Big Doug

They call you Big Doug an I wonder if you like the name or are oblivious to the hikers who come to gape at your size as I have. Is it rude to stare at a tree?

I sit at your base, on roots of a tree seen in any other context could be considered grand yet nest to you it seems small and insignificant. Your stature reaches toward the sky with branches only near your crown - they appear to be arms outstretched to welcome the sun.

The stories you tell are in the cracks of your bark. Burn marks from a long forgotten wildfire scar your trunk, the bark seemingly more fragile than the rest. small shrubs have started to sprout from the debris in your crevassed bark.

You're an old being, an Ent taking the time to tell your stories. To whisper you wisdom on the breeze. Living a life of quiet contemplation among your peers conversing through the creaks of your stems, the sway of your limbs and the buzz of life around you.

What shall I call you you other than venerable?

Washington State Parks: St Edwards

Has this ever happened to you?

You pull into the parking lot for an evening of photography and as you do spot the perfect photo.

Oh, that light.

As you hurriedly park hoping you don't ding another car and actually get your car between the lines, your thoughts are focused on equipment, camera settings and the fading light.

Oh. That light.

You envision your composition as you fumble with lenses and setting. Oh wait, the tripod. Screw the tripod - get that light.

You scurry across the parking lot trying to avoid cracks in the pavement, other pedestrians and cars.

Oh my Gawd, the light!

You compose, focus the camera, focus your mind and press the shutter. Once. Twice. And your perfect light is gone, obscured by clouds.

You spend another hour meandering in the light of fading day creating several more images that make you smile until it is time to go.

Of course the 1st image you look at is the 1st image you made and your smile becomes a thought - I don't suck after all.

Won't you join us?

Each of us has our reason. For me personally it's the photos. Not the ones I created but the ones I see on environmental websites. I'm sure you've seen them.

The turtle wearing a plastic six-pack ring that is girdling it's shell.

The dead bird - starved to death because it mistook colorful plastic bits as food.

Yeah, you know the photos.

I started volunteering with the Olympic Coast Cleanup back in 2000. Over the years I've gone to pick up marine debris by myself, with family, with friends (one all the way from Oklahoma) and other volunteers (one couple who was visiting from France and decided to join).

I collected trash from easy beaches to access to others requiring an overnight stay.

And I watched as more volunteers joined, more beaches were added and the coordinating group Washington CoastSavers develop from a small group of like-minded folks to an internationally recognized group with high ambitions to keeping our oceans and beaches clean of debris. They have reached beyond the one spring clean-up a year to three cleanups - Earth Day, July 5th and the International Coastal Cleanup.

It's not just the core group of committee members who have this dedication, but the army of volunteers who devote a day or two or three to pull debris off the beaches - our friends and family. Just last year, 1200 volunteers carried 19 tons of marine debris off Washington's beaches during the Earth Day cleanup.

We're about to do it again.

On April 23rd this year, 1000+ volunteers will again spend the day cleaning our states beaches. Will you join us?

Even before the 23rd cleanup, there is an opportunity to help CoastSavers by attending and Evening of Music, Art and Adventure on April 9th. There will be a surf rock band - The Echo Devils - providing the music, live and silent auctions and refreshments. I would love to see you there.

What will be your reason for helping?