Every tree must die....oneday,.. Hollow Tree at Stanley Park is 1000 years old..

Can you imagine being 1000 years old? This picture was taken 100 years ago, at the 1/10 age mark of this trees life. Imagine another 1000 years!

How would you like to be a tree standing a few thousand years to make the air better for everyone, and have no one care?
What if all these people who don't appreciate trees and just remove them because they have no respect for life other than their own, have to come back in another lifetime and stand there for 2000 years, not going anywhere? Kind of grim, huh?
Maybe that's why trees moan, they are really souls who have committed some terrible unkindness and are now paying their dept to the cosmos by having to live as a tree.

If I were such a tree, I'd welcome storms that would move me around a bit; birds for companions, an occasional bear scratching my bark, a deep drink of water after a drought, and a child especially, because children are usually always appreciative even though adults aren't always, who might come to visit me and climb in my branches and sing songs. Maybe build a simple tree house, but nothing too adult like that would drive nails through my branches.

I'd enjoy a nice rain storm, and I might like the woodpecker that gets those pesky bugs out of my old first layers. A symbiotic relationship might be nice, maybe with a few species, then I wouldn't feel so uncared for. I mean I wouldn't want to be wanted simply for my lumber! Or e-gads for some conquest by men who were out to prove they had the stamina to saw through me. I can see me now, a huge log all by myself on the bed of a loggers truck in a photograph 100 years after my demise, hanging on the wall of some backwoods cafe, lying there dead, branches tossed aside and only a trunk of what I used to be, while men stand by with their saws in hand, grinning ear to ear because they felled me, and were so proud. I am seeing their smiles, now with a few front teeth missing. Well, if I was half the man I was a tree I'd show them a thing or two!!!
© Jerez2008

This one won't enlarge..

As much as I love the Big trees, I also love every tree, they are all unique, and necessary, we need trees, but when I was in Vancouver, (and I wish I had taken a photo), but this tree at Stanley Park had gone down in a storm. This is an old photos of it, as you can see by he dress of the day..also it's in B&W.

"The Hollow Tree in Stanley Park is a tourist favourite. On the West side of Stanley Park Drive, it’s a frequent stopping zone and photo op. During the storms of 2006, the tree was weakened beyond already being hollow at the base, and the Parks Board would now like to spend $200,000 to restore it."

Here's the article..Should the Parks Board spend almost a quarter of a million dollars to support and create a bionic Hollow Tree? Or should nature simply take its course, and we’ll lose a familiar natural landmark? They are taking a poll. I say, let the tree die with dignity. Use the money to protect other trees.
Photo of the Big tree taken in 1907
Big Tree in 1907
Another point of view, shows we people are not just practical, but have hearts..that die hard.
Regular trees

"This is a special tree, it may be dead, it's in a certain stage but it's a very important tree," said Kelman. "When you have a tree that is this important, it's a monument."

The last days of the tree as it is make Rocky Garandza a little sad and nostalgic.

The window contractor from Victoria, in town for the day, stopped for one last look at the Hollow Tree.

"Last time I was here was 15 years ago," said Garandza yesterday, as he took pictures. "I always just thought it would be here forever."

Video here about tree.. video

Regular trees and Big trees..
must click to enlarge to get the real effect of these giant trees.



My recent photos of big trees in Stanley Park Vancouver, BC

Giant Trees Registry, Save the Big Trees!

I may go big tree hunting soon...maybe I'll see if my city has a tree registry, it should because it claims to be it is the city of trees. I might like to begin mapping big trees. That would be fun to do, and might keep people from being abl eto cut them down for money purposes. I think the planet and our oxygen supply is more important than a view of the water. I did a search, Go figure, the City of Trees has no tree registry.



This is a Thuja Plicata, aka Western Red Cedar. It lives in the Olympic National Park. I found it in the records of the National Register of Big trees. This tree is 63.41 feet in circumference, well was in 1945 when it was last measured..lol.

"Ecosystem Services:
It would cost $634.85 to replace the storm water control service provided by this tree, based on the engineering standards used in the building industry. The same tree removes 3.59 lbs. of nitrogen, sulfur, ozone and particulate matter every year."

