John Matel's Memorial Blog
I took the train to the University of Pennsylvania on Friday to talk to James McGann, who runs the Think Tanks& Civil Societies Program there. It was an interesting meeting. Besides talking with McGann, I got to talk to his students about Foreign Service. I am always glad to talk to smart young people, restores my faith in the future.
Here are some pictures from the trip, except for the last one, which is a picture of a little green space near State Department, a good place to have lunch.
I took Mariza down to the farms to show her around and have a look at the longleaf plantation. The longleaf are doing extraordinarily well. The one I am standing near is one of the bigger ones, but most are well along. I am 6’1”, so you can see the comparison. These trees were planted in 2012. Not bad.
More from the farms. Mariza and I also looked at the recent cut over. Not much of my clover has come up near the roads, but I was surprised how much had grown since the cut only a few months ago. Lots of the plants are from plants whose seeds blow easily in the wind; others are from roots long shaded int eh old forest or dormant seeds. We will plant 30 acres of loblolly, 15 acres of longleaf and an acre of cypress early next spring. I also have included a photo of the bald cypress I planted a few years ago along one of the streams It is one of my “pet” trees and I take special care of it.