Island Life (#9)

Slow start today. Of  course  It was starting to rain when we got out for a walk in the forest late morning….still lovely to be there.   (altho one of the coldest May 12ths in history!)  This is one of quite a few magnificent old Douglas Fir Trees next to the trail…probably more than 300 years old and oh so tall.  (maybe 4 ft diameter and 150ft tall?)   I’m just a few chapters into Suzanne Simard’s Finding the Mother Tree and altho I’ve read other books about the networking of trees under ground,  (Richard Power’s The Overstory,  Hope Jahren’s Lab girl)  I’ve got new thoughts and appreciation buzzing around, and a lot to learn.   ( Always.)   The aboriginal people were great at controlled burning to fell some of these or thin out the undergrowth… Several of ours with deep grooved bark have been burned..  This common name honors David Douglas, the Scottish botanist who reported them on the west coast of North America,  altho it's not a true fir., but a pine.  .It can reach heights of 300 feet and 8 feet in diameter, the oldest can live to 1300 years. 

Of course the Red Cedar tree was known as the tree of life in these parts as it was used for everything from canoes to diapers.   There are lots of cedars here too but none quite as big as these firs.  And I think they are yellow not red cedar.

No word from the plumber yet.   

Extra :  out the front window last night