Althouse: In the estivant pines.

August 1, 2023

In the estivant pines.

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The Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary is in Copper Harbor, Michigan. They've determined that one of the pines germinated in 1695 (after a fire).

Is "estivant" an English word? I'm only seeing it as a French word (meaning "summer vacationer").

21 comments:

Jaq said...: The bond rating of the United States of America just dropped from AAA to AA, absent any budget brinksmanship, just based on the fundamentals. Not only is Joe Biden hopelessly corrupt, but he is a lousy president. He has destroyed all faith in the institutions of our government.; 8/1/23, 5:28 PM
R C Belaire said...: There are two locales in Michigan with more/less virgin timber: Estivant Pines in the UP and Hartwick Pines state park near Grayling in the lower peninsula.; 8/1/23, 5:30 PM
Narr said...: The closest word in my OED is a variant of Aestivate; used among other things for the torpor of animals in the summer.

Ah! The interwebs tell me that it was named for one Edward or Eduard Estivant.

Naturellement.; 8/1/23, 5:32 PM
Eva Marie said...: The Disappearance: a scary story in 4 pictures; 8/1/23, 5:34 PM
Original Mike said...: Oh, I've cross country skied there. Big, old white pines.; 8/1/23, 5:50 PM
Narr said...: A rare glimpse of the elusive Bluecapped Emerita, and a nice color match with the marked tree on the left.; 8/1/23, 6:04 PM
mezzrow said...: "look out for that tree!"; 8/1/23, 6:12 PM
lonejustice said...: She is the white haired forest nymph, but I am forbidden by promise not to reveal her identity.; 8/1/23, 6:17 PM
Mikey NTH said...: Hartwick Pines state park in the lower peninsula near Grayling has some first stand white pines that were not cut down in Michigan's lumber days.; 8/1/23, 6:32 PM
Gospace said...: It is a well known and verified fact that VP Biden knowingly swam naked in front of female secret service agents assigned to guard him.

So a question for all you Trump haters out there:

Would you have supported the impeachment and remove from office of President Donald John Trump if he had swum naked in front of female Secret Service agents?

Don't know why I'm asking- we all already know the answer.; 8/1/23, 7:03 PM
Big Mike said...: For the record, that outfit does not make you look fat.; 8/1/23, 7:38 PM
gilbar said...: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/estivate
zoology : to pass the summer in a state of torpor or dormancy; 8/1/23, 8:20 PM
gilbar said...: which is a weird thing for pine trees to do!; 8/1/23, 8:20 PM
Tofu King said...: In the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines, I will shiver the whole night through.; 8/1/23, 10:12 PM
Jamie said...: Blog boss, your hair is incredible. I want my gray to be as awesome as that, instead of the mouse color that it is, according to my roots - which leads me to keep dyeing it back to its original color, dang it.

Maybe one day...; 8/1/23, 10:33 PM
Tina Trent said...: Those Nordic walking poles are great.; 8/2/23, 6:02 AM
jaydub said...: Meade's hair has gotten really long.; 8/2/23, 6:14 AM
Rusty said...: Mikey NTH said...
"Hartwick Pines state park in the lower peninsula near Grayling has some first stand white pines that were not cut down in Michigan's lumber days."
Little known fact. It was logging that destroyed the Passenger Pigeon.

Big Mike said...
For the record, that outfit does not make you look fat.
Dude. You are literaly playing with a loaded gun. Don't make eye contact. Back away slowly.; 8/2/23, 8:48 AM
Original Mike said...: "There are two locales in Michigan with more/less virgin timber: Estivant Pines in the UP and Hartwick Pines state park near Grayling in the lower peninsula."

Also Sylvania.; 8/2/23, 9:25 AM
Josephbleau said...: "Little known fact. It was logging that destroyed the Passenger Pigeon."

Passenger Pigeons were also heavily hunted for cheap food in the 19th Century.; 8/2/23, 10:59 AM
Rusty said...: Josephbleau said...
"Little known fact. It was logging that destroyed the Passenger Pigeon."

"Passenger Pigeons were also heavily hunted for cheap food in the 19th Century."
Not really an issue. A lot of birds were hunted heavily and survived. The other species of bird that was nearly exterpated by farming was the praire chicken.
A study was done on the population of mourning doves. The study concluded that fully half the population of n. American mourning doves are hunted each year. We still have mourning doves. Passenger pigeons nested in old growth pine trees and had one, rarely two, chicks. In the winter they flocked south and fed on the mast from old growth American Chestnut trees. Their preferred food. At the time they were being "hunted to extinction" The old growth northern pine forests were being cut down. At the same time the American Chestnuts were experiencing a blight and were also being cut down.; 8/2/23, 2:43 PM