Reception this Evening 5:30 PM.....Join Us

Let the Forest Find You

"Whose Trees?" by robin peterson

LOST

 by

David Wagoner

Stand still.  

The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost.  

Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes.  Listen.  It answers,

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,

You are surely lost.  Stand still. 

The forest knows Where you are.  

You must let it find you.

David Wagoner is a professor emeritus at the University of Washington, where he has taught since 1954.  

His poem, quoted above, was inspired by being lost in the Hoh rainforest.

The Haunted

The woods are haunted, it is said

Where roots once tumbled ancient land

From bark to birth to brother’s hand

A ministry of trees

For trespass forsaken

In green cathedrals braced against ruin

In life pulsing through caged anatomy

A loamy thaumaturgy

Yet I've seen more good in them

Than all the children of men

The town is overrun with shadowed regrets

Cast by creaking giants

Soughing branches

And a darkness that whispers of us

Of the bounty we’ve abandoned

I have felt them

Phantom seedlings resting in skin

They will not let me alone

They fear I will soon forget

What it was like to

Breathe

Elizabeth Beck

Entries due today!

"Layers" by Taylor Reed Rydell

"It was strange being at the park with the trees and thinking about how long they had been there and how amazing they are and thinking how wonderful it is that we still have places like this in this state for people to see now and generations from now and then remembering that they won't be there generations from now, they won't be there till the end of the year....   :( sad... "    Taylor

Today is the day.... bring your inspired work and your entry form to the Harbor History Museum between 3 and 4:30 this afternoon.  Treehuggers stand tall in the Pacific Northwest, we don't call this "god's country" for nothing.  Thanks for sharing everyone!  

We Stood Tall

"We Stood Tall-Requiem for the Trees"  by Pat Meras

It's gratifying to see such widespread creativity and support emerging from the community.  Remember to bring your work to the museum this Tuesday, Sept. 27th from 3 to 4:30 pm.
Writers may submit their work via email, deadline for receipt is also Tues. Sept 27th.
Email;  kopachucktrees@yahoo.com  with questions or written submissions.

Reaching for the Light

"Reaching for the Light" by Jill Nordfors Clark

This sculptural basket, 22.5 inches high and 6.5 inches in diameter, is fashioned with hog casings, parachute cord and apple twigs using a needle lace technique.  photo by Tom Holt

Roots and Vines

"Roots and Vines" sculpture by Barbara DePirro

Whispered Memories

"Whispered Memories", watercolor by Myrna Binion

Thank you to Peninsula Art League for spreading the word.

First Name Basis

Each and every tree in the park has a unique face.  If you get close enough they'll whisper their names.  If you lean in and listen, they might tell you what the last 100+ years have been like.

It's not too late to get on a first name basis with the trees at Kopachuck..... but it will be soon.  Marking has begun and rumor has it that cutting will begin in November.  Don't hold me to an exact start date though, just get out there now and start your own conversation.

Thank you to our Sponsors

"Forest Magic" by Chris Bronstad

We want to acknowledge Dave Gordon; Gordon & Associates Law Firm, Richard Pifer; Timberland Bank and Scott Junge; Rosedale Gardens for stepping up to sponsor our show reception at the Harbor History Museum on Sept. 30th 5:30 - 7:30PM. These longtime residents and members of our community recognized the value of this project and didn't let us down.  We are very grateful!  

On the Trail

"Sean & Adam on the Trail"  by Myrna Binion

There's nothing like experiencing the trails yourself. The park is open, it's a good time to visit the trees. Time spent in a forest is never wasted, it may have more impact on your well being than you know, get your Discover Pass, pack up  the kids and find out.

And a thank you to Northwest RVer  for spreading the word about the park.

Kopachuck Trees

Kopachuck Trees,  by Anne Knapp

A Walk in the Park

A Walk in the Park by Patricia Rush

Ode to Thyne Trees!

Soaring skyward in calm quiet strength,

shafts of beauty reaching to stars !

A grove of evergreens majestic in stance,

guardians from heaven … nature’s czars !

