Since I was very young, pines have played a strong part in my feeling for nature. Our family would go for Sunday afternoon hikes in nearby woods and the sight of the white pines on the hilltops as well as the sound of the wind song through their boughs gave me a sense of serenity combined with mystery.
As a young painter, I would often select the rhythmic dark patterns of the white pines as I prowled the countryside, looking for subject matter. The red pines came into my consciousness a few years later in some of the more northern ecosystems. With this as a background, I was delighted to learn that a significant area of old growth, white and red pines, had survived the loggers' saws.
I flew in a small aircraft to the Temagami area of northern Ontario to view these giants. This bird's-eye view shows not only the great trees, but a bald eagle and canoe trippers. If the pines can be saved for their own sake they will provide protection of a precious area for endless future generations of bald eagles and canoe trippers.