The large Sequoia on that site gives these stats..
"Ecosystem Services:
It would cost $3589.32 to replace the storm water control service provided by this tree, based on the engineering standards used in the building industry. The same tree removes 20.32 lbs. of nitrogen, sulfur, ozone and particulate matter every year."

Neighbors just took out a 40 year old weeping willow, to enhance the view from the McMansion they built next door. It caused the water table to rise and my house flooded. The tree was the largest willow I have ever seen. I imagine it was about 17 feet around. It provided a wall of greenery that gave privacy from the hillside and was so beautiful. Next these new neighbors,( not yet moved in), asked if we wanted our large cedars cut down. Really! Anyway, now we have a big (ugly) house next door and we have to plant some plicata's or daodara's or giant green thuja's to get our privacy back. The tree incidentally wasn't on their lot, but I imagine they asked to have taken out for their views sake.
Steam rising here! :)

I think a view is becoming over rated here, Afterall, the beach is a 3 block walk away.

I wish I had thought to get this tree registered, maybe it would still be standing. Trees grow faster here than any place on earth. A Plicata grows 6 ft a year.

Any big trees near you? Save the big trees!

More Big Trees ( found on the internet) In British Columbia old trees are aged up to 2000 years. This one with my daughter and Jeremy was taken at Stanley Park recently.

More big trees...






At least 3 if not 4 of these are in Washington.

Trees of Washington's Olympic peninsula
"This land of breathtaking mountains and rich, green forests, is a paradise to lovers of big trees. For giant trees, the Olympic Peninsula is equaled by few and surpassed by no areas. Only parts of nearby Vancouver Island, as well as Oregon, California and Australia, still have trees over 300 ft tall. To most earthlings a "tall" tree is 75 to 100 ft. Thousands of Douglas firs on the Peninsula don't even branch that near to the ground! Sitka spruces and red cedars stand whose trunks are 20 ft through! The very bark on ancient firs can exceed a foot in thickness.
About a hundred years ago, pioneers logged the raw, dripping forests, seeking extra-large trees even as we do now. But the motives have altered dramatically. Early loggers took pride in felling the mightiest specimens; we, their descendants, enshrine our record-size trees, admiring with joy the inspiring sight of nature's ultimate growth. Excess fascinates us, whether it be wealth, celebrity, athletic achievement or size.
So, naturally, we wonder: where are the largest trees? Olympic National Park employees receive so many requests for big tree information that a list of the record trees within the park is kept on file. The State has an ambitious big tree program sponsored by the U.W. Al Carder, a retired professor of plant science who lives north of Victoria has spent years writing a global account of big trees. It is long overdue, therefore, to give credit and recognition to the Peninsula's outstanding trees -- for this is truly the land of the giants..... Presently, the tallest tree known in the whole Northwest is a 326 ft fir in the Queets Valley. Well-documented examples around 400 ft once stood, though this is hard for most people to believe. The thickest trunks of firs presently are 44 1⁄2 ft around, which is a mere shadow of the bygone giants' girths and is easily surpassed by numerous spruces and cedars."

Harlequin Ducks on the Elwha River

 Harlequin Ducks, Histrionicus histrionicus, is a small sea duck. In North America it is also known as Lords and ladies. Other names include painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker and blue streak.  They are native here? I see them on the Elwha River on The Olympic Peninsula, but all I know is they are beautiful ducks. I enjoy seeing them in the river, and trying to photograph them. I got my info from Wikipedia, here's more of what I got.. "Harlequins have smooth, densely packed feathers that trap a lot of air within them. This is vital for insulating such small bodies against the chilly waters they ply. It also makes them exceptionally buoyant, making them bounce like corks after dives". I like that last part, 'bounce like corks'. " Two prehistoric harlequin ducks were described from fossils, although both were initially placed in a distinct genus: Histrionicus shotwelli is known from Middle to Late Miocene deposits of Oregon, USA and was considered to form a distinct monotypic genus, Ocyplonessa. Histrionicus ceruttii which lived in California during the Late Pliocene was at first taken to be a species of the related genus Melanitta. The Harlequin Duck takes its name from Arlecchino, Harlequin in French, a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor"." " Size: 33-54 cm (13-21 in) Wingspan: 56-66 cm (22-26 in) Weight: 500-726 g (17.65-25.63 ounce. 

