Ok we can't forget Mama Cass, but what about Sweet Joni from Saskatoon?
?"We are stardust ... we are golden...?
?And we've got to get ourselves back to the Garden?
? ??
Here is a picture of my flower the carpenter bees thought they needed some wood shaving? (oops the picture is too big)
My husband and I just spent some significant time (at a safe distance!) with our town arborist, Gary. We have a number of large trees in our backyard -- oak, birch, ginkgo, hickory, dogwood -- and wanted Gary to check them out. We knew that the oak tree was dead but wondered why it happened so quickly. Gary went into great detail talking about a tree's cardiovascular and immune system, explaining that it's not unlike the human body, with the perfect balance of arteries, capillaries and veins that allow the blood to reach every cell in the body. The trees can withstand some diseases, but others can compromise their immune systems, which he thought had occurred with the oak. As I stood outside among those trees, I could feel them watching, listening, breathing. The trees clearly loved our arborist, and especially loved the care and time Gary was taking to teach us. Then Gary began hitting the trees with a hard rubber mallet, so he could hear inside the body of the tree. As Gary was pounding on the birch tree, my husband turned to me and exclaimed "that tree really likes it!" I felt that too -- like a good massage when they pound on your muscles. It made me smile and touched me deeply.
My husband and I just spent some significant time (at a safe distance!) with our town arborist, Gary. We have a number of large trees in our backyard -- oak, birch, ginkgo, hickory, dogwood -- and wanted Gary to check them out. We knew that the oak tree was dead but wondered why it happened so quickly. Gary went into great detail talking about a tree's cardiovascular and immune system, explaining that it's not unlike the human body, with the perfect balance of arteries, capillaries and veins that allow the blood to reach every cell in the body. The trees can withstand some diseases, but others can compromise their immune systems, which he thought had occurred with the oak. As I stood outside among those trees, I could feel them watching, listening, breathing. The trees clearly loved our arborist, and especially loved the care and time Gary was taking to teach us. Then Gary began hitting the trees with a hard rubber mallet, so he could hear inside the body of the tree. As Gary was pounding on the birch tree, my husband turned to me and exclaimed "that tree really likes it!" I felt that too -- like a good massage when they pound on your muscles. It made me smile and touched me deeply.
Wow Deetoo!
What a wonderful experience you have shared. I think we are all going to be speaking to trees thanks to you, Jeanne and all the others who have discussed their communication with our majestic, sentient, connected beings.
@lovendures, you know, I never thought too much about the life force of trees until later in life. I grew up a city kid, and although we had a large park that I would frequent, I always felt most comfortable with the hustle and bustle of city life. The woods always scared me, although I've always had a strong connection with the sea. When my husband and I moved to this area about 20 years ago, I took all of those lovely trees for granted. Over the years we lost a few locust trees in some bad storms, and all I could think of at the time was the cost of having those fallen trees removed.
Then we adopted our first dog, Gracie. Well, you know dogs and trees -- LOL! Plus Gracie's favorite tree in our yard was a majestic birch, where she would spend hours patrolling for squirrels. The squirrels would be perched close to the very top of that tree, running down about 1/2 way, just to taunt Gracie. Gracie would circle, jump (as if she could catch that squirrel!), circle, and bark like hell. And over time, I began sensing that the birch tree was both a participant and an observer, laughing with delight at their playful performance. After Gracie passed on three years ago, we buried her ashes at the base of that birch tree.
The experience today with the arborist was a special one. He was so in tune with those trees -- a "tree whisperer" -- that I could feel their spiritual connection. My husband and I received the gift of being participants in their sacred ceremony.
@claire Your garden sounds dreamy :) I am hoping to make a rain garden where we cleared the ivy (in addition to vegetable beds.) So great to not have to mow much, if any!
@deetoo @lovendures What a wonderful connection with the trees! We have been going on daily (sometimes twice a day) walks during lockdown and we live in an older neighborhood with wonderful, large trees. Recently, I have started wanting to just touch them briefly as we walk by...so I do that (and say hi to them as we go along.) I especially love the sycamores and their patchy bark and big knots. It feels so nice to greet them each day.
@laynara, pretty petunias. I don’t love carpenter bees however, as they’ve done too much damage to my structure. Finally figured out that leaving the ceiling fan on kept them from coming in under the covered porch.
@deetoo, your experience with the arborist sounds like a gift. We just had our oak tree pruned and they did a very good job, but I didn’t hear any whispering goin’ on. They are coming back to take care of our neighbor’s tree. I will have to listen harder!
@stargazer, Joni has always been a personal favorite. I still listen to her, especially in my car.
@cc21, have fun making your rain garden. It is always exciting seeing a new garden spot come to life. I love the idea of that!