#212 About Trees

Birks of Aberfeldy, Scotland (2011)

Birch Bark, Branklyn Gardens, Perth, Scotland (2011)

 

Trees are the topic for this edition of the travel blog. Since I’m not traveling much right now—winter, getting ready to move, health problems—I’ve been reviewing lots of old photos.One of the things I noticed was that over the years I’ve taken many photos of trees and that they still hold my attention. So, for this post I found some noteworthy facts about trees to share with you and I’ve some photos to go along with them. I hope that reading this blog will be as worthy of your time as it was fun for me to put together.

Smoke, Mulino, OR (2010)

Fact: About three trillion trees currently exist, and trees didn’t exist for the first 90% of earth’s history.

Birch Forest, Cairngorm Nat'l Park, Scotland (2015)

Fall in the Scottish Highlands near Braemar (2017)

Canadian Rockies (2014)

Fact: Earth has 46% fewer trees than it had 12,000 years ago.

A Tree Grows in Edinburgh (2017)

Burned Forest, Canadian Rockies (2014)

Fact: There are more than 60,000 known species of trees.

Canyonlands National Park, Utah  (2016)

Tree and Horse in Fog, Dartmoor Nat'l Park, England (2013)

Painted Hills National Monument, OR (2013)

Beech Tree Lined Entrance to Drummond Castle, Crieff, Scotland (2018)

Fact: More than half of all tree species exist in only one country.

Gnarled Juniper, Bend, OR (2015)

Fact: Trees are among the oldest living organisms on earth, and never die of old age. A bristle cone pine has been found that is more than 5,000 years old.

Old Scots Pine near Aviemore, Scotland (2012)

Fact: A large oak can drink 100 gallons of water per day. A large sequoia can drink 500 gallons per day.

Golf Course Oak, Central Scotland (2013)

Fact: The tallest tree, Hyperion in California, is a coastal redwood that is 380 feet tall.

Mt Washington, OR (2015)

Benefits of Trees (The Nature Conservancy):

Trees eat green house gases that cause climate change.

Exmoor, England (2014)

Provide a home for wildlife.

Cottonwood near Taos, New Mexico (2018)

Cool down your life—natural air conditioning.

Sma'glen, Scotland (2016)

Filter our water.

Reflection near Aviemore, Scotland (2014)

Provide a renewable building source and promote a strong economy.

Provide a good source for food.

Winter Apples near Mt Angel, OR (2013)

Besides being damned beautiful, remember what Scotsman/naturalist John Muir said about them, “Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”

Lone Pine, Mt Shasta Nat'l Park (2016)