The pine trees of Mendon Ponds are locked in a race to the top. First to kiss a cloud wins. As they climb higher, nutrients stop flowing to lower branches. These old rungs wither and break off, leaving stubs behind. Between ground and sky are just straight lines, some of the straightest you'll find in nature.
The floor is kept clean by a bed of needles. There is a feeling of sterility to it. The waxy pins prove poor compost and block sunshine, allowing few plants to poke through. A considerate eye can guess at how long the crater left by a fallen tree has been there based on the thickness of the needle cover. There is a spongy give to the ground under your boots. Looking up in February, you are transferred back to summer, green on blue, interlocked branches forming a garden in the sky.
The floor is kept clean by a bed of needles. There is a feeling of sterility to it. The waxy pins prove poor compost and block sunshine, allowing few plants to poke through. A considerate eye can guess at how long the crater left by a fallen tree has been there based on the thickness of the needle cover. There is a spongy give to the ground under your boots. Looking up in February, you are transferred back to summer, green on blue, interlocked branches forming a garden in the sky.
"Pine Forest II" by Gustav Klimt
A storm broke off one of these quiet giants, cracking it at the base. In its descent, it scraped against a neighbor, leaving a 15-foot long road rash scar. Its fall was broken by a third tree, being wedged now between the two. As a consequence, the scarred tree has developed a severe lean. Unless the dead tree rots first, it will uproot at the stump, part of a natural domino effect. You can climb the dead tree as easy as the bough of an old oak. From up there you see the trail below, and something shiny and silver beyond.
At the end of that trail is Deep Pond. Here the needles thicken on the pines. Here is beachfront property. With so much sun, bushes of needles pack the branches in all seasons. The pines blaze with height and health, like Dubai skyscrapers. How we mirror nature. On the edge of the woods the abundant space fills up. In the interior, the trees are like off-boardwalk motels. Resource poor and not as colorful to the eye, they try to do more with less.
At the end of that trail is Deep Pond. Here the needles thicken on the pines. Here is beachfront property. With so much sun, bushes of needles pack the branches in all seasons. The pines blaze with height and health, like Dubai skyscrapers. How we mirror nature. On the edge of the woods the abundant space fills up. In the interior, the trees are like off-boardwalk motels. Resource poor and not as colorful to the eye, they try to do more with less.
