A Smiley Face Is Grown Out Of Trees In Oregon To Brighten People’s Day
By Nicole Rodrigues, 07 Oct 2022
It’s all smiles on a highway in Willamina, Oregon, as lumber firm Hampton Lumber has grown a grinning face out of trees.
Located on the Grand Ronde in Polk County, the trees were planted years ago to lift the spirits of truck drivers making their way across the state.
To recreate the emoji, the company used early-changing larch trees that brown under the fall sun earlier than the rest of the Willamina forest. Larches are conifers that have needles which turn yellow and fall during fall.
The trees were planted during a reforestation project in 2011 and were mixed with Douglas firs, used to form the eyes and mouth of the face. This produced an emoji face spanning an area of 300 feet.
As such, this phenomenon can only be seen during the later parts of the year.
According to Good News Network, the trees will only be ready for harvest in 30 to 50 years. After that, the firm reckons it could replicate a different emoji.
[via Good News Network and Matador Network, cover image via Hampton Lumber]