I don’t mean to get extreme or judgemental, but there is no longer any doubt in my mind that men are in the process of destroying our planet, and lots of women are enabling and supporting them. Money, wars, and domination are not the way to keep our planet intact.
Maria and I (especially Maria) have come to love and revere the trees around us. The more we learn of them and live in the middle of them, the more we appreciate the love, respect, and admiration we feel for them.
Around here, men are often busy cutting trees down, and often for good reasons, but I think in general we have little respect for the value of trees and for the good things they do for us. I came to this appreciation when I moved up here; Maria was born with it.
Last week, a huge limb from our white birch tree – one of our favorite photos – fell over and onto the ground. I immediately called a tree trimmer we know, and he said we needed to cut it down for safety.
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Maria challenged me on that. Another friend who works in landscaping said the tree was not in any imminent danger of falling over and if it did, it was not big or heavy enough to do us. I noticed that Maria was nearly in tears at the thought of cutting down our tree.
I stopped to think about it and realized she was right. We love that tree, and so do birds, who build their nests in it and sit in it for much of the day and sing. Mice live up there, as do chipmunks and crows. Lots of baby birds are born there every Spring; I love photographing this birch tree.
To exist as a nation, to prosper as a state, and to live as a people, we must have trees, said Theodore Roosevelt. Thomas Merton saw them as sacred. I need to be more thoughtful.
So I said I agreed, and we decided to leave the tree alone for a while. We want to spend more time with it. When the time comes we will do what we want to do. I attribute this to my getting older. I seem to be listening more and thanking more. Love is about loving someone besides me, and that means listening to them and learning from them.
Yesterday we collected pieces of the limb that fell and moved it to the wood shed.
I once thought her passion for trees was a joke. The joke was on me.
Trees are so important Jon. Maria is absolutely right. Have you ever tried hugging a big tree.?
I know it sounds daft but it isn’t. Hugging a big tree is relaxing because of a mix of human biology, the chemistry of the living tree, and the mental break it gives you. It is not just a placebo effect, though your mindset definitely helps!
Physical touch—even hugging a tree—triggers your brain to release oxytocin. This is the hormone responsible for feelings of trust, calm, and emotional bonding.
Living trees breathe out natural chemicals called phytoncides to protect themselves from bugs. When you get close to a tree and breathe these in, science shows they lowered your cortisol (stress hormone) levels, drop your blood pressure, and boost your immune system.
So trees should actually be sacred in our world as they once were in the the ancient Germanic world. Germanic tribes considered trees and forests to be sacred. In fact, they did not build traditional stone temples or indoor churches. Instead, they believed that the gods lived directly within nature, turning the deep woods into their natural, open-air sanctuaries. Food for thought.
I trust the birch tree will live much longer even minus one large limb. I hope so! Trees are something most people don’t think about (IMO)….but they are living beings and so often so very much older than any of us are. I am following a local story currently about a (darned) new *sructure* that will be built in a nearby larger town…… a 150 year old oak tree is on that property….and *needs* to be removed in order for construction to begin. There have been many protests (YES!)…. sit-ins and much resistance and many loud voices from residents in this regard….. so now the city has *hired* (some of them are doing pro bono) a team of arborists to try to ascertain how to best *prepare* this tree for removal and relocation. It is admirable that so many people here are paying attention….but I am only marginally and cautiously optimistic that a tree of this age and grandeur can survive an uprooting and relocation. It’s better than just cutting it down…..but….we will see. Trees have many stories to tell. Your birch will do well…..
Susan M
I planted 30 trees on my land over the past 20 years: willows. Birch, arbor vitae, peach, Hawthorne, dogwood, copper beech, redbud. I love them all, especially the old oaks that hold up the riverbank, the old cherry trees.
The above replyers are all exactly correct about trees! Well said!!!
-Pam M
Trees are family, Maria understands this since she is part of nature itself. She can hear and feel what most people cannot. There is a wonderful book I think both of you would enjoy if you haven’t read called, Finding the Mother Tree, discovering the wisdom of the Forrest, by Suzanne Simard. It changed the way see and speak to the trees in my neighborhood.
Thanks Susan. I’ll get that book for her. I am sure she’ll love it.