Burnt sugar . . . somewhere

Observer: Estella Yee
Date: 10-29
Location: North of entrance of Roger’s Music Center
Time: 1144-1159
Weather: Overcast, 49˚F

Two walkways met at right angles leading to a set of glass doors at the rear (or side) entrance of the music building. A triangle of shrubs decorated the empty area between the concrete paths. Here, I observed a blue-grey needled Noble Blue fir tree, looking quite frosty in the chill of the autumn air. The interior leaves nearer the trunk were a familiar evergreen green. The needles contrasted the pale brown branches. The 30=foot tree seemed to naturally grow in a conical form. The underlying shrubberies were of particular interest to me as when I passed by, a sickly saccharine scent of burnt sugar caught in the air. Several 4-foot shrubs were decorated with green leaves arranged radially about a small pale red bud. Almost most of them had the similar parallel venation, except for one in a rusty color of decay. The ovate leaves had pinnate venation and were edged in white. Most apparent was the rusty orange color that painted the plant. The bitten leaves curled inward and appeared dried. The bark was yellowed with some brown curls barely attached. From the damage on the leaves, I would think that some parasite or insect was attacking the shrub, but due to the bronzed coloration, I am equally inclined to designate the damage as the result of a disease. Either way, this plant is most likely not going to make it past winter.