NW Source, Where to hike In Washington

Hiking Washington Info Here; where to get passes, what's required, where to go, what to expect..
click here

Kids always have to try out the big backpack, backpacking the Pacific Ocean

This is Jeremy 

..trying on the large pack for size.

 He sort of spun out of control like a top going in circles erratically. Fast as they grow, in just a few years, he'll be ready for this pack and will run up and down hills with it on his back. He might if he lived here, yeah,  most likely, growing leg muscles of steel, and incredible balance. He would learn skills learn by backpacking in the woods and all about the land and it's creatures and their close ties to us. He would protect the land. This is what happens to you when you become a hiker.

This photo was taken just after Daphne and Jeremy and I walked to look at the ocean close up for the first time. We made it a big deal in the car pulling near the beach, "take a look , we said, this is your first time to see the Pacific Ocean." I wonder what went through their hearts? It's  awesome with large trees piled on the beach, the surf, and haystacks. Then when we walked up close to where you could get a good look, I myself was in my usual wonder of this extra un-ordinary, extraordinary place, and I have seem it hundreds of times.

 I was curious what they must have felt, because I think it a feeling that comes over you, something that captivates your spirit. It's pure wonder. After this initial peek, we went back to the car and began readying for the trek down past Ellen Creek to find a campsite close to Hole in the Wall. ( I have photos of Hole in the Wall on the next page, I think)

 This beach, Rialto, changes  to Hole in the Wall after you pass through the Hole in the Wall! It becomes many other beach names as you go along. But to me, it is all the same beach. The name is just a defining point, sort of like life is one thing, but has ages that define stages of the continuum. It's true of us, too, we aren't isolated, separate bodies, but, are in a process on a continuum. (My sage wisdom for the day)

Sand Point is about a 3 day hike down the beach. Many people hike this long  stretch of beach that can take you all the way to Shi Shi Beach near where the Makah Indian tribe have lived for hundreds of years ( before the arrival of the big ships). This is at the  furthest  NW point of the continental, or contigious US, also known as Cape Flattery.

Cape Flattery is a high point on the landscape  jutting into the water, where the Makah Indians stood one day to see the coming of the first tall ships into the area, and their lives were to change forever more.  The Makah were affluent, with plenty of salmon to eat, berries, whale, probably bear. 

They lived in long houses made of cedar, and carved sea going vessels out of large cedar trees by burning the center and then chiseling out a cavity. A wonderful cedar long house stands in Neah Bay today, as a museum. It is well worth a visit, as it shows how they lived and a large boat inside with beautiful carving marks. Also basketry was finely woven by Makah women. Out from their home there, large haystacks stand, and it is an incredible cape,  sunsets are stunning. I can post a photo of Cape Flattery another day. But here is a link with information of Neah Bay and Cape Flattery. Cape Flattery "

Here The Straight Of Juan De Fuca empties into the Pacific Ocean.

 A Cape, btw, is a point or head of land projecting into water.

"The Trail provides a view of waves crashing against rocky shores and of Tatoosh Island, a former Makah fishing and whaling camp and more recently a Coast Guard station. Sometimes visitors can catch a glimpse of puffin, sea otters, seals, gray, orca and humpback whales and other marine life. ...
...A short side trip after you come back from the Cape trail, cross over the Waatch River to see Hobuck Beach and the famous Shi Shi Beach...The Trail provides a view of waves crashing against rocky shores and of Tatoosh Island, a former Makah fishing and whaling camp and more recently a Coast Guard station. Sometimes visitors can catch a glimpse of puffin, sea otters, seals, gray, orca and humpback whales and other marine life.... 

....A short side trip after you come back from the Cape trail, cross over the Waatch River to see Hobuck Beach and the famous Shi Shi Beach....The Trail provides a view of waves crashing against rocky shores and of Tatoosh Island, a former Makah fishing and whaling camp and more recently a Coast Guard station. Sometimes visitors can catch a glimpse of puffin, sea otters, seals, gray, orca and humpback whales and other marine life....

...At the end of the 3/4 of a mile hike over a picturesque trail with bridges across wetlands, one will enjoy the views from five observation perches with cedar decks and guard rails. If you bring a lunch or a light snack two picnic tables can be found and the end of the trail also."

