totally agree.
[1:53:45 – 1:53:55] Erik: I think I look at it a little differently, but I, it comes from the same place and it just puts my life in more of a perspective of like, where were you a hundred years ago?
[1:53:55 – 1:53:57] Erik: Where am I going to be in a hundred years?
[1:53:58 – 1:53:58] Erik: You know?
[1:53:59 – 1:54:01] Erik: And then like also taking that and looking at other trees.
[1:54:02 – 1:54:06] Adam: It’s crazy just watching the trees around the yard year by year.
[1:54:06 – 1:54:08] Adam: And then you see these trees you come upon in the park.
[1:54:09 – 1:54:10] Adam: They’re that big?
[1:54:10 – 1:54:16] Adam: What kind of stories can they tell, more importantly?
[1:54:17 – 1:54:18] Erik: Sure.
[1:54:18 – 1:54:19] Erik: Yeah.
[1:54:19 – 1:54:24] Erik: I think that’s probably why the two trees, outside of just their aesthetic characteristics,
[1:54:26 – 1:54:32] Erik: The aesthetics of the white pine are basically all it’s got going for it.
[1:54:32 – 1:54:43] Erik: The one thing with the cedar is it does have that very resonant smell and connection to burning the wood itself.
[1:54:44 – 1:54:48] Adam: The completion of the ceremony and the relationship we all have with wood.
[1:54:49 – 1:55:09] Adam: yeah and i feel like i could see like that’s why i think it’s probably about as much of a toss-up that’s what pushed it into the front for me was eventually for one i think that i’ve probably seen a cedar tree older than any like a natural occurring cedar tree much older than any white pine i’ve found
[1:55:09 – 1:55:10] Erik: Probably.
[1:55:10 – 1:55:13] Erik: There’s probably older cedars that are standing out in the boundaries right now than this country.
[1:55:13 – 1:55:15] Adam: Because they’re kind of witchy like that.
[1:55:15 – 1:55:18] Adam: I don’t know if that’s a good term to use.
[1:55:19 – 1:55:21] Adam: Apologies if anybody was offended by that.
[1:55:21 – 1:55:26] Erik: But they are like these old and crazy trees.
[1:55:26 – 1:55:29] Adam: They look like they’re grown out of a rock.
[1:55:29 – 1:55:54] Adam: and they they might only be as tall as me but they might be a thousand years old and that’s no joke yeah these are the kinds of trees that can grow to be truly ancient and i love ancient stuff i don’t think that the witchy factor or the word that you use was necessarily i don’t think so either but i just i i can see you know anyways it’s an argument versus uh yeah width versus height
[1:55:56 – 1:56:00] Adam: Yeah, I mean, and I like the way that they can grow in the spiral.
[1:56:00 – 1:56:04] Adam: I guess that was the main thing that put it over the top for me because I was in neck and neck.
[1:56:04 – 1:56:05] Adam: Like, I love white pine.
[1:56:06 – 1:56:10] Adam: I love that they’re so much bigger than any tree you can get up here.
[1:56:10 – 1:56:15] Erik: Do you think I can get by with replacing the propane canister on this on Mike?
[1:56:15 – 1:56:16] Erik: I think so.
[1:56:16 – 1:56:17] Erik: All right.
[1:56:17 – 1:56:18] SPEAKER_00: It’s getting cold in here.
[1:56:18 – 1:56:19] Adam: Yeah, and then…
[1:56:21 – 1:56:24] Adam: But cedar are big in a different way.
[1:56:25 – 1:56:32] Adam: And it’s that sometimes you find that one on the side of a boardage that is maybe a one-hugger, as we say, on a tree.
[1:56:32 – 1:56:35] Adam: But it’s in that spiral form, and it’s kind of in a valley.
[1:56:37 – 1:56:46] Adam: And that tree is almost certainly much, much older than any white pine any of us will ever see in our lifetime.
[1:56:47 – 1:56:47] Erik: Yeah, I mean, I guess I would.
[1:56:47 – 1:56:52] Adam: There is said to be a tree on Gunflint Lake cedar that is 400 years old.
[1:56:52 – 1:56:53] Adam: I don’t know how you test that.
[1:56:53 – 1:56:55] Adam: Maybe a core sample or something.
[1:56:55 – 1:57:04] Erik: Yeah, that’s the one portion of the Gunflint Burning book that I left out when I did the book report.
[1:57:05 – 1:57:08] Erik: Every third chapter was about this crew that was out on Seagull.
[1:57:10 – 1:57:12] Erik: I forget his name.
[1:57:12 – 1:57:15] Erik: He basically wrote the ecosystem of the Boundary Waters book.
[1:57:17 – 1:57:20] Erik: Myron Henselman, I think.
[1:57:21 – 1:57:30] Erik: And he was out there showing some National Geographic guys and a photographer his oldest recorded known cedar tree on Seagull.
