I have been a student at Portland State University in my hometown of Portland, Oregon since autumn 2005. During the 2006-07 academic year, I will be attending the Pädagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg in Germany as an exchange student through PSU.
About the photo - I took it in August 2006 in the hills southeast of Estacada, Oregon. Smoke from the Blister forest fire is visible hanging over the valley.
What's a Douglas-fir? - It's Oregon's official state tree, and once held great significance for the state's economy, in which timber harvesting once played a central role. Though logging now has less economic prominence than it once had, the Douglas-fir remains an icon of Oregon. Stands of centuries-old Douglas-firs are now the focus of conservation efforts. If you love to hike in Oregon's forests and wilderness areas, as I do, you will see many old and tall specimens of this stately tree.
Did you know? - "Douglas-fir" is properly spelled with a hyphen. The hyphen indicates that it is not a true fir. Douglas-firs are unique enough that botanists have classified them in their own genus, Pseudotsuga.