Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

   When I was  a little kid, I used to tell folks my dad was a carpenter. When he found out, he got mad and corrected me, mentioning that he was a contractor. I didn't understand the difference at the time, but know now that the knowledge he possessed was far beyond carpentry.   One Christmas I received an Erector Set. For those who aren't familiar with such a thing, it was a set that had numerous thin, flat bars of aluminum or steel, all of which were drilled with multiple holes up and down the length of the bars, which were about twelve inches long and maybe 3/8 inches wide. Also included was a number of little screws, as well as nuts, and an illustrated catalogue that showed the various things you could make; towers and small buildings and cranes and  I don't recall what all else. I suppose the idea behind the set was to encourage future engineers and architects or iron workers. It all fell flat with me. For a short while, when I was bored on a rainy day, I w...

   This past week my daughter Jen came home from work only to be greeted with a view of her beautiful Noble Fir tree decimated by IPEC, the local power company. Without warning or an opportunity to be on site when the cutting was happening, and without any input, she was totally caught off guard. She was both devastated and angry when she saw the destruction. The Noble Fir, which was totally on her property, was the only one in town. In a place where Sitka Spruce, Hemlock and Alder trees are as common as rocks on a beach, this tree stood out as a thing of beauty. Noble is an apt name for these firs, although as you can see from these pictures, it's anything but  now. She isn't the only one angry or disappointed in the short sided decision to eliminate one whole side of branches. The previous owner of the house had received the tree from her now deceased father and it was a lasting reminder of him whenever she passed by. I understand the need to trim branches...