COAST REDWOODS (Sequoia sempervirens) Tallest living things on earth— coast redwoods over 300 feet high and twelve-feet wide, forest sentinels and nature's flagpoles honoring four elements of ancient Greeks— its triangular Λ-top breathing air and Λ-bottom goosepen carved by fire, needles nourished by sap bringing water and strong roots anchored deep in the earth. Walking amidst redwoods you feel at peace as if in a great cathedral older than Chartres, Reims, and Notre Dame de Paris— built not by masons but born from a tiny seed that 200,000 of them would weigh a pound. Sequoia sempervirens— always living taller than a thirty-story building with enough wood to build six 5-room houses. What's admirable about these towering trees is their singleness of purpose standing upright shooting straight upward to heaven teaching us to focus on what is at hand. Mono Indians say Sequoias are sacred— the spirit of owls protect these huge trees with its call woh-woh-nau or wawona— no wonder we feel so serene among them. Seeing redwoods with Λ-bottom goosepen singing of Platonic Lambda or World Soul, I embrace them as if meeting an Elder Chief seeking wisdom & blessings to share with all.         — Peter Y. Chou             Mountain View, 10-28-2012

Λ-Top Redwood Portola Redwoods State Park Λ-Middle of Old Tree Portola Redwoods State Park Λ-Bottom Goosepen Portola Redwoods State Park

Photos taken July 1, 2012 on hike at Portola Redwoods State Park, La Honda, California