oSome of the trees in our woods were cut down yesterday. Maybe thirty trees. The tallest one was taller than our house. I felt like it had feelings. The man who owned the arbor company said it was a “weed.” I guess he knew. A lot of pruning was done. And now when you look at our woods, it’s not thick and black like a jungle. Which is good.
He was very knowledgable about the trees. As we made our way into the jungle a day before the buzzsaws and tree shredders started, he pointed out the different varieties of trees by name. I swatted mosquitos. He talked about this one’s leaves being good for making tea. And this one needing to come down because it housed insects that killed the other trees. One, he said, was even struck by lightening!
Among all this learned pointing, was a Southern Coastal monologue about almost everything else. He used the expression, “She was as country as a ham sandwich!” He made me laugh as I itched, wanting to get the heck up the hill to air, daylight and bug spray. He spotted a little patch of something and he said, “That’s a white oak.”
White oaks surrounded The Twin Towers in New York. When we were at The 9/11 Memorial, the permanent one, recently completed, white oaks were replanted around the Memorial. The leaf was used in the museum. Every person killed in the attack was represented with a photograph, several times. Those whose picture could not be found, were assigned a white oak leaf with their name underneath.
I thought about the footprint of the North and South Towers and their massive box like fountains, which is now the Memorial. The space above them remains empty in honor of the people who had worked in those buildings.
Sort of like my tree that used to tower higher than our house. Its spirit still there. But this big empty sky now visible.
Beautiful writing!
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Thank you, Marey! I was the one who envied your skirt. When I post things from my phone, the doily shows up instead of my gravatar. If the skirt is there today, I buy!
Thanks for your comment on this piece! Hope school is going well!
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I could never be an arborist. I love trees too much. I feel like they are human so when they are cut down or “mutilated,” it hurts.
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Yes!
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Wonderful, evocative post Hollis! trees glorious trees! I cannot imagine living in a world without them (certainly wouldn’t want to) 😀 Luckily we’re surrounded by giant cedars and maples and patches of old growth forest but sometimes these stately beings have to be cut down for a variety of reasons. Some of them rot from the inside and are hollow which means they can topple over any time so arborists have their hands full here.
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It’s the same here. The ones that had to go were for a good reason. Thank you for the compliment! 🙂
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Loved this post, Hollis. The connection between your trees and Ground Zero is timely. I didn’t know that about the white oaks but I think as a memorial it is very fitting. I love memorials – especially those with a bit of abstract thought behind them.
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Thank you! 🙂
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Beautiful post, Hollis! I’ll never forget visiting Ground Zero prior to the construction of the memorial. I’m so happy to hear an empty space remains to honor those lost.
Perhaps now that the woods behind your house aren’t as thick, you’ll be able to view more of the wildlife that meanders.
Have a great weekend! xo
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It’s great that you should say that, Jill! We now almost immediately after the “pruning and taking down”, can hear at night the owls talking to each other!
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It’s good that you have woods. They take a lot of maintenance so I am glad you have someone who knows what they are doing. My neighbours either side and I have all had trees down recently, as trees and buildings don’t always mix.
I wish we had more woodlands in our world. Really beautiful picture and writing.
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Thank you Denise! That is true, buildings and trees don’t always mix. We have a redwood, a sequoia, like the huge ones that grow in California. It was put there by another arborist to soak up moisture as we are on a slope.
We are going to prune it every year because it will grow to be three hundred feet tall otherwise! We love it so. It gives off so much oxygen.
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That’s wise – I neglected my tree and so it had to go. Also, it was a eucalyptus and I have heard they are a danger as branches can drop off randomly.
I have a lovely oak at the bottom of the garden. I think trees suitable to their surroundings are key. An oak is so beautiful because it is slow growing and doesn’t shoot up. It feels companionable. Also it is one of these trees that supports more wildlife than many other species. Nature loves an oak too.
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I like all hard wood trees. Here in the southern U.S., pines are abundant. They are hazardous to the leaves of other trees because of their insect attraction. So Walter told me. And apparently when the leaves are in danger, somehow the roots of the trees are affected and the trees will die. A lot of my trees taken away were pines.
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This had power, grace and meaning in this post. I loved the way you told this one, with humor and dignity. I love trees, but understand why they must go, like the way you included the towers, too. So sad, all the losses of lives and the trees showing their grief, by shedding their leaves… (I am getting poetic for a moment.) Hugs!
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Robin, you “got” the meaning of my post so nicely. Thank you for saying all that! It means a lot to me.
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I like how you included the detail that each live lost is either shown in a photograph of an oak leaf with their name on it. I had not heard this before, I appreciate the way this embodies life and death. There is nothing sturdier than a great, old oak tree.
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Yes!
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Heard a botanist speak not too long ago and she said that a weed was a plant in the wrong place! Beautiful post. Sad to see the trees be cut but the ones left must feel free with more room and light!
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Yes, Marjie, I have heard that too. The tree the arborist called a weed was a sweet gum tree. The trees left behind are better off now they can spread out! Also there is an incredible amount of air now back there and light in the woods. It truly was a jungle before. Black and foreboding!
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There’s something about walking in woods or forest that feels “right,” in a primal sort of way. Perhaps it’s my ancient ancestors calling from eons past.
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I have that feeling too, Eric! It’s really nice. I especially like going up to the mountains. But I fell very lucky to have our woods! Those trees are important to me!
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Beautifully haunting photograph, Hollis. Although we are more suburban here (less country-like) and therefore have only a few trees – we are scheduled this week (ironically) to have our red maple tree cut back. It’s huge and too close to the house, cutting into the gutters! But I hate cutting them back – I know what you mean. Lovely post!
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Thank you, Patricia! Sometimes it is for the better!
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I’m so sentimental about trees…and inanimate objects…and people, of course. I get very upset when a tree is cut down, even if it’s dead. I would love to have someone come through our little forest and tell me what I could make tea from…that would be way cool. Great series, Hollis!
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Thank you! You know I am procrastinating! I should be in the studio painting! I think I have a few more blogs about “life” in me first! Then blogs about artwork!
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It’s funny how knowledge can change the landscape. I’m sorry you had to lose some trees. But I think it’s awesome that you brought in an expert to help decide what could stay and what needed to go.
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Thanks for commenting, Kourtney! The woods is much better now. There is a wind that blows through and some of the “oppressed trees” have some space. This was the first time we did this in fifteen years. Owls talk to each other now. They have room to move. All in all, a good thing!
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