Fairies are Real, I tell ya!

September 27, 2010

Phone booth at Hoh Rain Forest

I'd almost bet that we caught the last dry day in 2010 at the Hoh Rain Forest in August.  With a normal year of rainfall at 140-170 inches (12-14 feet!) it has to get started some time!  The Hoh Rainforest is one of the finest and largest examples of temperate rainforests in the United States.It had been over 30 years since I'd been there and although I could remember the previous visit somewhat the details were of course fuzzy.  As apparently everything else!

Although it's one of the top highlights on the Olympic Peninsula, my husband and I hadn't made the trek since we got here.  You know how it is, you need visitors to see the sights!  A visit from my Uncle who had a strong desire to see it got us there.  It was a perfect day to do it.

Hoh Rain Forest

Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock are the predominant types of trees you'll find in the park, but there are also Coast Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Bigleaf Maple, Red Alder, Vine Maple and Black Cottonwood.  The trees grow to enormous size due to the precipitation and ideal growing conditions never too cold or too hot.  The Hoh River constantly overflows and rearranges its banks, depositing rich soil in new spots.  It's not unusual to see 300' spruce and hemlocks!

Something I did remember from my previous trip were the huge spruce.  Some of the largest trees had what I imagined were fairy homes at their bases.

Hoh Rain Forest
 

The scientific explanation (which I have to admit was in evidence all around us, but that's no fun!) is that when a tree dies and falls over it takes awhile to decompose.  Seedlings start growing on it very quickly in the rainforest and eventually the young trees send down roots and get bigger and bigger while the nurse tree dissintegrates.  You could see the entire process at different stages throughout the walk we took.

I've had a necklace in process for some time inspired by the California Redwood forests and their fairy circles, but once I saw these fairy homes again I really knew where it was taking me.  That is a to be continued....

Hawk's Eye Brooch by Honey from the Bee
 
However, for a piece that was inspired by many a forest hike through the California redwoods, this Forest Walk Brooch (SOLD) captures the rays of sunshine as they come through the canopy.
 
When you enter a grove peopled with ancient trees, higher than the ordinary, and shutting out the sky with their thickly interwined branches, do not the stately shadows of the wood, the stillness of the place, and the awful gloom of this doomed cavern then strike you with the presence of a deity?

- Seneca  

The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness. - John Muir