Gay Boi

Flowers in a Glass Vase by Jacob van Walscapelle, detail, circa 1670

Anotha one

Old Growth // New Growth

“Since time immemorial, indigenous people used fallen redwoods or redwood trees washed up on beaches for canoes and housing materials. The old-growth redwood trees were essentially too big to log.

There was about two million acres of old-growth redwoods in Northern California when Euro-American immigrants arrived in large numbers in the mid-18th century. They needed raw material for their homes, commerce, and lives. Commercial logging followed the expansion of America as companies struggled to keep up with the furious pace of progress. Timber harvesting quickly became the top manufacturing industry in the American west.

When gold was discovered in northwestern California in 1850, the rush was on. Thousands of immigrants crowded the remote redwood region in search of riches and new lives. These people were no less dependent upon lumber, and the redwoods conveniently provided the wood the people needed. The size of the huge trees made them prized timber, as redwood became known for its durability and workability. At first, axes, saws, and other early methods of bringing the trees down were used. It could take weeks for a hand crew to fell, cut, and transport one redwood tree. By 1853, nine sawmills were at work in Eureka and large stands of redwoods began to disappear by the close of the 19th century.

…

Today, only 5% of the old-growth redwood forests remain.”

(“Redwood Area History.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/area-history.htm)

Some of the most prominent memories I have from visiting the west coast this year were my trips to the Redwoods. The environment was so surreal I could hardly believe I was living the experience - I felt transported to an alien world, just a short distance from where I had come from.

Surrounded by green, and the tallest trees my eyes have ever seen, the air was thick with moisture but comfortably encompassing. Then, you see stumps. Far larger than anything standing.