maandag 22 november 2010

There is life next to the motorway


One of the greatest psychogeographical assets (of the Cryptoforests) of Westraven is the contrast of its wide open space with the density of its tower block and multi-layer car park. This charm continues when you pass underneath the bridge at the end (which happens to be Utrecht graffiti hall of fame), follow the street that is one-way inroad to the IKEA car park, (its not meant for pedestrians so be careful), and which, once you passed the gate, runs along the same motorway that so thoroughly isolates Westraven. The road itself is an empty wedge between two backsides, that of the shops, that are never busy and the steep slope of the motorway. The two slopes of the same road look completely different; this one is steeper, receives more sun and may have been planted differently. The Westraven side consists of a uniform body of trees, unkept and wild, this side is also unkept but with an entirely different feel, and obvious visual differences as you walk passed it. 


From inside the Ikea Carpark, on the right is the hidden thoroughfare to Westraven. 


Coming from the Ikea there is a fence running for 300/400 meter, and then ... a deep desire path! The RWS building gives a sense of relative location.

The trail to the right
A feral chicken in Utrecht is more special than a castle in Scotland, a temple in Thailand or a sheep thief in Oz.



The trail from behind.
Another angle, the trail doesn't seem to go anywhere and I 'think' that it is used to drop of stolen goods 
orchestral + architectural = orchitectural (plant growth)
A chicken! I was on my way back when I spotted this fine example of a domestic chicken. They do escape and live free but what a surprise. I saw three of them. 
Am I right in thinking that this is Japanese Knotweed

It looks like Japanese knotweed (at least my untrained eye), but reader Ed suggests that it is a clemantia. 


Anybody knows what these are? Galls.
#Chickenleak: A few weeks after posting these pics I learned of two possible explanations for the origin of these chickens.
 1) They are dumped by the local SPCA.
2) They are survivors from a population maintained by the Ministry of VROM who had their offices where the IKEA is now. This would mean that these chickens outlasted VROM for at least 10 years.  


4 opmerkingen:

  1. hi wilfried, not sure i can identify japanese knotweed, although i have witnessed plants that 'take over' an area and they don't necessarily remain as a dominant species. forests find homeostasis without human intervention; they change and adapt with or without human inputs. many so-called invasive weeds here in australia are now food and habitat for pre-colonial faunas.

    really enjoying your weed posts.
    cheers,
    patrick

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  2. http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/knotweed.shtml

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  3. Great photos - love that wild area with the mysterious camp/stash.
    Were you tempted to look for feral chicken eggs?

    I'm pretty sure the plant is some sort of clematis, a fairly benign if "enthusistic" native. JK tends to grow in tall clumps rather than rambling over things, and the stems are vertical, red-speckled and much thicker.

    Example clematis: http://image16.webshots.com/16/1/8/49/177610849OxlMEE_ph.jpg

    The red growths on the leaf are some sort of gall http://www.hainaultforest.co.uk/3Other%20tree%20galls.htm

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  4. Knotweed is an upright(6'plus)plant.These are some form of vine I've seen quite a few of them.

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