Scale

A recent vacation in northern California allowed us to experience the majestic scale of trees there in some amazing parks and forests.  Compared to Eastern climes everything seems bigger there.

It is often said that the inherent efficacy of a design is its success when scaled up or down.  If so, then redwoods and Douglas Firs are winners.  The sheer awesome scale of these plants are simply masterpieces.

The panorama of trees taller than skyscrapers is a magnificent thing to behold.

The decaying stumps of ancient trees 40, 50, and even 80 feet in girth simply boggles the mind for those of us from somewhere else on the planet.

When the trees are so tall that looking up at their crowns causes you to lose your balance, you know you are not in Kansas any more.

 

From a distant viewing vantage the trees seem much like any forest elsewhere, but when you add the contextual element of a human form the factor of scale is jarring and disorienting.

Even the drape of the bark is bizarre in its gigantazoidness.

Now if only the polity there would muster the wisdom and will to reduce the scale of the incentives that encourage the parasitic indolent self destruction (being there is like witnessing the devolution of Homo sapien sapien into Homo sapien slackerous right before your eyes.  Even in the forests we could not escape the racket of boom boxes and the stench of dope wafting from groups of  dissolute losers.)  The civilized folks of California deserve better.

Until then, at least they still have their trees.