Portal

Description

“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”

John Muir

Until recently, there has been a reverent silence in the burned hillsides since the Caldor Fire. This place has the feel of a Gothic Cathedral. Tall charred Lodgepole and Jeffrey Pines remind me of the stone columns that were inspired by forests in their inception. The rayonnant windows are gone up here, but are intact down in the valley. What remains is the delicate tracery, fragile yet resilient limbs, fine lines reaching across high spaces. Light pours through portals rich with hidden colours, revealing a dark beauty reserved for this moment.

Life paused here for a moment. Then in Spring, took a deep breath. Birds have started to return to the remains of the forest, along with new manzanita, ferns, lupins and wild geranium.  New trees are already sprouting at the feet of the fallen.