Another far west beach is Cape Alava, almost as far west as Flattery is. Longitude of 124° 44′ 11.8″ W. It is truly one of the ends of the earth. The Cape Avala Loop.."Wander the wild, rugged outer coast on this 8.8-mile loop trail leading through coastal forests to miles of rocky tidepools, sea stacks, and arches. With its minimal elevation gain, the loop makes for an easy day hike, but an overnight stay will reward you with golden sunsets in summer and a deep immersion in the sights, smells, and sounds of one of the country’s few wilderness beaches." Trails.com
"Here, archaeologists have excavated dwellings buried by a mudslide 500 years ago. Other buried dwellings date back at least 2,500 years and await further excavation...... The Cape Alava trail begins on an abandoned road and plunges immediately into what feels like Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," with dense greenery consisting of salal and other shrubs. Most of the trail is on boardwalk, which can be a curse or a blessing, depending on the weather. The boardwalk is slippery when wet, but it also keeps your feet out of the black mud that is prevalent much of the year.

 At 2 miles, the forest opens to Ahlstrom's Prairie, a bog that was a lake once upon a geologic time (Ahlstrom also cleared some of this area for pasture). The trail then returns to the gloom of the forest, and the roar of the ocean can now be heard. At 3 1/2 miles, the path drops suddenly to the beach and a collection of excellent campsites.

 Several islands can be seen from the beach. Tskawayah Island to the north is part of the Ozette Indian Reservation and clambering on it is not allowed. The Ozette River is 1 1/2 miles to the north and Sand Point is 3 miles to the south.

 The beach to Sand Point can be hiked easily at anything below high tide. Three-hundred-year-old petroglyphs can be found about a mile to the south of Cape Alava at Wedding Rocks. Makah tribal members ask that you respect their sanctity and not touch them." Seattle PI article on hike
"Trail data: The Cape Alava/Sand Point loop is 9 1/2 miles. Cape Alava is six miles round trip (elevation gain is about 500 feet). The recommended map is the Custom Correct Ozette Beach Loop, or Green Trails Ozette No. 130S. For information on conditions, how to obtain permits (required beginning May 1) and entry fees, call the Olympic National Park Wilderness Information Center at 360-452-0300.

Special note: The raccoons at Cape Alava and Sand Point are notorious for stealing backpackers' food. They have developed state-of-the-art pilfering abilities and have been known to open zippers and pockets and perform high-wire acts on ropes strung between trees. Food must be hung out of the animals' reach in raccoon-proof containers or carried with you at all times. They will visit you at dusk and watch you with their shining eyes, waiting for you to make a dumb mistake (such as overlooking that candy bar in your backpack"

I have my own raccoon stories to tell. These are amazing and not to be deterred little creatures. They aren't as rolly polly as the ones that congregate in my back yard, but they sure don't give up, I have had to invent some pretty sophisticated hanging devices working late into the night to keep then from getting my food. (as the little babies watch Mom watching me from high in their tree top).

These days a bear canister is required to keep your food inside, a pain in the neck really to backpack with. Classes on how to hang food intelligently might be a better approach.

 Hmm, I just had an idea for a new invention...I did design a fool proof line that night when they were determined to get my food and I was determined to get some sleep.

Vacation, With Daphne, and Jeremy, Rialto Beach, VanCouver BC, Mt Shuksan, more

Some of these fine photos are Daphne's!

(above of a falls near Mt Baker..for instance)

Jeremy on Rialto Beach

Daphne's portrait of Jeremy

Nice huh?

Mt Shuksan, The glacier

Rialto Foggy morning

Beach Sculptures

(Daphne and I built these master pieces)

Early morning, Jeremy and I go to visit starfish

Daphne's garden photo in Stanley Park

(The large leaf plant is called dinosaur food)

Nice shot Daphne!

Daphne's photos near Mt Baker of rain forest and one of our many water falls.

[She has to return to see some more:

Snoqualmie, Bridal Veil, Solduc...or

.. how about the 13 water falls in Wells Grey Park in BC?

5 hours from here only]

My salad, had to brighten this up with salad

from MY garden!!

Daphne's photos

Trees grow faster here than any other place on earth!

OOh, rain forest is beautiful, she has only seen this one small piece of it,

there is so much more to see!

Daphne, and Grandson Jeremy visited last week...

