It was 4:30 AM Wednesday, January 28th; I was sound asleep when a gun shot woke me up. I got up and peeked out the window, when another shot rang out, and a crash followed. I realized it wasn’t gun shots; it was the limbs of trees breaking off from the sheer weight of the ice upon them. The great ice storm of 09(as we are calling it here) was taking its toll.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love trees. I think they are the most beautiful things that Mother Nature has ever created. I love sitting outside on our deck or when weather not permitting on our enclosed front porch and look at the trees that surround us. So much life grows in and on them. Watching the trees grow and go through their stages of life gives me such a peace of mind and soul that is immeasurable.
In the spring, watching them bud, seeing the birds build their nests among the branches, knowing new life will soon be born. Watching the squirrels chase each other from tree to tree has made me laugh many a time.
In the summer, when the trees are in full bloom and give me respite from the hot summer sun, the ground dappled with the shadows and sunshine coming through the leaves, is a beauty to behold. Seeing birds of various sizes and colors resting in the branches, singing their songs, is art and music that just can’t compare to anything else. On summer evenings listening to the tree frogs and crickets lull me into such a peaceful state that all the days’ trivialities are forgotten.
In the fall, when trees begin their journey into winters sleep, I watch them change the colors of their leaves and know soon that they will be stark and bare, is both beautiful and sad at the same time. The yellows, oranges and reds of the leaves are some of the most beautiful colors I have ever seen.
In the winter, even though I am sad to see the trees bare, I find beauty in them. Watching the bare branches scrape and scratch at the cold winters sky, its as if they are saying, look at me, I’m still here and alive, and soon will I will come out of my slumber and bloom again.
It’s amazing how trees adapt to their surroundings, seeing a tree that has grown through and around a fence, or the tree that has sprung from a rock searching for the sun and water that gives it life, is an amazing thing to see.
As I sat on my front porch and listened to the trees break and fall, I knew I was listening to their death knell, and I cried.
Victoria P. 1/28/09
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Comments: 33
They were too tall and slender to take the weight. They fell across the streets. It really is sad when the ice kills them. If you've seen my photos, you know I love nature too.
But, when the Spring comes, and the thaw sets in, you can plant some more trees there and begin life's cycle anew. That will cheer you up, I bet.