The Trees

There are several posts that have lived in my word doc all year, and my goal is to post them before 2012 is up. This is no exception.

2012 hasn’t been the best year for Colorado. The wild firers this summer, the movie theatre shooting this summer, recently the brutal murder of Jessica Ridgeway. I’m hoping 2013 is a better year for my lovely state. I’ve called Colorado home since I was six, and it breaks my heart to see so many people in the state that have lost so much. And are still losing- there is a fire burning in Rocky Mountain National Park as I type tonight in December.

When I was a freshmen in college I was talked into taking a class called environmental conservation. It is one of those classes that I have gotten more out of it after taking the class than I really did sitting through it. Unfortunately, the wild fires are another case of forgetting history.

Since the age of six I have called Colorado home. I love my state, and am proud to call myself a Coloradoan. Sometimes we make headlines, and this summer is no exception. Imagine my personal grief as I watch my beautiful state be consumed by fire, the landscape disappear, and hear the stories of loss coming out of Colorado Springs. It is hard.

Ten years ago, the worst fire Colorado had ever seen consumed 147,000 acres and burned for six weeks. The Haymen fire is the worst fire this state has ever seen. Ten years and one day later, the second worst fire Colorado has ever seen started just west of Fort Collins. It raged for 23 days and has consumed 87,250 of acres. I am talking about the High Park Fire.

Does anyone else find this ironic? That the newspaper one day reminds us of the Haymen Fire, and then two days later starts covering this new large fire? I surely do, and watching something simply consume an area I am intimately familiar with (I went to school in Fort Collins) while knowing this would inevitably happen sometime, is just disgusting.

One part of Environmental Conservation was about forests, and forest health. Information has been gathered from trees across the country, and what they showed is something remarkable. In Colorado, tree evidence showed that about every year, there would be fires that would burn through the forests.

But unlike what you are seeing in images today, these fires were quite the opposite. Since the fires raged often they were small, and were used as a sort of cleansing process to help kill off some trees and shrubs on the forest floor. But some trees would survive and grow larger. These fires reduced the number of trees in the forest, and actually helped the already existing trees since the forests were not overgrown.

Native Americans also used fire to help encourage diversity in the eco system. Despite common belief, these fired did help purge undergrowth.

In conclusion (what a tacky phrase… but it seems to be appropriate here) since we decided to fight fires completely, we have overgrown forests with trees that are really unhealthy since there are too many of them. We also have a really bad invasion of Mountain pine beetle that is killing off trees. And instead of removing the dead trees, we’re ignoring the problem entirely.

So it makes sense why the fires are so large: with little rain this year, unhealthy trees, and a lot of dead dry trees lying around to act as kindling, it does not take much to start a fire. And with the awful winds that sweep through this area, a bad situation turns nasty in a matter of minutes.

Like what happened June 26, 2012, when the fire in Colorado Springs essentially blew up, and swept through the town.

The problems of 2012 are no different than 2002; we had Beetle kill trees then, we have them now. We had overgrown forests then, we have them now. So why, if we know there is a problem, are we failing to solve the problem? Why if we know what can happen, what has HISTORICALLY happened, have we not tried to take that knowledge and change our future?

I don’t have these answers; I don’t think anyone does. But I can only hope that we can learn from our history to change what can happen in the future. What I do know is I drove by the High Park burn site in August, only two months after the fire swept through. There was a lot of dead trees, but there was also a little growth returning. Thankfully, nature can revive itself. However, I hope we can learn from these events to help keep our forests healthy.

~All of these were taking in August when I drove past the burn area. It broke my heart. It also broke my heart when I learned a friend's parents house burned during the fire in Colorado Springs. I really hope we learn our lesson, and fast.

Sappho

When I took my Ancient Women history class I got to learn about some real awesome ladies. And when I realized how amazing they were, I knew that I wanted to name someone in their honor. Since I am not a cruel person, I recognized that a name like Enheduana or Sappho was not appropriate for any child.

My back up plan? Name any future animals after these awesome historical figures. So it begins with my new cat who I have named Sappho, after one of the nine great Greek poets. Why did I name my cat Sappho? I like the name, and I think she kinda looks like a Sappho.

Sappho (the poet, not my cat) was born on the island of Lesbos sometime around 625 B.C.E. She married a wealthy merchant, giving her the life of freedom. She chose to spend her time writing poetry.

