Sometimes We

Hello friends,

It was a busy morning here yesterday. We had tree surgeons out. They climbed the towering Douglas fir to clear some dead limbs. It was quite a production, and took a lot of skill and expertise.

Then they began on the project I had actually called them for. The maple tree.

When we moved into our home seven years ago, we had an arborist come and look at all the trees. The huge golden maple had a rotting central trunk that needed to be removed. The arborist hoped that would buy the tree more time.

We hoped so, too. The tree is glorious, and provides shelter to many birds and animals, and shade for workers to eat their lunch under during the hottest days of summer. The maple—like all the trees—is an important part of our neighborhood ecosystem.

It has a large base trunk, with three big trunks branching from it around one meter from the ground. The stump of the old central trunk nestles between these three. I recently noticed the calloused seams on the forward trunk were splitting, badly, along both sides. Uh oh. That is the side that shades the sidewalk and the street. The side that surrounds some telephone lines. The side that could put people and cars and walking dogs in danger. The trunk is massive, and if it went? It would also wound the maple in a way I did not want to imagine.

So the tree surgeons strapped on their safety gear, and began to climb. They thinned some of the weight from the tree. They worked a long time, moving up and down, in and out, choosing what to cut, carefully dropping big limbs to the ground.

Then they installed two black cables, one higher, one lower, in two directions. This will help support the tree. These two cables will literally keep the tree together, hopefully prolonging its life, and enabling it to remain part of the neighborhood.

There’s also a lot more light inside the house, now. And the smaller trees below are already springing up, having been granted space and light they did not have before.

Of course, this scenario is a metaphor, too, right? Sometimes we’re weighted down and beginning to crack. Sometimes we simply cannot take care of things on our own. Sometimes, in order to provide shelter for others, we need help relieving some of the burden, and assistance in shoring up the parts that are about to break.

Sometimes, when we drop some burdens, our lightness offers more space to others, too.

I hope we all have support when we need it. And I hope we can support others when the time comes.

be well — Thorn

The Mouse Thief campaign ends Tuesday! This is the last chance to get the new cozy fantasy adventure novellas until sometime in 2024. Thanks so much to everyone who has helped bring Mouse and his friends into the world.