Jan21

memoir.

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the kinder wondered what happened to the big, old tree they used to play under

it was a good tree

we sat under it when it was hot in the sun and its shade kept us cool

we collected pretty leaves that floated down from it in the fall

it was on a hill and we ran by it in the winter when we were playing in the snow

pieces of it had been falling off for a very long time

we guess that maybe it was very old and very sick and it was getting too tired

 the kinder began to put its little pieces back on to decorate it

we hope that in the spring

a new sapling will come up near where the old tree used to stand so tall.

—

“a tree’s wood is also its memoir.”     

-hope jahren

84 responses »

  1. Every year we would visit the small town where I grew up. Maybe for Christmas or Thanksgiving. It always looked the same – a rather lazy little farm town. A comfortable welcoming look.

    Then one trip I noticed some new buildings in place of the old. New landscaping in place of the large oak and maples trees. A sad feeling.

    Kinders aren’t the only ones who wonder … what happened? 😦

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  13. As Joni Mitchell sang in “Big Yellow Taxi”, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. We take far too much of what we’re given in this world for granted and with the idea that it will always be there for us, unchanged in any big way. This post serves as a wonderful reminder to appreciate what we have for what it gives us!

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  14. After having lived on the Eastern side of Wyoming – where there are no trees, I have spent my life planting trees wherever I go. I believe trees are going to save us from ourselves. Seeing someone cut down a tree, is like seeing a dead animal. It brings me so much sadness. But I will just keep planting until I can’t anymore.

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  17. I had s tree in my yard that I really loved and it died. My son in-law never could find time to cut it down. Well a year later up comes a new little tree right at the base of the dead tree and boy is it growing up fast. Thank goodness for his slowness!

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  19. Those trees that were here before us and which are connected to so many memories. Companions that never left… yet they did. That’s so sad. I hope that new branches will appear and grow into another majestic tree.

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  25. Dead trees are a vital part of the ecosystem. I always try to encourage people to leave one or two if possible. I have two dead alders that are very active with birds year-round, especially with pileated woodpeckers. If a dead tree is a danger to people or property it can be cut to a safe height and allowed to rot from there. Rough cuts on the sheer face help it get a rotted mossy look faster making it more attractive and interesting to the human eye.

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  39. This looks not right to me – if a tree is ill, you’ll see it on the brown inner rings of the trunk. This one looks clean and good. But of course, if trees fell down that’s less than convenient. But it is sad!

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