One Billion Trees

Estreya - I am sure there is a shade plant with a purple blossom wirh a red splash - the mind stretches. I am going to find that plant.

Mur - I am so glad you had that, perfect perfect descriptive poem. I think I have already started to 'wear purple' - goodness knows husband is (but then he is a professor, so it doesn't count).

All of our talk about forests that have been clear cut for money have really had me thinking - and looking for old pics. This was taken in May of 2004.

And this one was taken one month later. Not from the same spot, but it is how the whole thing was changed. The first one was taken from my yard, looking at the Hundred Acre Woods. the second one was taken up in the (former) woods themselves. I was pleased to capture the rays of sunlight, though - sort of felt like a promise of better things to come. That was such a devastating time for me (not to mention the wildlife!). We didn't see deer for awhile, but eventually they came back.

Oops - that picture was too big! Hopefully this will work better.

Our earth is a living organism and has extraordinary abilities to heal itself. That bare path of land will be reclaimed by all kinds of plants before you know it. But, of course, it won't be the forest again in our lifetime.
cool stump, Poochella! I love those things. You have some nice red huckleberry growing on it. It grows almost exclusively (if not totally exclusively) on decaying cedar or fir stumps. It's the deciduous huckleberry and has really lovely foliage.

Murmur, That is so sad to see such beauty turned into such a bland, lifeless area. Did they burn the slash ( piles of unwanted wood) or did they burn it or remove it? It would become a great habitat for critters if they left it and eventually rot to turn back into soil.

Lani

Pooch and Pixy,

I was thinking that was a huckleberry but wasn't totally sure of it from the picture. Love them! That is a great stump and I too would be looking at it all the time. You couldn't get something like that to grow in your yard very easily. Nature is so magnificent! We only have to keep our eyes open to see it daily. What fun to find such beauty in a clear cut! Thanks for the picture.

Lani

Lani, they did indeed leave the slash. At first we were quite disturbed as the piles added to the look of having been bombed. But after awhile we convinced ourselves that it was okay for the wildlife. With snow on them, they didn't look half bad!

Pixy, yes, you're right that the land will have all sorts of plants again. It already does - solid thistle, nettles, blackberry vines, horsetail, etc. I tried to walk there yesterday, but there was still a lot of snow which covered any rocks, etc., that might trip me up. I did find one little evergreen growing (I believe one of the ones planted by the owner). I couldn't go far enough to look for more.

So it's Huckleberry on the eco-stump. Thanks Pixy.

Murmur I had you located all wrong- thought you were just a hop skip and a jump out of Enumclaw on Hwy 410. I thought there was a little berg along that road with a sign that said "Greenbank." Turns out that is Greenwater WA. When I read of the ferry ride to your purple party I realized I was in the wrong county. The beauty of online maps....

I feel your pain all over again seeing the 'before and after' photos of Hundred Acre Woods. It would be great to photograph the changes in the upcoming years- a little healing montage as growth returns slowly but surely.

Purple plant, red foliage search turned up Heuchera "Vesuvius." What do you think? Not red enough?
http://www.waltersgardens.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=1132

Below is another thing we see around the yard. New trees growing out of old growth stumps. A bad photo, sorry. Rumor has it that there is an old growth tree uphill from us a way on State land. It's a bit of a treacherous hike, but I'd like to find it if the tree is as impressive as its stumpy cousins' remains down here.

I don't know if they call these 'nurse stumps', but when you see new trees growing out of the trunks of rotting fallen trees, they are called 'nurse logs'. I love that.
murmur, I get lots of baby douglas firs that I can't let stay on my property because we're already 'forested' in most of the yard. Would you like them or do you have a source closer to you?

Pixy, I'd love some baby douglas firs if we can get together one of these days - are you ever in Seattle on a Saturday or a Wednesday? I'm afraid between our work schedules and our family stuff, it could be a bit of a problem coordinating.

An interesting thing last year (Summer of 2006) - the tall weedy grass, blowing in the breeze, continually brought to my mind "amber waves of grain" which I actually enjoyed.

I did go out into the meadow today in between clients and it is such a mess of brambles, thistle, etc. - but I planted some Tall Verbena here and there last year (close to my property) and it looks like they are growing. I found one of my pinwheels buried under a mass of dead grass and thistle. It did make me smile remembering what a hoot it was setting up for that party!! Helped heal two things: the shock of the clear cutting, and the shock of turning 60 - lol!!!

I do so appreciate how understanding and supportive you are all of the impact that nasty event had on me - and I'm sorry so many of you have gone through something similar.