E’er watching o’er souls and life beneath,

from tops to roots deep in the earth !

Flow’rs ‘n grass, nestled birds ‘n boughs,

cradling the wonders of nature’s girth !

In summery days filtering suns wrath,

the fields beneath held cool !

In coolness of night hovering that be,

in mornings crisp, a silent jewel !

In weather times your limbs hold firm,

shielding bluster of heaven’s guile !

Bending gently whence winds doth blow,

stalwart strong of the woods all while !

Your legacy bound forever more,

thyne path ahead you’ll not tread alone! 

In the days aft in abyss high and o’er,

‘tis in our hearts wherest be your home !

 by Martha Reisdorf,  September, 2011

View From Atop

"View from Atop" by Kristin Johnson

Circles surround us in nature. They are whole, complete, and beautifully simple, yet they also represent the process of change. Their circular motion shows that objects of nature are always changing. As we attempt to grasp this harsh reality of Kopachuck, maybe we can also realize that the new growth to be planted will once again fill the empty space.

Kristin Johnson

Remembrance

In precious stillness,

filtered moonlight dances with the campfire.

Silence is broken

 by the hoot of an owl and crack of flame.

 We’re gratefully at ease

 in the midst of you,

 our beloved steadfast paladins.

 Lying on the softest floor

we deeply breathe your fragrance.                 

Now safe enough to tell our truths and

 share our innocent laughter,

 we drift into contented dreams.

Youthful sisters

in sleeping bag cocoons

blissfully tucked into allegiant roots

 defended by your branches.

by Susan Norton Lewis

Entry Form

The entry form for "Intertwined, Requiem for the Trees" show at the Harbor History Museum is now available.  A note to writers, please submit your written contributions as soon as possible.  Organizers will mount them for the show.  Please contact us at kopachucktrees@yahoo.com  if you have any questions or if you would like this form sent to you via email.  Thanks for being involved.

In Reverence of Trees

"Tall One" by Patricia Rush

From John Buday, Key Peninsula master carpenter;  "I have often had the thought when laying hands on large timbers laying on the sawhorses that I am about to work with the bones of a huge living thing that was brought down by an act of violence. That I need to respect the sacrifice, not waste the thing, see that it is put to the best use and that it is sustained in that use for as long as possible."


This article from the Seattle Times  speaks to our connection to the land and specifically to the particular way that old growth trees affect us... it's hard to put into words, you can feel it though and that's what we are doing here.  It's the mandate of artists; painters, poets, carpenters, musicians... all, to bring the intangible to life and in doing so, inform our choices with consideration for future generations.

The Sentinel

"The Sentinel" by Margo Macdonald

A Forest Garden

Forest triptych by Beverly Pedersen

A flurry of tree painting has been happening at Beverly Pedersen's Art Barn on the Key Peninsula.  This triptych is painted on metal with sign painters enamel and is designed to be placed outside.  It is double sided, with leaves and ferns painted on the back of each panel.... leave it to Beverly to push the boundaries of possibility.

A Poem for the Park

Ode to the Doomed Trees of Kopachuck Park

O large and foredoomed Firs, whose shady depths 

retain the fleeting sun and cooling rain; 

our sighs for you are crying through the boughs.

This summer eve among the dark'ning green

where pairs of fox kits played about your roots,

I mourn your soft wood beds and long-held home. 

Salal and huckleberry will abide

and gray-blue tides flow on beyond the land

long past the killing of your time and kind.

And we'll return in passing, even stand

where now your noble crown and glory waits,

as witness to the swift and deadly cuts.

We humans hate the ill that can't be cured, 

and serve the break that takes a better death, 

nor stop to care what road your soul prefers.

But still, it seems a cruel and fatal plan 

of man to demonstrate the flawed design

that saves the woods by cutting out the trees. 

Patty Craig Kennedy, Gig Harbor, Washington

Tree Huggers Show Their Stuff

Click this link to read an article in the Kitsap Sun by Charlee Glock-Jackson.