ENTS, I am 46 years old (well almost- in about 3 days), and am not retired or anything, but my work situation allows me to go out and hike more than maybe other people can, because I have one day off and two 4-hour days that end at 9:30 am. That allows me to go out and hike and take pictures a lot. I could use the hours at work, but hey, the extra time off is a plus. I love being in the woods. I love the trees, the wildflowers, the insects, the animals, the birds, and so on, and so on. I love it all. And I love to take pictures of it all, especially when I can share them with those who aren't familiar with it. If my trail in our back woods was wider, I'd go back there all the time too, and shoot some video back there for you guys. There is a reason why our pine barrens was made into the nation's first National Reserve and also an International Biosphere Reserve. (Google that.) It's truly unusual and special. And I actually live in it! But it's funny- very few people that live here seem to appreciate it. In fact very few people here seem to even care about nature and the outdoors at all. All they want to do is drive their big SUVs that never go off the paved road, talk on and play with their cell phones, and work on their un-natural green lawns. But that's for a different discussion. As for trees, I'm just as interested in other trees elsewhere as I am in our trees. They can be tall, short, big, small, and everything in between. But one day, some day, I want to go to California, to see 3 things: The famous Bristlecone Pines (Methuselah Grove and so on) The famous Giant Sequoias (General Sherman and so on) The famous Coast Redwoods Otherwise, there's so much here to interest me, I never need to leave my area. It's amazing. When I post to the group, I try to use words and phrases that accurately portray what I saw, but I don't feel that I'm a good writer. I forget things I wanted to say, or say them differently than I wanted to, or whatever. But I try to share this area with you guys the best I can, especially when it comes to the trees and the forests. I realize that this area is very different from what everyone's familiar with, so I want to share. Anyway, thanks for reading. Barry --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
