Grove of the Titans–pondering the overstory

There are a lot of big trees in this part of the world

I’m obsessed with the overstory in the redwoods, that there is a whole ecosystem living above what we can see in the top branches of these trees (300 feet up!)–where another set of plants and animals live–huckleberry bushes, rhododendrons, salamanders that never touch the earth, birds in soft mossy birdnests… These plants and animals are living within up to 3 feet of accumulated soil on top of the branches of these trees–(what?!)–a magical life I was not aware of.  It makes sense that overstories are used symbolically to represent the vast, unseen ecological system that we humans live within, aren’t fully aware of, but have a huge impact on. And these trees are way older than the founding of the US… for example, the “Founder Tree” we saw yesterday, once thought to be the tallest tree in the world, is estimated to be between 1300 and 1500 years old.