Saturday, October 27, 2012

The Old Tree: A Saturday Snapshot

Sometimes I feel old.
But then I visit Cathedral Grove, on Vancouver Island, and see trees that are approaching their milllennium-th birthday!
Even though I once lived there, Vancouver Island remains one of my favorite vacation destinations. 

On my last trip, in July of 2012, I re-visited the old tree.
This beauty behind me [not the horizontal one] is over 800 years old.
Had already sucked water out of the ground for three centuries before Christopher Columbus drifted by to tell the Indians they'd been "discovered".
It is a venerable beast.
76 metres tall and 9 metres round.

It makes the Leaning Tower of Pisa look like..... a pizza.
I deliberately made this image black and white, because, as we all know -- 800 years ago, color images did not exist. Years ago, I wrote a poem about it.

Thank you Alyce, for hosting this terrific Saturday Snapshot meme @ At Home With Books.
*****

20 comments:

Louise said...

What a great shot, perfect in black and white. It is incredible to realise that a tree can be that old. Vancouver Island is a very beautiful place indeed, I was lucky enough to visit quite a few times in the 80s.

Kaye said...

Wow, what a massive tree. Must be truly awesome to stand next to.

Paulita said...

I love the historical perspective on the tree. Even though it's a black and white photo, we're not going to believe you were there 800 years ago. Here's Mine

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Gorgeous trees...I am always amazed when I learn their history. You're right, the photo is perfect in black and white.

I actually really enjoy black and white photos; my eldest son did many shots in black and white that were artistic with a "noir" ambience (weird word, I know).

Thanks for sharing...and here's MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT POST

Margaret @ BooksPlease said...

A tremendous tree - so impressive!

grammajudyb said...

Vancouver Island, another place I have never seen. I really must get moving before the actual moving becomes an issue. here is my Snapshot Saturday post for today

Book Savvy Babe said...

I love Vancouver as well, we are working on plans to visit for vacation in another year or so. We will have to make a trip to the island to see the trees, thanks for sharing the pic! Book Savvy Babe

Barbara said...

Love the B&W photo and the wonderful poem you wrote in honor of the tree. Beautiful!

Sim Carter said...

Lovely old tree; I am not quite 800years old but sometimes I feel it.

Booksnyc said...

wow - those trees look majestic!

bermudaonion said...

What a magnificent tree!

DCMetroreader said...

Now that is a TREE! Thanks for sharing!

Leslie (Under My Apple Tree) said...

I can only imagine the history that tree has witnessed.

Lisa said...

That's a great picture. We humans occasionally need to be reminded of our place in this vast universe.

Susan Lindquist said...

It is pretty daunting to think of all the events and changes that that tree has weathered ... just minding its own business and growing bigger and bigger! Amazing and wonderful!

Alyce said...

Old trees like that are awe-inspiring. I like the photo effects you added.

Cheryl @ Tales of the Marvelous said...

Wow--it boggles the mind to think of something that old!

Cipriano said...

Thank you, dear friends, for visiting my site and saying Hi to this ol' log of a bloggerboy!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I love the B/W image and the great capture - such a massive tree.

Brona said...

It's a humbling experience being in the presence of something so majestic. I wish it could tell us all that it had seen over the years.