Patchwork

A quilter's eye finds something very beautiful about the clearcuts that dot BC's landscape.
From our first flights, we were struck by how cleverly concealed from the highway view most bare tracts are.  It reminded Bill and me of our drive from Islamabad to Kabul in 1979.  On the sides of the highway were prim fields of grain.  But we knew from our UN Development Programme friends that just over the hillside were miles of riotously-coloured poppies, maturing for the opium harvest.

These photos were taken during our flight last week:

countryside patches in Adams Lake area

fresh clearcut

 


It seems that most replanting efforts are haphazard.  The spiral pattern of new growth on this hillside stands out: 

neat and tidy!

Opinions on forestry practices abound in our Valley.  The gamut ranges from lawn signs proclaiming "Forestry Feeds My Family" to tree police who come running whenever they hear a chainsaw starting up.
Here is one view, from a professional in the field:
http://www.greenbccommunities.com/2012/02/clear-cutting-in-bc-silvicultural.html