This is the third installment on this blog of what is in danger of becoming a series, or dare I say a “project”. Living in proximity to awesome amounts of nature can do that to you. Parts 1 & 2 examined scale and spatial sensation. In part 3, I explore density in terms of the patterns, materials, textures and spatial qualities of the environment we collectively refer to as the “forest”. In this installment I traverse two distinctly different versions of a semi-arid, high desert forest found in Northern New Mexico near Santa Fe. At 9000′, scrubby, thinly forested pine. At 11-12,000′ a distinctly alpine environment featuring dense groves of aspens forming a full canopy over the grassy forest floor. Also at these high altitudes, lichen covered rock and stunted tree growth, starkly set off against blue thin air. So, from rocky top to pine needle covered forest floor, step inside my latest trek into the “Forest Interior”.