[1:57:31 – 1:57:34] Erik: And it was, yeah, it was like between 300 and 400 years old.
[1:57:36 – 1:57:48] Erik: And then the fire came through and the whole time they were trapped at this campsite adjacent to this ancient tree, wondering if they were going to be sitting there watching this fire come through and burn it to the ground.
[1:57:48 – 1:57:50] Erik: Like kind of a crazy aspect of it.
[1:57:50 – 1:57:56] Erik: But yeah, I guarantee like in terms of age, I’ll give it to the Cedars.
[1:57:56 – 1:58:05] Erik: And I do like the adaptation and where you, like you said, where they grow from and where you find them, like making a way.
[1:58:06 – 1:58:09] Erik: No white pine would really ever be able to do that.
[1:58:09 – 1:58:11] Erik: They need pretty specific aspects.
[1:58:12 – 1:58:24] Adam: I like the shot of you see a white cedar, but any cedar could do this, where it’s been blown down on the shoreline.
[1:58:25 – 1:58:30] Adam: But then you see the branches are just coming up from the base of the olden tree.
[1:58:30 – 1:58:30] Adam: Yeah.
[1:58:31 – 1:58:54] Adam: like the roots are still dug into the rock somewhere and they they’re just like unperturbed by the whole thing like uh temporary setback we’re gonna keep going but i mean really when it all comes down to it uh it’s not you know it’s clearly for these for me these two trees you know and that’s the picture of the boundary waters in my mind
[1:58:54 – 1:59:23] Adam: yeah but it’s the it’s the fire of the at the end of the night you know i don’t burn a lot of white pine no i love to burn cedar and if you find like an old log uh dried you know no skin on it cedar laying on the shoreline sun bleached spiral cedar and you split that or you get the full like hollowed out cedar log put that up there and make the little like wood tornado yeah
[1:59:25 – 1:59:33] Adam: Boy, like, at the end of the night, honestly, nothing beats a good cedar fire and the smell of a split cedar log.
[1:59:33 – 1:59:36] Adam: And I guess that’s where I ended up breaking the tie.
[1:59:36 – 1:59:39] Adam: I was like, it’s the full circle of wood in the Boundary Waters.
[1:59:39 – 1:59:50] Adam: I want to appreciate the tree and its life and also appreciate the tree as a form to warm myself around the fire or cook my meal at the end of the day.
[1:59:50 – 1:59:53] Adam: I’m really sounding like I’m on NPR now, but…
[1:59:54 – 2:00:21] Adam: um there is something there is a like something to that like that cycle of everything and that like really for me the the cedar is everything that like everything i mean that eric it’s everything about the the entire park that you want is to both find a campsite with good cedar in it to hang your hammock from yeah but then also to have that be your your source or your fire that night you know and
[2:00:22 – 2:00:27] Erik: Yeah, there is no other wood that gives me a better feeling than burning cedar.
[2:00:28 – 2:00:41] Erik: And like you’ve suggested, it does sometimes feel like, again, not to sound like we’re on NPR or of the kind, but it seems like they’re almost releasing that tree from…
[2:00:43 – 2:00:47] Erik: it’s plight on the shore or just laying in the woods.
[2:00:47 – 2:00:50] Erik: It almost feels like you’re kind of finally bringing an end.
[2:00:50 – 2:00:53] Adam: Remember that log on, remember that log on Mickery?
[2:00:54 – 2:01:01] Adam: They’re like, it was like a hollowed out cedar chimney log that we had on Mickery on that big trip.
[2:01:01 – 2:01:05] Adam: And that was, it was like, to me, the best cedar I’ve ever seen burnt.
[2:01:05 – 2:01:06] Adam: Yeah.
[2:01:06 – 2:01:09] Adam: The, it was just the apogee of cedar.
[2:01:10 – 2:01:14] Erik: Yeah, and, like, you’re almost taking it out of, like, a tree purgatory.
[2:01:14 – 2:01:18] Erik: You’re like, yeah, I’m dead, but I’m, like, still here.
[2:01:18 – 2:01:19] Erik: Yeah.
[2:01:19 – 2:01:21] Erik: But then finally burn a tree.
[2:01:22 – 2:01:30] Erik: Yeah, it’s like that, again, like, again, with the age of it, the also, like, changing its form.
[2:01:30 – 2:01:31] Erik: Yeah, you turn it to smoke.
[2:01:32 – 2:01:34] Adam: It just goes into the atmosphere.
[2:01:34 – 2:01:36] Adam: Where does that smoke ever end up?
[2:01:37 – 2:01:37] Adam: Golly.
[2:01:37 – 2:01:37] Adam: Yeah.
[2:01:37 – 2:01:38] Erik: I don’t know.
