A Bit of Tree Empathy - Part 1

There’s a moss-covered oak tree which sets in a nearby cow pasture, and I intend to do something about it.

Tomorrow.

The pasture belongs to a Baptist church, and for the longest time the church had plans to relocate to this site. However, for whatever reason plans have changed, and the land has been put up for sale.

Recently, I contacted the pastor of the church, and asked permission to de-foliate the moss. He acquiesced. His sole requirement was that I don’t climb the tree, or use a ladder. I offered to send him a release of liability, and he accepted my proposal.

Is it possible to feel compassion for a tree?

Apparently I do.

It is such a beautiful little thing. Perhaps twenty foot tall, and with a perfect canopy. And yet with this invasive gray parasite reeking more havoc on the little tree’s limbs and leaves than common with 99 percent of its “peers,” the poor thing is likely to succumb to its committed onslaught in the space of months.

I understand the “wild card” is whether my work will be for naught; since whomever purchases the land may use it for business purposes, and may well remove the tree.

But in spite of this possibility, I just feel I have to give this lovely work of nature a fighting chance.

I like to think if I were a little moss-covered tree, someone would do as much for me.

(See Part 2)

 

By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 9