Chainsaw Sunday

I have no idea when it happened, but I'm getting all bent out of shape over the loss of.......trees.  We had four beautiful flowering plum trees in our front yard; 3 of them were knocked down in the storm of 1991 (AKA "The Perfect Storm").  We uprighted all three, but only one survived the trauma.  (We live on an enormous granite ledge here on Cape Ann, so trees are kind of root-challenged. )  Anyway, fast forward to last weekend's storm where the surviving flowering plum tree bought the farm.  The picture on the left is a peach tree in our backyard that fell down during a storm in June.  It was the last of our 20-something-year-old peach trees - no home-grown cobblers, pies or crisps this summer. How sad is that?

We had Chainsaw Sunday here, as trees all over the neighborhood were being finished off and/or  cut from power lines (by the professionals) and it was heartbreaking.  Huge, towering pine trees, 40 and 50 years old - snapped like twigs. We've had blocked streets and power losses on and off for the past several days.  Some of the trees lost were the centerpiece of a front yard, some stood guard on corners, all have left gaping holes.

Property damage can be remedied by insurance and a good contractor.  Where do you to go get a fully grown tree?  You cannot.  They are like wondrous spirits, they have a living presence and are with us through every season, every year, every event of your life.  I never used to get upset about losing trees - now I feel like I am losing a bit of history,  constancy, and shelter.  Now that they are gone, we are cutting them and stacking them for firewood. See - they are still useful, sheltering things.  It's going to be a melancholy March, as the cleanup continues......