A Day In The Woods ~ Tree Tuesday Hearkens Back A Day To Monochrome Monday (But Borrows Some Sepia From Saturday) ~ Original Photography And Some Forest Discussion ~

in #deepwoodsinbrownandwhite5 years ago (edited)

The Deep Woods In Brown And White

Few things in life match wandering about in the woods on a warm, sunny day. Quiet surrounds you most of the time while out in the forest. Only the light breezes whisper as they float by, punctuated by the occasional chittering of a Douglas squirrel, way, way up in the canopy of branches. Shouting down a stern warning of "hey you, out of my territory"! A serious warning indeed, from a 200 gram bundle of buck-toothed fur. We keep moving on across the enormous landscape.

Now and then the occasional Steller's jay squawks from a branch up high, but this is a rare occasion. Even in the woods. There is not a lot of wildlife to be heard out here. Or see. The deer quickly notice any human 'sneaking' around in the underbrush LONG before you have a chance to see them, and bound away in a clump ka-clump of hooves in the dirt. Bears we would hear, as they sound like a bulldozer in the brush. And if any cougars are about, we would not be aware, as their stealth is legendary. No, it's usually serenely quiet and peaceful out here.

Oh what a day, hiking, climbing and crawling around under, over and through the forest undergrowth. As my buddies and I used to marvel during lunch while working out in the forest: "A bad day in the woods is better than any day in the office."

These photos were taken along the coastal area of Oregon last summer and fall. Out bopping around in the woods, looking for whatever treasures were offered up in the forested slopes of the Cascade mountains. Mushrooms, cool looking sticks and rocks, bugs, plants, trees, bushes, bark, earthly smells. With all SORTS of things to photograph. And fully enjoy while aimlessly wandering the woods of the Pacific Northwest.



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A Fine Day In The Woods

A nice stand of Douglas fir and Hemlock trees. The ferns and undergrowth are about waist to shoulder high, and make it difficult to move around at times. Though this is considered more of a 'park', in forester terms. A flat, easy place to hike and climb around within. There isn't a lot of flat ground in this part of the world. So we take advantage, whenever possible.



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Monarchs Marching To The Ocean

-Picture Viewing Guide-

Forest Left

The larger, more gnarly looking trees on the left are older Douglas firs. This isn't true old growth, but older second growth. This area has been cut before. Most of the coastal areas have. But these trees grow fast here in this damp, rarefied, Pacific Ocean air. I'm guessing those trees to the left are about 65-80 years old. The largest is about three feet in diameter.

Forest Middle

The funky looking tree in the middle is an oddity. An older Douglas fir, that had some sort of difficulties in life while growing up. These trees that oddly branch like this are unusual, and I believe it is caused by physical damage. Such as a lot of wind when younger, with broken branches growing out in off form, after a storm. There may be other reasons, such as insect or disease, and I'm always open to suggestions here. But most Douglas fir grow straight and true, like the proverbial arrow. Whatever the cause, these tree oddities are nifty to look at and daydream about. Particularly when the light begins to wane as the day comes to an end. They soon take on the form of a goblin creature from a cheap horror movie. Time for the hair on your neck to rise, and also time to head home.

And On The Right?

The trees on the right are younger, and much more dense. Mostly Douglas fir, with some Hemlock thrown in where it's shady. There are huge stands (groupings) of these trees in this area, and they march on and on and on across the mountains toward the sea. It can be hard to tell where you're going in these stands, without a map and compass. Everything tends to look alike after and hour or two in the brush. Particularly if you are prone to wandering all over looking for 'cool stuff', and not really paying attention to certain details. Like "where the heck am I "? But that's what that map and compass are for...finding your 'rig', or vehicle, at the end of the day. It's actually a whole lot of fun, bopping around out here in the woods on a fine, summer's day.

Thanks for coming along for a day in the woods on a Tree Tuesday in May. Cheers.



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Thanks for stopping in and viewing the forest on Tree Tuesday. If you have any thoughts about the forest, sepia photos OF the forest, wandering around in the brush, the age of trees in the woods, or anything else this post reminds you of, please feel free to comment away in the spaces below. I'd love to hear from you.





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Posted: 04/30/2019 @ 12:20



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Excerpts From Late-Night Conversations With A Mechanical Cat

Fact Number 140

DONE 5 minute freewrite cinnamon Skipping again.PNG
Somewhat sardonic reply to a continually repeating CatFact

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I really enjoyed this trip to the woods. I didnt even have to worry about ticks!. I imagine those are around out there too. I would say you did a fine job of covering all the tags! LOL I like the look of that coloring. Makes me wonder was that taken today or 50 years ago...Perfect!

Glad you enjoyer the short romp into the woods. We do have ticks, not a lot of them, but it's always good to look when done out there. They have some NASTY diseases now. Particularly in your neck of the woods and to the East. Do you get them often, when out bopping about? HH was telling me of some new pyrethrins, I think, that you wash into your clothes to keep them off. Supposed to work. Though sounds a bit hard on the person to me. I may have the wrong stuff. But I guess it's better than the alternatives of some of the diseases.
Glad you are fooled in knowing the time of the photos. That is my intent, to make them look like they could be from anytime, USA. I LOVE that old look, particularly with wood buildings and trees and the such. Wow, I really went on here.
Lastly, if not leastly...I wrassle with that whole tag thing all the time. Never know WHERE to put my posts. Except in OGP catergories. That makes it easy. Thanks for that ( :
(I DO know how to spell that, it just looks better that way).

Well HH would certainly know. If it ever warms up, I have a solid and easy solution, I will stick to the water and leave the woods for the cold temps lol... That is of course if it ever gets warm enough to get in or on the water!

