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Monday, September 14, 2009

Fleas Among Giants

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You *think* you know "BIG". You have an idea about Grand Things, and Large Scale. And then, you go to Mariposa and see 2,000 year old trees.

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This little girl was so sweet. She ran up to the tree and was totally entranced with the inside of it. To her, it was a cave. Someday she will look back on the pictures from this vacation and really get how big that tree was.


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This wonderful man was working on making this into a display for the park. He was sanding the fallen tree trunk, and will be varnishing it later. That is some big tree.


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Fires come to this valley in Mariposa about every 11 years. Fires are important for many reasons. They clear out the competitive trees, allowing for more light. The heat from the fires pops the pine cones, spreading seeds. The carbon left from the fire is nutritious to the soil and is important for the ecosystem. Many of the trees here bear the black scars of fires, either prescribed or lightning strike fires. What I found interesting was the tree's ability to create new bark around the wounds. This takes a long time, but it does happen. Many of the trees were, indeed, burned beyond repair.


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Because of the ecosystem here, there were different plants than I had seen in Yosemite. I simply adored this light, sage green color, especially with the red of the trees and the blue of the skies.


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Did I mention BIG. Mmmmmm, yeah. Big. Big. Big.

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As we left the park after about a 3 hour hike we saw these two wonderful deer just hanging out by the trail. The one with the antlers walked right up to and past us so calmly. Just moseyin' along...

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I am so grateful that I was able to see such beauty, and such wonderful trees. The colors, the sizes, the shapes were all so deep and rich and big. I have a much larger sense of respect for the dignity of trees now. Wow. Mother Nature is so amazing!!!

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