Old-growth forests

Old growth trees

It's hard to believe that it was only Thursday when I took this picture of these magnificent old trees, since today it's overcast with freezing rain and dismally cold temperatures. Friday morning I woke to a couple of inches of snow on the ground, which turned to rain later, but the cold kept the snow from melting away. Right now it's right around freezing here in Bellingham, and it's late Saturday morning.

We ladies (some of us) met to walk together, but Cindy called it off because of ice and slippery spots, not to mention it was not exactly wonderful weather, with a steady rain and wind. So this morning only a few decided to brave it, and I was not one of them. Instead, I came home and thought about my Saturday post, finally deciding to tell you about these wonderful old trees.

Since my move to the Pacific Northwest, I've learned to identify the beautiful Old Growth trees that we have met on some of our forest walks. Those trees in the above picture were taken in the natural forest lands on Hoypus Hill. To be considered an old-growth forest, according to Wikipedia,

It has attained great age without significant disturbance and thereby exhibits unique ecological features and might be classified as a climax community. Old-growth features include diverse tree-related structures that provide diverse wildlife habitat that increases the biodiversity of the forested ecosystem. ... In British Columbia, Canada, old growth is defined as 120 to 140 years of age in the interior of the province where fire is a frequent and natural occurrence. In British Columbia’s coastal rainforests, old growth is defined as trees more than 250 years, with some trees reaching more than 1,000 years of age.

Wow! Now that's old. I've been told that some of the trees I've seen around here are well over 500 years old, considering their size, and there's one place we've visited that must have even older trees. They take my breath away, they are so majestic. My biggest problem with them is that as hard as I've tried, I cannot manage to capture their beauty with a camera.
:-)