Friday, March 27, 2015

This Week in Humboldt Redwoods State Park: Spring

Weott
Maple leaves are budding

Trillium are blooming


Spring has arrived in the redwoods. This week the redwoods received some fresh spring rains as well as glorious, bright, sunshine. Maple leaves are popping out as well as the white flowers of the trillium. The mountainsides of Northern California are bright green right now, and will eventually turn their characteristic golden brown this summer after the rain stops.

On a side note, I noticed quite a few more fresh blow downs from last months windstorm. It seems many of the groves were affected. Since Humboldt Redwoods State Park is basically a narrow band of old growth along the Eel River in most spots, and many of the groves are rather small, I have to wonder about the structural integrity of the groves. Is it normal to see so many blow downs? Does there come a point when the big trees start falling like dominoes after each intense storm? How much of a wind buffer did the logged surrounding mountains provide, or was the Eel River always a wind tunnel? Some groves look like a boxer with one of his front teeth knocked out.  I don't want to be an alarmist, just an observation.

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