"Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of time sitting on park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops."
Maya Angelou
We have two very tall and scary pines in the backyard of my childhood home next door. We sold that house some years ago, so cutting them down is not up to us now. Unfortunately, if they should fall, and tumble this way, our addition, connecting us to our little barn would not fare well! They do the hula in windstorms, shelter several squirrel dreys and now have the biggest crop of pinecones that I have ever seen. The sunset light was lovely shining on them this afternoon The needles have fallen copiously this year as well. I love looking up at them, surrounded by oak and shag bark canopies, those tree now entering the season of sticks.
Aside from weather-related stresses, botanists think that perhaps heavy pinecone production could also be a defense mechanism that the tree uses to prevent insect infestations. Insects prey on the seeds dropped by trees and will “camp out” beside a dubious source of sustenance. There will be generations of insects every year, causing harm to the tree – possibly even killing it.
For the Record,
This day came in cold and rather cloudy. We had our leaves cleaned up today.Our property is too big and we have so many leaves that we have to give in and hire people. They arrived at 7:30, till 11 with three leaf blowers which we detest, but they did a fabulous job. We have plenty of leaf cover left in the woods to shelter the insects who need leafy protection during the cold New England winter.
I retired from public school teaching after happily spending twenty eight years playing in Kindergarten. Now I fill my days watching cat antics, taking endless...
