I took a late walk around the park this afternoon, just before dark, so it was kinda creepy, though all the snow everywhere helped light the paths a little better than they would have been without it.  As cool as the snow has been, I got a close-up look today at the havoc it has brought upon the trees in the park.  Before I even made it into the actual park, there was a large tree at the edge of the pitch-n-putt course that had fallen over the path and had broken part of the wooden fence that separates the golf course from the main part of the park.  OK, fine, I walked around.

But, the real sense of shock was felt once I got onto the actual path where there were trees down everywhere and all the shrubs that grow alongside the path were so weighted down with snow that it looked like they had all been cut down.  Many times on the first leg of the walk I had to walk around or under trees that had either fallen or that were bent so far over from the heavy load that they were near the breaking point.  There were several trees that had simply been literally uprooted, one in particular which was a shade tree growing along thefirst duck pond and it now lies half submerged in the pond with its roots pulled right out of the earth – it lies there dying.

It might seem silly to feel sad or any sense of loss about fallen and broken trees in a park, but you have to keep in mind that I’ve been walking around this park daily for close to a year.  I’ve seen the full cycle of the seasons – leaves falling in autumn and new ones sprouting in spring, all the male Mallards flying away for a couple of months and then returning to start mating season, ducklings appearing on the pond and everyday becoming more and more similar to the adults, evergreen trees whose new growth is evident by the addition of bright green tips to their dark green, needled branches.  Having spent so much time in this place, having it be a sanctuary, a place to nurture my body with exercise and spirit with tranquility and beauty and having experienced this cycle so fully over the past year, I feel like I have a relationship with this place. As corny as it may sound, it has become part of me and I care what happens to it.  When I see people who let their dogs chase the squirrels and other animals that live in the park, it pisses me off and I give them a piece of my mind – have some respect for the creatures that actually LIVE here – we’re just privileged enough to get to visit, asshole!

To the average passerby or occasional visitor to the park, they’d never know the difference, but I do and I think it’s important that someone notices.  Though I realize it’s part of a natural process for things like this to happen, it still somehow saddens me that a tree which has stood for 20 or more years growing taller and stronger each year can be ripped, unwilling, from the ground.

– Tree hugger

Currently Watching: The Notebook