The Value of Christmas Trees

"...there is no reason why the joy associated with the Christmas evergreen may not be a means of arousing in the minds of children an appreciation of the beauty and usefulness of trees; and keen appreciation of the beauty and usefulness of trees is a long stop toward the will to plant and care for them (Arthur Sowder, US Forest Service, 1949)."

Monday, December 13, 2010

How Things Have Changed

I found an important photograph quite by accident about a week ago. It was on a postcard in The Muses bookstore in Morganton. The photographer is Christopher Smith (www.christophoto.com), who is in Asheville and specializes in weddings and landscapes. I contacted Mr. Smith and he graciously allowed me to use his sopyrighted photo in my blog and my talks on hemlock woolly adelgid.

Why the interest in his photo? It was taken in 2001 at Linville Falls. His photo clearly shows the hemlocks growing in the spring against the dark shadow (note the magnolia blooming). This was before the HWA had made an impact. I didn't have a photo from this time, and even if I didn't, it wouldn't have been that good. You can compare it to my own photograph which I took on Labor Day 2010. The difference? A picture is worth a thousand words, and words can't describe the irreplaceable loss this pest has made in western NC and elsewhere along the east coast.

Chris Smith photo, 2001
My photo, 2010

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