Her style was melodic and sensual, primarily songs of love, yearning, and reflection. She was also the first poet to write in the first person. Another interesting fact I did not know (I have a friend of mine to thank for bringing it to my attention) is that Sappho mentored young women living on the island. When they were eventually married, she wrote their wedding poetry. Sappho became synonymous with woman-love for this reason.

Sappho was well regarded during her life, and through today we still have fragments of her poetry today.

Standing Trial

You "stand trial" because back in the day you literally stood trial. This lovely platform (ok, cage... there is no other way to put it) was where the defendant stood during trial during early American history.

Not the most comfortable situation I must add.

Gouveneur of the Constitution

Everyone knows who wrote the Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson. But does anyone know who wrote much of the United States Constitution? I certainly didn’t know who this was before I visited Independence Hall.

Gouveneur Morris.

Gouveneur Morris was born January 31, 1752, and represented Pennsylvania at the Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. He was also the author of most of the Constitution; it is believed the phrase “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union” came from him.

His role at the convention was a high point for Morris. He avoided being blunt and sarcastic, and instead employed his considerable social and verbal skills to smooth over issues that threatened to divide the delegates. He then used his position as primary draftsman to strengthen the final version of the Constitution much as Jefferson did with the Declaration of Independence. He defended the positions he took when drafting the New York constitution: religious liberty, opposition to slavery, the right of property as the foundation of society, the rule of law and the consent of the governed as the basis of government.

Check out this link to read more about him. Honestly, Gouveneur was a fun man to learn about, and it was exciting to learn something new while visiting Independence Hall.

The Chair

In the entire room filled with furniture, this chair is the only original piece of furniture remaining from the Founding Fathers. In fact, the ink well in front isn’t even original; that original is actually in a display case pictured below.

Think about who could have sat in this chair… it’s a pretty amazing thought really. And while you’re at it, think about this most important room where the Founding Fathers met twice, the first to declare independence from England, the then world power, and a second time to create a second government for the newly formed country.

And with an upcoming election, and already heightened political coverage on TV, I think we need to remember what those Founding Fathers did when they created the government we now have as a country, and just how amazing that country is.

Independence Hall

I have the greatest job; I work for Interweave and am a Marketing Assistant for the Jewelry Group. This is awesome because I do make jewelry, so I’ve been looking at this company for several years. It is also perfect because I still work with the magazines.

Regardless, I got to go on my first business trip, and that was to Philadelphia. When I heard about the location of this trip, I kept thinking about the Founding Fathers, and History!!!! I knew I wanted to try and make it to Independence Hall, and we did.

As the park ranger said, this is the most important room, in the most important building, in the most important square mile in America.

The Founding Fathers stood in Independence Hall twice. First to declare independence from England, and then to write the U.S. Constitution; they debated, they argued, they compromised, and ultimately the succeeded in creating a country that was the first democratic country in history.

We all know the story; in the coming weeks I’m going to tell of some facts I did not know.

Olympic Glory

I don’t think there is any doubt that Michael Phelps is a truly great athlete. With his metal wins in London this year, he has become the most decorated Olympian in history to date. This title has been unchallenged for over 48 years.

With this great honor, the name Larisa Latynina was mentioned often. She, until this summer, she was the most decorated Olympian in history. This made me wonder, who is Larisa Latynia, and what were her medals in?

Latynina was a gymnast for the Soviet Union, which makes this metal count even more impressive in my mind. I couldn’t even get past the first year in gymnastics; something about swinging on bars didn’t really sit well with 5-year-old me. But I digress... Born in Ukraine, Laynia began her career in ballet. At the age of 19 she moved to Kiev for college and continue her training. After debuting in 1954, she went to the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne to win gold in all around, team, floor and vault, a silver on uneven bars and bronze in the now discontinued portable apparatus.

At the 1960 World Championships, Latynina was four months pregnant. But she still won five out of six titles which is really impressive. In the 1960 Olympics in Rome, she won gold in all around, team, and floor, took silver in balance beam and uneven bars, and bronze in vault.

In the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Latynina won gold in the team event and floor event, silver in all around and vault, and two bronze metals in bars and balance beam. There is the tally to 18 – unbelievable, especially in gymnastics!

Asked what she thought of Michael Phelps winning more metals, she commented that the metals she won for the Soviet Union also should count. She did coach for the Soviet Union gymnastics teams from her retirement in 1966 through 1977, and the team won gold in 1968, 1972 and 1976. This woman was another truly gifted athlete.