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Kathryn Edwards's avatar

Caro, you are FUNNY this morning!

Kx

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Philip Harris's avatar

Some journey... great reading.

I can imagine a chalk country with more Winterbournes, but heaven help us not Winchester! (I took and looked via your link.) A long time ago I slept in the noisy watermill... it was a hostel for youngsters and kids like me and brother on bicycles. Alfred retained the abandoned Roman street-grid and rebuilt the defences, with the river along the southern flank. In my time, briefly, there was small remnant mediaeval slum, a disgrace at the gates of the Cathedral precinct, the Church being the landlords if I remember. But the river ran clean and graceful on the other side.

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Stan Vitton's avatar

Your slimmer larches, with branches pointed upward as well, are also used to support a vast amount of Venice, Italy. Imagine a nearly straight Larch being cut down, its branches trimmed, and then driven into the ground, surrounded by saltwater. It's amazing, with a near-vertical shape now, pointing downward into the earth, and holding up a beautiful city for an amazingly long time.

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Caroline Ross's avatar

So good to learn this, thank you!

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Stan Vitton's avatar

I should have noted that the Larches are driven into the ground with the top pointed downward. The tree bottoms are then used to support the foundations of buildings. It is a common tree used as "piles" to support foundations and was extensively used by the Romans, as well as many other folks.

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The Subtle Seamstress's avatar

Thank you Caro

I too allowed thoughts of gratitude to be spoken aloud today

At first I thought it was into an empty space

Then a resonance reverberated

Alive with Grace

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