So, who says trees don’t have a souls? Probably that same malcontent who said trees had no hearts either. But what do those folks know?
Who knew that an average size tree provides enough oxygen to keep a family of four breathing for a year? So my question to you, the Scurrying-Two-Footed, is…what have you done lately for mankind?
Yes, you Scurrying-Two-Footed walk by us, minds fixed on your petty little lives, like what kind of breakfast sandwich to buy or where to vacation to get the most bang for the buck. Yet, here we stand, steadfast deciduous trees, that mark the seasons, starting with the tiny green buds in the spring, to thick green leaves that provide shade and cooling down, in the summer, not only for the living but the Lived In Homes, when planted strategically. In the autumn our leaves turn a sea of bronze, gold and blazing red, before falling to the ground to compost the earth.
Then our bare bones of branches hibernate, waiting for the coming promise of spring. And we are always there for the wildlife, be it raucous squirrels, the sad possums, the stealthy raccoons, or the birds with feathers, fine, fair or foul. Even the deer may nibble at us, from time to time.
Our most amazing, sought-after gift is that we contribute a long life to the landscape. Still, every living thing has foes, even sturdy, strong trees with thick trunks and long roots that snake down to China and back. Our enemies are storms, with hurricane or cyclone winds, or ice storms, all which snap us down like we are match sticks. Sometimes part of us are salvageable – sometimes not so much.
A trunk may be left for the wildlife but poor little birds, returning after a long winter may find, not only their nests they have used year after year gone, but the very branches that held them. We hear some twittering then – like they blame us because we did not prevent the destruction. We tell them, ‘Talk to God…and get insurance.’ But do they listen to us? No, they are bird brains.
So this is how I found myself one day after a horrific little twister with thunder and lightning touched down…so humor me… allow Momma to write my obituary…put it in the Friday night Guardian so all those bargain hunters will read it and weep.
It is with great sadness that we tell you that somewhere between 10pm. June 27, 2015 and 2am June 28, 2015 our Majestic Life-Giving Deciduous Tree, was torn asunder by a wildcat strike of lightening, accompanied by gale force winds.
Our Majestic Life-Giving Deciduous Tree is survived by his Deciduous Family, various saplings and part of his Trunk, which will be the home for baby squirrels to use as a lookout. He joins his brethren in Nature Valley, where he will once again be restored to his imperial days of glory.
Although the branches reaching to heaven are no longer visible to the human eye, Momma pauses each time she passes the remaining trunk and she can’t say for sure, but it looks like our Majestic Life-Giving Deciduous Tree gives her a wink, to let her know he/she/them… is still….out there.
No flowers, please, but next time you walk past a big old deciduous tree, pause long enough to hear its’ leaves rustling, whispering hope, whispering health, whispering: Hallelujah… Forever…. Amen….. So-Be-It…. Amen!
