The trees are gone!
When the trees came down, I was away. I wanted to say goodbye to them, apologize, and honor their departure from the living. But I missed it. They were big, mature trees, many of them 18 to 24 inches in diameter, 30 to 40 feet tall. Poplars, oaks, hornbeams, sweetgum, hickory and other species.
There were many smaller trees too. We cleared a swath of forest to make way for a 1,200 sq ft house and a 500 sq ft tiny house for my mom. Where we were once in tiny houses nestled in the woods with minimal disturbance, now we have cleared and graded and ground stumps, destroyed habitat. I feel this acutely because I was raised by tree-huggers and dirt-worshippers.
I lived among these trees for 13 years. They were not just obstacles to my vision for a new home. They were co-inhabitants, beings.
Sure I groused regularly about the prickly sweet gum balls under my bare feet. So many that I could lose my balance if not careful and be put on skates. That tree was next to my workshop. Huge. Two feet in diameter. I’m glad it’s gone, but it still had a right to exist. There are probably birds and insects who miss it.
I battled with the hornbeams too. They are relentless in shooting out horizontal branches to claim space below the forest canopy and spawning flocks of baby trees. I’ve trimmed many of their low sinuous limbs, beating them back as they crowded into my walking trails. Still, I respect their persistence and vitality.
I’m excited for my new house, and also sad for the fallen trees. I saved eight logs, oak and poplar. They’ll be milled on site, and the boards will become part of the houses. Baseboards, door and window casings, shelving, and other trim elements. It’s a small way that I can honor and preserve the fallen trees.
I lived in a 12 x 12 tiny house in the woods for 8 years. More about that here: Tiny House Life: Minimalism and Soulfulness—8 Years in 144 Square Feet