[2:01:38 – 2:01:43] Erik: It gets breathed into the lungs of an eagle and then the eagle poops and that grows another tree.
[2:01:44 – 2:01:44] Erik: Wow.
[2:01:45 – 2:01:46] Adam: Amazing.
[2:01:47 – 2:01:47] Adam: All right.
[2:01:47 – 2:01:50] Adam: So I was talking with our derelict attorney.
[2:01:51 – 2:01:52] Erik: Oh, there’s still a story.
[2:01:52 – 2:01:52] Erik: That’s right.
[2:01:52 – 2:01:53] Adam: Yeah.
[2:01:53 – 2:01:55] Adam: Our attorney is a bit of a derelict.
[2:01:56 – 2:02:00] Adam: We’ve mentioned and had our attorney on the show before.
[2:02:01 – 2:02:05] Adam: You know, when you’re a big time independent podcast like this, you have to have an attorney.
[2:02:05 – 2:02:07] Adam: You got to protect yourself from the law.
[2:02:09 – 2:02:11] Adam: And it’s smart to have one on retainer.
[2:02:11 – 2:02:12] Adam: This guy is a friend of the show.
[2:02:13 – 2:02:13] Adam: Good guy.
[2:02:14 – 2:02:20] Adam: You know, like I said, bit of a derelict, but he’s getting his act together.
[2:02:20 – 2:02:24] Adam: You are not telling any story right now.
[2:02:24 – 2:02:26] Erik: Are you trying to remember it while talking?
[2:02:26 – 2:02:29] Adam: No, I’m just a storyteller, Eric.
[2:02:29 – 2:02:30] Erik: Okay, tell the story.
[2:02:30 – 2:02:35] Adam: All right, so he’s on a superior hiking trail trip, he says.
[2:02:36 – 2:02:39] Adam: For one, I think I already said this, but rejoined her.
[2:02:41 – 2:02:43] Adam: I was like, are you okay with me telling this story on the show?
[2:02:43 – 2:02:45] Adam: He said, yeah, sure, tell away.
[2:02:45 – 2:02:46] Adam: Okay.
[2:02:46 – 2:02:52] Adam: For a low, low fee of $1,000 an hour, which at this point, we’re screwed.
[2:02:52 – 2:02:53] Adam: Hurry it up, then.
[2:02:54 – 2:02:57] Adam: So he’s on a hiking trip on the Superior Hiking Trail.
[2:02:57 – 2:03:05] Adam: He sets his hammock up in a big spruce tree in the middle of camp that looks like everybody else has ever been camped there has set their hammock in.
[2:03:06 – 2:03:08] Adam: He’s like, it’s real windy.
[2:03:08 – 2:03:10] Adam: He’s like, I didn’t feel good about it.
[2:03:10 – 2:03:12] Adam: I had a bad gut feeling about this the whole way.
[2:03:12 – 2:03:21] Adam: He’s like, in the last sliver of daylight, he takes his hammock out of this tree, and he goes to look like, I got to find a better spot to set.
[2:03:21 – 2:03:22] Adam: This is something wrong.
[2:03:23 – 2:03:26] Adam: He couldn’t tell what, because the spruce tree seemed fine.
[2:03:28 – 2:03:28] Adam: Cedar?
[2:03:29 – 2:03:31] Adam: No, he had originally set in the spruce.
[2:03:31 – 2:03:33] Erik: Oh, it was originally a spruce.
[2:03:33 – 2:03:35] Adam: So he takes his hammock out at dark.
[2:03:35 – 2:03:37] Adam: The old rare reset.
[2:03:37 – 2:03:38] Erik: That’s pretty rare.
[2:03:38 – 2:03:43] Adam: And he hikes out of the campsite, out of the back of the campsite, down the hill.
[2:03:43 – 2:03:45] Adam: Oh, he took both sides off.
[2:03:45 – 2:03:47] Adam: He finds a nice little grove of cedar.
[2:03:48 – 2:03:50] Adam: And he’s like, this looks better.
[2:03:50 – 2:03:52] Adam: He sets up in the cedar.
[2:03:54 – 2:03:58] Adam: has a very nice night of sleep despite the insane winds.
[2:03:58 – 2:03:59] Adam: He wakes up in the morning.
[2:03:59 – 2:04:04] Adam: The spruce tree up on the top of the hill that he was originally sitting in is, like, down completely.
[2:04:04 – 2:04:10] Adam: He said it was, I believe the term was completely broken off at the base.
[2:04:10 – 2:04:17] Adam: He said, had I been hanging in that tree, he said, I would surely be dead.
[2:04:18 – 2:04:18] Erik: Wow.
[2:04:18 – 2:04:20] Erik: Not just a destruction of the hammock.
[2:04:21 – 2:04:21] Adam: Yeah, of the person.
[2:04:21 – 2:04:23] Erik: It came down where he was sleeping?