Always feel free to use the OGP tags, regardless of the day! I am always happy to see trees or sepia any day of the week!

A stellar jay is indeed a rare treat to see on the coast. They are a little more abundant around bear feeding time up on Grouse Mountain. Those cheeky little birds like to steal the grizzly food. Then perhaps the bears appreciate their beauty too. Those oddities do indeed make a forest interesting. Hemlocks and Douglas up here too:)

We would see them now and then. More common in the lower areas though, I think. So Griz feeding time, eh? Is that like the old days, where they feed them garbage and stuff and you go watch? They used to do that in Yellowstone. Until it ended up being very hard on the bears. I'll have to look up Grouse Mountain on the old Interweb here. I would imagine the bears would like to eat the cheeky birds, if they could catch them. Grizzlies have always fascinated me, and given me a true fear of the large. Do you see them often?

That tree is rather odd. It makes for a good subject, thoguh! Do you use a GPS, too, or just the map and compass? Those hand-held GPS devices are really handy, when in places like that. Always good to have a map and compass, too, though. Tech can fail.

Any blackbirds out there? They're all over the state park, here, and will literally attack you when they're sitting on eggs. I had to use a tennis racket on them, once, when they nested on the building where I worked.

That tree is a bit of an oddity. I see more of them by the coast. I've used GPS for work, but prefer the old map and compass. Probably because that's what I cut my forestry chompers on in the beginning. And I like maps, you can always tell what's around and where things are, etc. We used to use a lot of topographic maps and aerial photos in concert with one another. You could pick out individual trees on the photos, which was often necessary when navigating longer distances. GPS is pretty handy, but as you say, when the batteries die, you better know where you are on the map. Old school here, I guess.
Ha haa, the old tennis racket and black bird trick. They sound voracious. No, we see few blackbirds, if any. The occasional raven flies over and makes their wackily differing Alien sounds, but no true blackbirds. Some buzzards, hawks, eagles, owls and the occasional jay. But surprisingly, out in the denser areas, there just isn't a plethora of wildlife in most cases. As movies and such suggest. Maybe we are too noisy, or smell bad. But I think it's just a misnomer that you could survive out there 'on the land'. I think that's why the native Americans spent more of their time in the valleys. And had spirit areas (I'm not sure of the true real names, they probably vary, but you probably get the point-special religious areas), in the mountains and forests. Or used them as travel ways.
Wow, that's more jabber than the average bear, and probably more than you want, but I just get going sometimes. You can tell I like messing about in the woods. Thanks for the comment, Cheers.

Ah! It seems that you had a nice day in the woods. I also love to be among nature like this. It’s a quiet and peaceful place indeed.

It’s great that you can see squirrel in the woods and you were so lucky for not encountering any cougars this time.

I agree with you, "A bad day in the woods is better than any day in the office." ;D

Nice photos with well description! The trees look wonderful, especially the middle one! Very strange! ;)

I did have fun in the woods. It was last fall. A fun time looking for things to photograph. That tree is very odd. Don't see too many of those strange shaped ones. Glad you enjoyed my day out in the quiet of the woods. Hope your Sunday was a good one. Cheers GFF

Yes, that tree is very odd indeed. I haven't ever seen the one like that before.

Have a wonderful day, GFF! ;)

Missing the snow already?! 😀

Oh, maybe a little bit. But never fear, I'm just giving you all a break. I'm putting together the last 3 or so segments of SnOwregon 2019. The gift that never quits giving ( :

Ahh, my long lost feathered friend, how I have missed thee.

Your conglomeration of three days worth of tags really made my morning. I hope all is well on your side of the mountainous spine?

Your squirrel musings reminded me of the time my grandfather was hit by a white pine cone squirrel launched depth charge. It hit him so hard it dropped him to his knees. Nefarious creatures indeed!

"A bad day in the woods is better than any day in the office."

Just sitting on a moss carpet underneath some Larch and Red Fir, far from the maddening crowd sounds glorious right now. Thanks for painting such a lovely foresty scene with your thoughts, digits, and pictures! I adored and needed that bit of contemplation this morn.

Peace Out Skilletus Domesticus!

Ah, hello, my friend, how ARE things in your neck of the REAL woods? I've missed our chats as well. Life gets very busy, then again, I'm preaching to a choir of thousands here. You got more done in your first 50 minutes of day than I even dream about accomplishing. What IS your secret, small pink bunny with a drum and AA power cells that never run dry?
Life here is good. Going along, doing the chores and some writing, though not as much as I'd like. Though our snowstorm here gave me endless post fodder, with still a few more to come. "THE AFTERMATH". Sounds ominous, doesn't it? Not really, but I gotta add drama to the seams of life when I can, even if it's made up. (I have NO idea what in the world I'm going on about here. ( :
) ← That goes on the end of the previous line, but it never works right when you combine a parenthetical (is that a real word, mm 'brarian?) and a smiley face. The powers that be of the Interthing really should address that faux pas ASAP. I LOVE acronyms. They just work well. Anyway, I babble on. I think I need some lunch. Glad you enjoyed my romp in the woods. It was fun to write. But not as fun as BEING in the woods. Your Grandfather's bombing from above is a classic. The little doobers used to throw them at us now and then at work. They DO hurt. A white pine would be a real 'hit'. Glad he had on his lid. We never wore them, such woodsy scofflaws. Well, I am glad to hear from you, and hope all is well in your corner of things. And you get out to your larch and red fir stand soon. All is grand here, just very busy. Once again, sorry choir. Then again, I never COULD sing, so talking works. Have a nice Sunday and we shall talk to you soon. Cheers, Le Pan de Flatte'

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