Couldn't you post the trees - dig them with a clump of dirt and wrap in newspaper and plastic - and lots of newspaper stuffing? You could get a fair few trees in a medium size box. Then with a few baby Cherry Trees you'd have birds back in a couple of years - well in time for your 70th! And acorns - I can see it already! And all the work of ladies who intend to be eccentric! The ladies in purple woods - and in 150 years, when the red and purple blossomed plant is thriving under the shade of these marvellous trees, and the neighbourhood has become established as Lady Oaks Corner people will have numerous tales to tell as to why the area came by that name. And we will be the only ones who know.

The posting is the only part of this that is probably in touch with reality - I just got a bit carried away.

And makes my heart soooooooooo happy!!!!! You will all be invited to my 70th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will reserve my seat now. Now what shall I wear?

Whatever makes YOUR heart happy, Laurie!!! I plan to wear an even more outrageous red hat and maybe a flowing purple dress instead of just a purple blazer!! My blazer and my shoes were from the thrift store - both of which I still wear frequently!

How would it be if we fill the woods with these http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/97752/

if that isn't the red hat to top all red hats! And it likes some shade!

http://www.newfs.org/seeds/index.htm#INDEX And New England Wildflower society had seeds last year.

This message was edited Dec 5, 2006 6:06 AM

Delightful!!!!!!!!

Well it's over for all of you! I had to walk the dog and collect seeds for murmur today so I took about 50 photos in the woods LOL! I LOVE the woods, almost as much as dahlias.

First, the nurse log for Pixy: one of a few I've seen. This happens to be a large cedar from which sprouted a now-large cedar seen behind- the widest of the trunks seen here. The fallen log angles toward the viewer and is nicely populated with ferns, moss, salal, hemlock seedlings. The log itself is about 3 ft tall, perhaps a shade more. Sorry it's blurry.

Closer up of the growth on the cedar nurse log. So amazing...it's a whole little future forest on one fallen log!

Adding by edit: You can see the curvature of the old rootball near the base of the new cedar trunk.

This message was edited Dec 5, 2006 6:09 PM

Another hazard of the clearcut: it changes the wind patterns. After the loggers finished their work we had one of those "Out of the Cascades Westerly Winds" that blew about 80mph. Many more trees were lost because their neighbor trees were no longer there to stop the rampaging onslaught of wind.

Here is a triple casualty: maintrunk and adjacent smaller tree blew down, taking down and leaving the snag to the left. Good bird habitat, but the rootball is so unsightly.

A fir perched precariously on a slope just a few feet from the prior post's fallen trees. Look at the majority of the trunks' angle of growth. I think we have a leaner on our hands, or rather the neighbor, because this is on his land still. Root area looks none too stable either. Sigh....

This was hemlock originally cut about 70 years ago when logging was rampant in this area. On this one, they left the heavy wire cable and many rail road type spikes driven into the stump.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/poochella/Yard%20and%20Garden/woods1206loggingcableonstump.jpg

Another hemlock out of a stump cut 70 years ago. The new tree is very tall-maybe 100 ft?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/poochella/Yard%20and%20Garden/woods1206rootstreeontallstump-1.jpg

And the stump closer up. See the roots coming down through the old stump?

I am hauling in several nurse logs from the forest behind me. I want the soil products of degrading logs and plan on putting my own Cornus, and several other babies in the logs central rot with soil added to sustain the plantings. This is the trailor I will be using to haul the 20' specimens. I will support the lengths with beams from my future pole barn. Used to store all the crap I am collecting for the garden.

Poochella, wonderful photos!!! I need to find me some woods to walk in . . . there were evergreens left at the top of the "hill" and I need to go up there and walk amongst the trees.

And oh my yes, the wind pattern changes!!!!! We've always had wind, but since the trees are gone, we have some very unpleasant winds come ripping through the yard, in between the house and garage - no pleasant!

Soferdig, good plans! BTW, what are you going to wear to my 70th birthday party? Don't worry - you've got eight more years to plan your outfit.

Great trailer Sofer. I was wondering where you'd gone off to these days. Out in the woods, are you? I think of the many eons of woods debris left on the forest floor and it's no wonder how well things grow. Great idea to nourish your saplings in the humus'sy environment. Don't throw out your back!

Here is a future forest which will hopefully grow in Murmur's Hundred Acre Woods. They are only 2-3 ft tall but have high hopes for a future!

A cedar I've had tagged so the neighbor won't run it over when he plows through occasionally with his front end loader ( severe machinery envy here on that thing!) It's nearing 3 ft tall and if I can get enough roots, it too will go to provide Murmur with some windbreak ( in about 30 years! LOL) They grow fast Murmur! I've got one about 8 ft tall now that started out this way.

And my beloved Douglas Fir, nurtured from 4 inches tall. Look at it now: a bold and beautiful specimen of 2.5-3 ft! Hundred Acre Woods here it comes- if I can get enough root system.

