Out On A Whim Wednesday: A Tale Of A Tree

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  I Am A Sensitive One

I arrived home last Thursday exhausted and spent.  My plan was to begin my Friday morning with a long walk in nature with Buddy and then to just sit in the backyard to relax and watch the garden grow - listening to the birds and squirrels as they flew and climbed on feeders and bird baths.  I always carry my cell phone with me on my walks - just in case of an emergency.  So, when my cell phone rang, I chose not to answer it.  However, once we were headed back toward home I saw that I had a message and I decided to listen to it.  It was our neighbor calling to tell me that she found out at the last minute that the tree service was coming that morning and would be cutting down the blue spruce between our homes.  This story may require a bit more background, but maybe it is just enough for me to say that I am a sensitive one when it comes to nature and animals.  Sensitive might even be a weak word for how deeply I feel for nature.  I know that the tree was close to their house and had grown into a very large tree that lived over their roof - it had been there for over 50 years.  I also know that blue spruce can be messy - dropping cones and sap into the gutters.  I also know it was a perfectly good tree - a tree that provided shade and shelter.  A tree that the squirrels loved to scurry up and the crows liked to fly to.  To say that my heart broke when I heard her message would be a bit of an understatement.  By the time I made it to our driveway, the chain saws were already in full working mode and the limbs began to drop.  I cried.  I watched for a bit - until I wasn't able to watch any more.  And I went into the house and tried not to focus on the sound of the chain saws.  I wasn't headed outside to the backyard - I was trying to stay inside - what I really needed was a small dark cave to hide inside.  By the afternoon, it was over.  This is a picture of what was left in the spot where that majestic tree had stood.  It looks so small and meaningless in this photo - oh that I had the ability to put my feeling into that photo.  Hopefully you can see the rings of this tree's life and imagine the presence that it had.  I pass by this site every time I walk down our driveway - which is often.  I know that trees have a lifespan - I'm just saddened that it was human intervention that had to interfere with the life of this tree.  And yet I am reminded once again that where there is an ending there is also a beginning.  With Spring comes new growth and new promise.  And in our yard, the peas are making their way up out of the ground in a barrel made from wood that came from a tree that may have once stood as proudly as that beautiful blue spruce...