As I ponder the problems with the Hickory tree directly
outside my writing room window my mind wanders back to things I have read about
trees. Hermann Hesse called trees “the most penetrating of preachers.” Virginia
Woolf reminded me that three centuries earlier, a forgotten English gardener
asserted that trees “speak to the mind, and tell us many things, and teach us
many good lessons.”
While all of the other trees surrounding our house are
vibrant and green, thick with leaves, this 75’ triple Hickory seems thin for
leaves and during a storm the other day it dropped many, covering the roof and
front yard. Thinking it might need water I ran a hose from the rain barrel to
the base of the tree and emptied 225 liters of water. I’m concerned.
I learned from an experienced forester that if a tree near
your house troubles you it might be a good idea to take it down. I used to
reach out for guidance in these matters to my friend Glenn. He would come out
set up a lawn chair and sit quietly with the tree for upwards of an hour. He
would then walk around the tree taking samples of the dirt and put a sample
into his mouth and hold it there for awhile before spitting it out. Following
that he would put his hands on the tree and listen to it's message.
At that point he would know what to do. Maybe, it needed
nutrition, had a parasite, a mold and one time he found that the tree had
suffered a lightening strike. Glenn taught me how to fell a tree and I have
done a good job on a number of occasions. Unfortunately my friend is no longer
with us. I sat in the lawn chair, tasted the dirt and leaned against the
tree. My gut tells me to feed it, water it watch it with loving care as Glenn
would have done.