A change in current: We have quite a severe sloped area overlooking a creek. Roots gave way, perhaps wind helped, but somehow this tree crashed across the neighbors' driveway adjacent to the creek and slope both. It was decided to leave the main log in the creek for habitat ( plus it would be really hard to cut it while in the water.)

The recent heavy rains took a toll depositing rocks, wood debris and such in a torrent against the log, changing the entire flow of the creek. It used to go straight which would be bisecting the log; now the current is diverted and has washed away much of the former creek bed, soil, foliage and gouged out a bit alarmingly near the road bed. Nature is never still.

Next to that fallen log is an old, huge nurse log. It is my place to cool off on a hot summer day; cushioned in moss, clear water rolling by. There never used to be rocks and gravel on the near side of the log: that is all newly deposited by the change in current.

Some cedars and one Leyland Cypress I transplanted as a little screen where the neighbor's driveway passes through next to our only flat spot by the creek. They have prospered despite limited sun and absolutely rocky 'soil.' They are all about 8 ft tall now.
Many buckets of water were dumped here in the early years.

Laurie1 and Murmur mentioned the slag, the leftovers from logging. This is the only mess left behind by the neighbor's loggers, now in our woods. We've picked away at it as it had some decent wood a few years back, but now it will remain as habitat for smaller animals and birds whose scents attract the canine snout!

Are you sick of these yet? Just a couple more and then I must quit.
Bigger Eco-Stump. If you were a small creature in the woods, would you not outbid the top bidder to get to claim this as your home? Look at that doorway! You know a home's doorway makes the first impression...... LOL

Someone, not us, tried to burn this stump out years ago. It makes an excellent place for a cat and dog to play hide and seek.

I'll finish with a year-later photo of the original little Ecosystem stump. The huckleberry lost its redness! Is that normal as it matures? I hope I didn't send you into NW Woods catatonia with these photos!

One year ago: woods on a stump....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/poochella/Yard%20and%20Garden/woodsonastump.jpg

and today, same stump

Poochella, all I can say is wow!!! Great photos, beautiful surroundings, and I am so excited about getting so many things from you!!!!

Pochella it is so good to talk, see, and visit with a person who feels the same joy looking at an old tree stump and seeing it as the most beautiful home on the hill. You and I would be good neighbors. Thanks for the photos of my forests of the Pac NW.
Murmur I think that I will wear a beaver hat and a fig leaf to your 70th birthday. I always like to go to a place where someone would let me wear a beaver hat. LOL Actually I would come in wool pants and shirt so I could comfortably walk around in your garden to see all the beauty you have over there on the peninsula. I am going to be over that way this summer visiting my friend Dan Hinkley and will extend my tour up your way. I always wanted to have a place on the Toanoas (sp?) peninsula off hood canal.
This is a photo I took a month ago at the Arboretum. Don't you just want to take a hike into that forest?

Pooch,

Your pictures are amazing and I love how you love it too. Thanks ever so much for sharing with us.

Lani

great photos all!! I love the northwest woods. There is nothing else on earth like the forests we have. My favorite is the rain forest. So huge and so silent and still. Thank God that's protected by law.

Murmur, I can send you some baby trees. These are truely seedlings at this point and will be easy to establish. You can put them right into the ground and they will grow for you!

To your 70th birthday, I will wear my usual: rose colored gardening overalls with stains on the knees. Anywears clogs. Many bobby pins in the hair. Dirt on the face. Soferdig, please make that a very large figleaf! LOL!!

Poochella - wonderful photos. The nurse logs (I hadn't heard that phrase before) are beautiful. They have such a completeness about about them - "dirt to dirt". Just stunning. I love the lighting of your woods. The woodland we have is completely broadleaf - so the lighting and colour changes season to season. There is something so different with a conifer wood, I think it does have something to do with that stability of light. Don't hesitate posting more pictures - I can take! Gorgeous. I am really knocked out by the stumps. I keep thinking about how bad the scars are right now in Murmur's cleared area, and how beautiful they will be for her 70th. We can all stand and admire.

Sofer - what is a pole barn? I am picturing something circular with a central support pole, but I suspect I am way off track. I'm also interested in your comment on dragging in the logs and planting the Cornus in the debris - I am assuming you're planting Cornus Canadensis? (I am assuming this from a completely narcississtic perspective - I have just managed to get 5 from a grower here in UK) - I am planning on putting them into a woodland part of the garden - but mostly leaf mulch, little wood debris. Any suggestions?

Grow on Murmur's woods! I'm looking forward to the big tree planting.

AND Soferdig! What a wonderful name drop! You know Dan Hinkley? Be still my heart. I am hoping to go to one of his plant days this spring - a mere full day's drive to the otherside of the country in deepest darkest North Wales! I'm going to stand at the back of the group so I don't appear too starry eyed (and so I don't drool on his boots). Envy. Complete envy.

Magnificent. Just magnificent!