Up here on Parrett Mountain, Oregon, they use horses to harvest timber carefully, selectively and sustainably. The horses' hooves--shod with iron--are big as soup bowls, and the forest floor shakes when they stamp. I photographed two; one, in the photo above, has a star-like, camoflague-like pattern on his coat. It also looks like the light-struck sea-watery coloration of a whale's hide. Below, two horses (brothers) haul a small log. Yes I use a computer ever day, and no I don't want to give it up. But yes, there are some things about which we can say To Hell With the Modern World...as in logging. This is sane. Clearcutting, whatever timber lobbyists tell you, isn't.
Thank you for looking at a logging operation and seeing - and pointing out to us - a star horse! Not a lot of people would notice that.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for promoting sanity and care for the earth.
Cam,
ReplyDeleteI saw a pair of these wonderful horses helping to clear some diseased pines near the headwaters of the Deschutes a few years ago.
They have also been used in the East Bay hills in Eucalyptus trees. It's like watching poetry.
Hope things in Mayberry are going well.
Bruce
The star horse is called a dapple grey. Is it a Percheron? A French draft horse, notably used for logging operations. I'd love to ditch my Matrix and go back to horse-and-buggy, but it would make the Wednesday trip to Julia's an awful bear, wouldn't it?
ReplyDelete