The two decades following the discovery gold at Creswick saw the once pristine forest around Creswick and Ballarat stripped bare to supply timber to the bottomless pit of the mining industry. In addition the digging, sluicing and loss of vegetation led to serious erosion and weed problems, many of which are still present today. With the hills left scarred and badly eroded, a pioneer forester John La Gerche, set in motion replanting trees along the eroded gullies and slopes of Creswick.
Pines are conifer trees in the genus Pinus in the family Pinaceae. They are the only genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The Plant List compiled by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts 126 species names of pines as current, together with 35 unresolved species and many more synonyms.
The Austrian Pines
Deep in a Black Forest,
lost along a mystic stream.
Where the winds still whisper,
a thousand untold dreams.
Enchanted shadows,
kicking frosted leaves.
Sleep at night’s darkness,
wake upon a moonlit breeze.
Castled ruins in disbelief,
sap blistered lips unseen.
Singing Austrian pines in chorus,
beneath an idyllic scene.
Dancing high betwixt the hills,
hide an’ seek, and make-believe.
Pine cones popping tear-dropped treasures,
wave a kiss goodbye, “Auf Wiedersehen!”
2011 (Jim Sularz)
Source: Wikipedia