[2:04:23 – 2:04:24] Adam: Exactly.
[2:04:25 – 2:04:29] Adam: He said, yeah, had I been hanging there, I would not be talking to you right now.
[2:04:30 – 2:04:35] Adam: He said, I would love to give the credit to my intuition.
[2:04:35 – 2:04:42] Adam: He totally felt like something was wrong, but he ultimately said he felt like the cedar saved his life.
[2:04:43 – 2:04:47] Adam: He felt like the cedar had called him down out of that situation.
[2:04:47 – 2:04:48] Adam: Wow.
[2:04:48 – 2:04:50] Adam: Ever since then, this is when he was a young man.
[2:04:51 – 2:04:53] Adam: He said, now I’m making this up.
[2:04:53 – 2:04:57] Erik: He said it called me into the field of law and I wanted to help other people.
[2:04:58 – 2:04:59] Adam: No, I just made that up.
[2:04:59 – 2:05:00] Adam: But he is a good guy.
[2:05:01 – 2:05:03] Adam: And even though he’s a derelict, he’s a pretty good attorney.
[2:05:03 – 2:05:06] Adam: He’s kept us out of hot water on several occasions.
[2:05:07 – 2:05:09] Adam: And thank you for the short.
[2:05:09 – 2:05:10] Adam: Thank you for the story.
[2:05:11 – 2:05:13] Adam: Yeah, so a cedar saved his life.
[2:05:13 – 2:05:15] Adam: I was like, all right, I’m going to tell that story for sure.
[2:05:17 – 2:05:26] Adam: But I’ve never had that kind of thing happen to me, but I tell you what, I always feel a lot better if my hammock is strung to a cedar.
[2:05:26 – 2:05:27] Erik: Yeah.
[2:05:27 – 2:05:30] Adam: Obviously, our derelict attorney feels the same.
[2:05:30 – 2:05:31] Erik: He may have convinced me.
[2:05:31 – 2:05:32] Erik: I don’t know.
[2:05:32 – 2:05:40] Erik: I still think I’m on the fence, but I don’t think anybody could criticize us for taking either of those two trees as number one.
[2:05:40 – 2:05:41] Adam: No, I feel like it’s fair.
[2:05:42 – 2:05:42] Adam: All right.
[2:05:42 – 2:05:44] Adam: Well, I think that settles it.
[2:05:44 – 2:05:46] Adam: It’s a tie for top.
[2:05:46 – 2:05:47] Adam: It’s a tie.
[2:05:47 – 2:05:48] Adam: It’s a tie at the top.
[2:05:48 – 2:05:49] Adam: Cedars and white pines.
[2:05:51 – 2:05:58] Adam: Nothing in this world can put you in the mindset of a Boundary Waters campsite than a cedar or a white pine.
[2:05:59 – 2:06:02] Adam: And so with that, we will call it a night, I think.
[2:06:02 – 2:06:03] Erik: We have to.
[2:06:03 – 2:06:04] Erik: We’re over two hours, my friend.
[2:06:04 – 2:06:04] Erik: What?
[2:06:05 – 2:06:05] Erik: Yeah.
[2:06:05 – 2:06:06] Adam: We have to split this up.
[2:06:07 – 2:06:08] Erik: It’s not possible now.
[2:06:08 – 2:06:10] Erik: There’s too many poems.
[2:06:11 – 2:06:12] Adam: Yeah, it wouldn’t make sense.
[2:06:12 – 2:06:13] Adam: All right.
[2:06:15 – 2:06:19] Adam: Yeah, cue the radio head, and we’re going to have to get out of here.
[2:06:20 – 2:06:21] Adam: Thank you for listening.
[2:06:21 – 2:06:22] Erik: I’m playing you off.
[2:06:23 – 2:06:25] Adam: Yeah, get that little cane out.
[2:06:26 – 2:06:27] Adam: The little hook cane.
[2:06:27 – 2:06:29] Adam: Scoot them out of here.
[2:06:29 – 2:06:30] Adam: Thanks for listening, everyone.
[2:06:31 – 2:06:35] Adam: Thank you, everyone, on Patreon for keeping this a proud independent podcast.
[2:06:36 – 2:06:37] Adam: We love you very much.
[2:06:38 – 2:06:39] Adam: Coming to you live from the tumble shed.
[2:06:39 – 2:06:40] Adam: Good night.
[2:06:41 – 2:06:45] Adam: Every tree is precious and life is a miracle.
[2:07:10 – 2:07:21] SPEAKER_00: The words of love The words of love The words of love The words of love The words of love
[2:07:40 – 2:07:40] Adam: Tennyson.
[2:07:42 – 2:07:43] Adam: That’s classic Tennyson.
[2:08:43 – 2:08:45] Erik: If that one doesn’t get us copyrighted, I don’t know what will.