Speak for the Trees

The Trees are All Right

by Timothy Egan

In most of the American West, the trees are not the right height, which may
frighten Mitt Romney, and some of them are so old as to challenge the biblical
view of creation that Rick Santorum wants taught in schools.

The tallest
trees in the world, the coast redwoods of northern California, grow to 378 feet
— more than half the size of Seattle’s Space Needle. The oldest trees in the
world, bristlecone pines that cling to hard ground in Nevada’s Great Basin, can
live for up to 5,000 years.

The saguaro cactus, with its droopy,
anthropomorphic limbs, is the signature tree of the Southwest, though some say
it is not technically a tree. And the western red cedar, armored in bark that
Indians made into waterproof clothing, is a symbol of the Northwest.

This arbor tutorial is prompted by the slack-jawed ignorance of the last
Republicans standing in the bad-idea-fest that is their party primary. Every
week, it seems, the conveyor belt of craziness serves up another archaic idea
from the people who want to represent a party that claims at least 40 percent of
the electorate.

Just an exerpt from the above linked blog post. All politics aside, it's an interesting piece, and something well worth keeping in mind and (for me) in heart. Anyone who loves bonsai loves trees, yes? And wild spaces are places worth protecting.

Be the Lorax, speak for the trees.....

Look for a return from general plant news to bonsai this weekend.