Lee,
You have me convinced with an artful and compelling description of what the eye beholds at the Sleeping Bear Dunes. You describe the kind of panoramic scenery and context that really excites me. Next year is going to include quite the journey: Michigan, Minnesota, and the Great Lakes, the open spaces of the Dakotas, the Wyoming Mountains, Idaho forests, and then Colorado and the San Juans, Sangre de Cristo, and perhaps deeper into the Southwest. Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee Frelich" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 8:51:49 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [ENTS] Re: Dune Adventures Bob: I agree, the surrounding context is also important for dunes. Although Sleeping Bear Dunes have a much different context than the Great Sand Dunes, I think they can compete pretty well. In this case, its the unique luminous robin's egg blue of Lake Michigan stretching off to the horizon, the islands off shore, and the vista down the sinuous shoreline, where dune after dune gets smaller and smaller in perspective view as the distance increases, and then the transition from open sand to desert-like vegetation of dune grass and sage, then shrubs and pioneer tree species, and finally forests of maple, beech and hemlock as one turns around and looks inland. Lee [email protected] wrote: > Lee, > > It isn't the dunes alone. It is the dunes in context with the > magnificent country around them. There are so many juxtaposed > superlatives. I dig a little deeper and find more to get excited > about. However, the Sleeping Bear Dunes are on my list. > > Bob > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lee Frelich" <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 6:30:55 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: [ENTS] Re: Dune Adventures > > > Bob: > > You seem to be obsessed with dunes. You definitely need to see the > Sleeping Bear Dunes--where huge open dunes occur on the lake side and > forests occur on the inland facing side of the dunes. > > Lee > > [email protected] wrote: > > ENTS,WNTS, > > > > The attached images reflect an infinitesimal fraction of dune moods > > and patterns to which the eye is treated in a scene that unfolds each > > day from dawn to dusk. These are all images that were taken with my > > little iPhone camera. > > > > 1. S-BlendedEcosystems: This image was taken at the edge of the > > dunes. The unrelenting battle between sand and vegetation is featured > > here against the backdrop of the massive 13,294-foot Mt. Herard. > > Clouds spill over Medano Pass to heighten one viewscape. > > > > 2. S-Footprintsinthe Sand: All sand prints are ephemeral. One walks > > into and out of the dunes, looking back to see the lingering trace of > > one's presence. The physical manifestations of that presence pass to > > be replaced by others, and so on. The only constant of the dunes is > > change. > > > > 3. S-LookingBack: When in the dunes, one's attention is drawn first to > > micro-patterns then macro-patterns, and back. The boldness and > > expansiveness of this extraordinary landscape first captures ones > > imagination, followed by the heart, and then the soul. There is more > > here than can be absorbed in an hour, day, year, or century. Some > > parts change in the blink of an eye. Other parts seem eternal. > > > > 4. S-Sandscapes: There are no dull moments spent in dune wanderings. > > Sudden changes brought by windy gusts; shifting patterns highlighted > > by the dancing interplay of light and shadows; cresting a high dune to > > be confronted by a still higher one; it all unfolds in an endless > > expanse. But there is a constant. It is the ever bold backdrop of the > > lofty Sangre de Cristos. I could never tire of the dunes. > > > > Bob > > > > - > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
