Trees

It amuses me when people from the desert/western mountainous states go east or to other places with trees for the first time.  Some of them talk about how claustrophobic it makes them to be on the interstate and not be able to see what's around (picture of I-95 in Virginia).

More often mentioned is the confusion and frustration of buildings obscured partially or completely by trees.  Thing is, when it's more wet and the soil is nice and rich (meaning not the sand of the desert), the trees thrive.  

For example, here's a Google Map shot of my neighborhood at home.  Yep, those are all trees.  And even in those patches of trees the houses are about as regular as the ones you can see that are more exposed.  

(Seriously, click on it.  There're a bajillion trees.)

I definitely miss the trees when I'm out here.  Also, I want to be clear that I'm not mocking the people that are shocked by the trees and greenness the first time they encounter such a thing.  When I first came to Utah the enormous mountains shocked me and I still love to just look at them.  The sparse dessert on the way to the sand dunes on a camping trip enthralled me.  I'm just amused by the fascination with something I grew up with. 

Having the trees makes for some nice shade in the summer, though.  However, in the East where it's obnoxiously humid all the time (when I talked to my mother yesterday it was 98% humidity, it's 63% right now), the shade doesn't actually do that much.  It's still hot and outrageously sticky in the shade.  The only real benefit of the shade is to get the sun out of your face. 

Oh, and a benefit to the humidity that I love to complain about?  Big thunderstorms and heat lightning.  Come back to me beautiful summer weather. 

Also, for your viewing pleasure, a beauty shot from Skyline Drive (near my home town of Luray, part of the Shenandoah National Park).