Kingston Ferry to Olympic Peninsula to destination, Rialto Beach. Seattle and Mt Rainier in background.. click on pictures to enlarge... Last weekend when Daphne and Jeremy were here, the last thing we did was backpack Rialto Beach, {must be the most sensational beach in the world ...shh don't tell}
I have been going here for many years now since moving to the PNW. I am always amazed by the powerful beauty of this ever changing beach, where old growth logs get washed out, or were once washed out, I presume, from the 3 rivers that flow into the Pacific from the Old growth forest...(The Hoh, and The Quileute, and The Bogieschiele). Leaving Rialto we had Bogie Burgers and chocolate shakes at The ThreeRivers Inn and Cafe... I have hiked over these logs at night at high tide to Hole in the Wall Beach, amazing experience, because it is one of those times that you disappear; no body, no mind, just super consciousness, expanded into oneness. It took about 2.5 hours to hike this maybe 2 mile stretch on logs that other wise would take 40 minutes at most. Ordinarily the hike is walking in deep wet sand and pebbles, with a pack on your back, and is a good work out, on large logs at night it is stupendous. We hiked in at medium tide, and Jeremy carried a small pack and never once winced at his load or the trek. Daphne I think was totally amazed as so many people are when they see this amazing beach. So Saturday some people from Holland were at the trail head when we got back, and couldn't believe their eyes, and were asking "what in the world was further down the beach?" So here are a few pictures of the wonder of Rialto Beach on the Pacific Coast of Washington.

Entrance to Hole in The Wall Beach

Camp Site

Daphne and Jeremy asleep in their tent early in the morning when only I was awake

Tide Pool

Foggy Morn

Shoes always go under tent fly to stay dry

Daphne thought Washington was cold, well, sometimes it is chilly, at night and near the beach..

warms herself by the fire..Jeremy is fine with no shirt tho..

'By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it.

The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired'. 

Franz Kafka

Pastel Anemones, blue starfish, Stanley Park Aquarium

Sea anemones are a group of water dwelling, predatory animals of the order Actiniaria; they are named after the anemone, a terrestrial flower. As cnidarians, sea anemones are closely related to corals, jellyfish, tube-dwelling anemones and Hydra.


Anatomy

"A sea anemone is a small sac, attached at the bottom to the surface beneath it by an adhesive foot, called a basal disc, with a column shaped body ending in an oral disc. The mouth is in the middle of the oral disc, surrounded by tentacles armed with many cnidocytes, which are cells that function as a defense and as a means to capture prey. Cnidocytes contain cnidae, capsule-like organelles capable of everting, giving phylum Cnidaria its name [1]. The cnidae that sting are called nematocysts. Each nematocyst contains a small vesicle filled with toxins—actinoporins—an inner filament and an external sensory hair. When the hair is touched, it mechanically triggers the cell explosion, a harpoon-like structure which attaches to organisms that trigger it, and injects a dose of poison in the flesh of the aggressor or prey. This gives the anemone its characteristic sticky feeling.
The poison is a mix of toxins, including neurotoxins, which paralyze the prey, which is then moved by the tentacles to the mouth/anus for digestion inside the gastrovascular cavity. Actinoporins have been reported as highly toxic to fish and crustaceans, which may be the natural prey of sea anemones. In addition to their role in predation, it has been suggested that actinoporins could act, when released in water, as repellents against potential predators. Certain clownfish are not affected by their host anemone's sting.[2]


Exploitation

The global trade in marine ornamentals is an expanding industry. In the early 1980s the estimated value of imported marine fish and invertebrates was US $24-40 million annually.[3] Current estimates place that value at US $200-330 million,[4] with the USA accounting for 80% of the industry imports.
The sea anemone has a foot which in most species attaches itself to rocks or anchors in the sand. Others also burrow into a stronger object. Some species attach to kelp and others are free-swimming.

Unlike other cnidarians, anemones (and other anthozoans) entirely lack the free-swimming medusa stage of the life cycle: the polyp produces eggs and sperm, and the fertilized egg develops into a planula that develops directly into another polyp.
A few anemones are parasitic to marine organisms. Anemones tend to stay in the same spot until conditions become unsuitable (prolonged dryness, for example), or a predator is attacking them. In the case of an attack, anemones can release themselves from the substrate and swim away to a new location using flexing motions.."


Wikipedia