Chainsaw whine, like air-raid sirens,
Warn of falling danger nigh.
No more to give screen and shelter,
Down firs come with crack and sigh.
Stumps and limbs awaiting fire,
In funeral pyres are heaped up high.
I know they're only trees, not creatures;
Still – their destruction makes me cry.
Now you see 'em;
soon you won't.
Today it became apparent that we lost the logging lottery. The out-of-state buyer of the neighboring property must have ruled against leaving a screen between our parcel and his, because workers were busily felling the remaining trees. Distressed, I went down to ride my horse, unsure if I would find respite within sight and sound of the destruction. But eventually the discipline and focus of dressage, of dancing with my horse, took over, and I returned to the house in a slightly better mental state than I left it. Then we left for an afternoon at homeschool co-op, so the activity was completely out of sight/out of mind for a few hours. When we returned, I paused to snap a view of our north property that has never been visible till now, and put it on Instagram.
The loss of beauty, habitat, and privacy is sad; the thought of hazmat-suited vineyard workers on tractors pulling trailers spewing chemicals right next door is downright scary. In the past I have avoided walking or riding my horse past nearby vineyards when they are being sprayed; soon we'll be exposed to those toxic chemicals in the "security" of our own backyard/pasture.
Yep; no control over this or anything else except how I choose, with God's help, to handle it. One tool for coping is knitting.
I finished a second pair of Nalu Mitts out of Browning's handspun; now I have nothing on the needles. I think I'm going to cast on a Father Cables hat, and quick!
That's it for now from . . .
11 comments:
Oh Michelle, I love being surrounded by trees, so I'm sharing in your tears. Wondering if you can go for a designated organic status for your farm and at least have some sway with pesticide use next door? Oregon, at least Southern Oregon is VERY sensitive to drift issues.
So, so sorry you are having to grapple with this unhappy (and unhealthy) situation. What a terrible frustration! So sorry.
Oh, dear girl. I'm heartbroken for you, and I'd be beyond devastated if that happened to me. Why, oh, why, is this world so consumed by greed?
So hard to see logging that doesn't take into account habitat and screens, etc. Up here you aren't allowed to log that close to any lines so we are spared to some extent. Also our woods are mixed so they do selective cutting. Sorry for your loss.
Do you have any recourse if they start spraying chemicals? I would think you might. I am so sorry to see this. Greed with a capital GREED seems to be the great motivator in our country. I'm glad you have your Lance to help restore harmony.
Continue to handle the situation with grace!
Susan has a very good point regarding checking into some kind of recourse if they use poisonous sprays on their plantings. From your pics it looks as though their land is higher than yours which would mean chemicals used would naturally seep down onto your land and into your soil which would have an effect on your animals (think of your grazing sheep) and any other things you choose to grow, including vegetables for the table or ornamental plantings.
Oh, so sorry about the loss of those beautiful trees, and everything that will accompany their loss. Very sad, but you're so right about how we accept those changes. Difficult, I know. I'm not always graceful in the way I handle unwanted changes I'm afraid. We know all about living with toxic chemicals right next door. Just seems to me like we should have a measure of control over that, but that's just me. Ours is a filbert orchard now, but for years it's been a farm field with varying crops...all of which are highly sprayed with toxic chemicals. People are always so sympathetic to the plight of the farmer, but sometimes I'm not so sure they're much of a blessing - at least in this regard.
So sorry you are losing your beautiful surroundings. I see a lot of knitting in your future.
Trees are wonderful but they will come back, if slowly. I hope he repairs the logged area with reseeding! You should find it to be a wildflower heaven with a bit of care, nature heals itself!
Hang in there!
I would cry, too, about all the trees going, and for all the same reasons you do. Would the cost of planting your own Doug firs on your own land be cost-prohibitive? They grow pretty fast.. and Leyland Cypress even faster.
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