While the peasants needing food and firewood in the past centuries in England were kept off the king’s land, it has left a wonderful legacy of old growth trees, unlike, I understand, in most of Europe. Here in the U.S. we have many old trees, and the wilder parts of our country have many stunning examples.
Personally, I am partial to oak trees because of their oddly twisting limbs and branches. As a kid in the mid-west, I grew up with a forest of oaks behind my house, and these trees have always held a special place in my heart. The Druids found them magical, and so do I.
There are multiple species, distributed worldwide. Here in California, the overall objective is to give oak trees the protection they deserve, and while property owners can cut down trees, permits are generally required, and woe betide those who fail to follow those regulations. Sadly our fires are killing many.
A return to the theme of snow and winter. Can you imagine what these old trees must have seen through the years and years they have stood? Changes in forest, change in season, spring to summer to fall to the desolation of winter. For me, a tree is more than a tree – it is a legacy of times gone by as well as, in many ways, a hope for the future.
Kilimanjaro 300# cold press paper, 11×14, limited palette of blues, umbers, and siennas.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 