And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as forbidden; three years shall it be as forbidden unto you; it shall not be eaten. And in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto the LORD. But in the fifth year may ye eat of the fruit thereof...
Leviticus 19:23-25
It grieved me to suggest to the Manse Committee that a tree be taken down on the property. An ancient lilac stood against the east side of the house, overhanging the neighbours' driveway and car. I have wondered when it was going to topple onto their vehicle and they must have shared those thoughts because they lopped off some of the branches which were most precarious. Quickly a team came to cut down this tree which was still blooming profusely when we came to Bowmanville, but not in the past couple of years. We discovered after it came down that the trunk was hollow and our concerns were justified, but it was still a sad moment. The house is about 140 years old. How long has that tree been its companion? At least we planted a lilac in the back yard several years ago and it is now taller than me.
Today is National Tree Day in Canada, http://www.treecanada.ca/national-tree-day/pages.php?lang=en&page=homewhich may come as a surprise to you. I wondered how I have missed this occasion in the past. It's because there wasn't a National Tree Day until 2011, so we are just getting underway. The Americans began Arbour Day http://www.arborday.org/ way back in 1872 with the planting of a million trees, but it really took off during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt in the early 1900's.
I like that Judaism has a holiday in February called Tu Bishvat, New Year of the Trees. Traditionally people eat dried fruit and almonds, so I'm thinking that they eat after they walk in the woods or take a tree product with them -- a roll of toilet paper! It has become an environmental day in recent years, which makes sense. You may be aware that this has been a tough year for apple growers in the province because of early blossoming and a killer frost.
I love trees and Bowmanville has some magnificent urban trees in the older part of town. We have taken lots of people to see the stately beeches and massive oak on Beech St. and I hope we never take trees for granted. They are, for me, a gift from God.
Tell me about your relationships with trees. Are you glad that there is a National Tree Day? Have you planted trees along the way? Will you go on a drive to enjoy Fall colours?
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5 comments:
I was living in Peterborough and got a job in Oshawa and Mom and Dad had to apartment hunt for me and one of my two must haves was - there had to be a tree in the front or back yard and that was back in 1981. Mom and Dad, planted trees every few years on the farm and when Steven brought his piece of farmland, he planted maple trees along the road fence line. They were lovely looking trees until Hydro came and hacked out the middle of the tree for hydro wires. Too bad, Hydro couldn't hire an arborist to train the staff to trim the trees in a becoming way.
BTW, my present apartment building has many trees surrounding it and I thoroughly enjoy their seasonal changes.
Moving back to Ontario from Calgary has me even more conscious of the trees, as I had so missed the variety found in Ontario and seeing the first signs of red foliage has me almost giddy. I too, see them as a gift from God. When we would go for our frequent drives through the national parks in the Rockies, I found that I was almost more aware of the trees than I was of the mountains. As we drove by, I would always be searching for bears or eagles that may be nesting in the upper branches. I felt so much sadness as we drove through kilometres of scorched forests that had suffered through wildfires, but learned to appreciate that it had cleared the way for new growth. But I felt near panic everytime we drove through the BC interior and saw thousands of dead trees that were the victims of the mountain pine beetle. To see the dramatic change of landscape from one summer to the next is just devastating. But there is possibly nothing more breathtaking and awe-inspiring than the ancient forest of giant Douglas Firs in MacMillan Provincial Park on Vancouver Island, or better known as Cathedral Grove. Some of these trees are more than 800 years old. I am honestly not sure I would be able to feel at home if I were to live in a desert or prairie landscape.
..sidenote.. this morning at Bible Study when we were asked to talk about our relationship with trees, it reminded me of a program I heard once on CBC Radio. The program is DNTO with Sook-Yin Lee and she devoted the whole show to people sharing their stories about how relationships with trees have such a profound impact on us. I still remember some of the stories, two years later.
http://www.cbc.ca/dnto/episode/2010/09/16/behold-the-freedom-tree/
Teddy Roosevelt was one of the 20th century's earliest environmentalists (such as it was, back then.) Many of the country's national parks and preservations are the direct result of his work as President, and his writings after he left office.
Thanks for the reminiscences, the link, and the Teddy R. shout-out.
The biography, Wilderness Warrior, by Douglas Brinkley, is excellent. TR was a quirky combination of ardent environmentalist and avid hunter.
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