A BOOK BLESSING -For Reading
M ay we be blessed to a memory of stream and river of thought which reads in leaves of forest shade green and friendly burrow branches.
A LITTLE TANGENT -For Geometry
I f I were a tree for a day in a forest so wide, my feet would be buried in darken ash soil and would stretch around in the dark without a flashlight, looking for water to drink in my toes, and I would tip in the wind, and learn to trust and steady with my legs. When the rains came down my umbrella would be already open, and many critters would stay dry beneath me. Every morning my arms would stretch up to an ocean of blue sky and every evening to stars on black sea, somedays it would seem my purpose would be to hold up the sky, and to keep it from falling on the earth, every year I would put on a new coat of bark, and every year I would have to sit still while woodpeckers and other critters crawled and pecked and itched. I would anticipate watching the sky toss the gold sun on a blue blanket and the white moon on a black blanket, the ceiling would fog up a lot, and change colors often. The only commuters would be white clouds during the day and owls at night, and I would spin with the earth , but I would forget what my feet looked like probably. My back would be pretty stiff and I couldn't bend over to pick up my leaves when they fell. I would try and drop the leaves pretty light though, so nobody got hurt, and the wind would sometimes like to take ‘em anyhow and spin em around. My branches wouldn't have really good joints, and sometimes my fingers would break off and I would grow new ones on my elbows. It would be kinda nice to have a green mossy beard, but it would get damp in the winter, and sometimes it would be hard to get a date because of all the fungus on my stomach and armpits. But it would be nice and quiet in the forest, though I couldn't run from a fire too well, and I always would get pretty well nervous if I heard a snake slithering around, but I would get lots of water, and a lot of people would look up to me, I would like to filter the air, and give shade to others, I would learn some pretty good knots too.
WHAT'S IN IT - In Summary
S ometimes it can be hard to imagine the things you don’t know, or things you may find in a book a little outside your area of expertise. Take for instance the small fact the world didn’t have a summer in 1816?! Or how about if someone asked you who the Einstein of Horticulture was, would you have any idea or would you think they were only kidding? His name is Thomas Knight and he proved that trees have a bit of a sixth sense, because even if you turn a tree upside down it will still grow up to the sky. So while the title of this book is How Trees Die, I wouldn’t want that to deter the reader into thinking this is a gloomy book with midnight militia. Quite the contrary, there is an orchestrated score of history, science and biology in here, more than enough for you to be well on your way smiling and enlightened and ready to wow your friends with some beautiful facts that unearth many hidden dendrological secrets. After I finished reading this book I was in such a mysterious awed tree rapture, I walked around the city for blocks and blocks, looking at trees, noting the branches, noting which way the trunks were growing, how healthy the leaves looked...This is what I love about books, they expand your mind, and put you into such a greater awareness and practice of the present. Understanding breeds health. And certainly when it comes to a knowledge of the ancient tree.
TAKE FIVE -Book Samples
pg 218 - The perfect parasite takes what it needs from its prey without causing it much harm.
pg 176 - The ash from the eruption caused the earth to cool, and in 1816, the world experienced the “year without a summer”
pg 52 - If we look at all the cropland in the US, 99% of it is planted with crops that are not native, including potatoes, wheat, apples, and peaches.
pg 11 - Industrial forest trees are, just like the Angus, Jersey or Holstein cows, selected for their ability to grow and mature rapidly, and provide the landowner with income.”
pg 31 - An ample supply of wood became imperative because a single ship may take as many as 75 acres worth of trees.
PAIRS WELL WITH -Further Resources