{Alternate Title for Photos: My (Adult) Life in Trees}
Have you ever been asked the question, “If you had to choose between living near the ocean or the mountains, which would you pick?” I have been asked this question numerous times, and I always have the same answer. Both mountains and oceans are amazing. They inspire a humbling type of awe that is hard to match. However, I know (from growing up near neither) that I can live without them near me. I do need forests. I need trees. I need the leaves, the needles, the understory and the animals that depend on forest ecology to survive.
Avalanche Lake, MT, ca. 2010
bonnie b 
Karin 
Therese 
Deb Bosworth 
Maureen Griffin 
I love your post. I am still working on the splitting wood thing. I always shut my eyes.. You give me hope.
You can do it Karin! I like to think about it like swinging a bat–there are many similarities. Keep your eye on the log!
The area around the Great Lakes has been troubled by the Emerald Ash Borer for many years, resulting in the destruction of many trees. Last year an Ash only a block away had to be cut down and burned. There is an Ash in my yard which I have been checking anxiously every few days all summer. I love that tree and pray for it. I feel sort of like a Lorax at that. The trouble is that the infected trees cannot be used as firewood and some municipalities require that the tree be ground into sawdust. What a waste.
That Emerald Ash Borer has been wreaking havoc forever! I remember the dreaded days when city workers would come and mark ash trees with the dreaded orange tape–Cut this tree down, it’s infected. I hope your tree has enough love and defenses to fend off any trouble.
Good morning Alex,
What a beautiful post. There are so many things I would like to comment on that you wrote, that I don’t know where to begin. First about the daily routines that you are going through raising a family and the daily chores that come with it. I have two boys and I had them while I was working at a very stressful job with one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the country. I do CSI in a forensic laboratory and have done so for over 26 years now. (Hopefully retiring to Montana very soon) And I remember going out to numerous crimes scenes in the worst neighborhoods and processing them. After I was done and had packaged up all the evidence, coming back to the laboratory, going over all the photographs, making sure I had gotten everything I needed, writing up the field notes, etc.. I could not wait to get back home and do all the “daily” chores that keeping a home requires. I could have had the most worst day with my two boys at home that I would never trade for the best day at work. Being at home grounded me against all the craziness I saw in the world. And nothing at home would ever be as stressful as one day at work. I loved doing all those chores at home. And yes I would love to chop wood any day. It is a stress relief. It is good work, healthy and rewarding in the simplest and deepest of terms. I guess I saw both worlds, those of the work force and the life of a parent at home. I have to say, I would chose the life of a parent at home. This is the most rewarding. Your analogy of the life of a tree is so much like the life of us… (Note: I have also felt the same way when reading, “The Giving Tree” to my boys to).
There are no words that I can say here regarding your article that come close to how your article made me feel this morning. Just amazing!!!
Deborah
Thank you, Deborah! Your words are encouraging–you are right, most days I am SO VERY thankful that I am able to be home with my cute little baby. It is grounding and rewarding, as you mention. Your job sounds very intense! As a high school student I had a few lingering thoughts of becoming a forensic dentist (who knows, maybe that will still happen some day!)…So your career intrigues me. I hope you get to retire to Montana, soon!
I love seeing Alex-in-trees over the years! How lucky for little Ava that she has a mama who will teach her all these things that aren’t “girly.” What a great post!
Thanks, Emma!
One of my favorite photos which was on a postcard, is an old-time lady in a long, dark dress, out in front of an old farmhouse. She has an axe held high, which is taller than she is, and is splitting wood! The caption is, “Frailty, thy name is woman” supposedly by William Shakespeare. I,too, love trees, and when the forest behind my house was being clear-cut for pasture, I rode my horse there for the last time on the needle-covered roadbed under the tall, beautiful pines, and apologized… After it was over, I felt as if I were on the moon, and seldom went back there. Not much later, I moved away. But that is an experience I will never forget. “Progress” is often painful. I loved your “tree” pictures and enjoy your stories of your life in Alaska. Thank you.
I love splitting wood…it is such a satisfying skill. My favorite tool is and 8 lb maul, as a lot of the wood we get is gnarled. I give thanks to trees as I do to all the natural things that sustain us…that I won’t take their use for granted, that I will work hard for beyond-sustainable, that their life has value beyond what they can do for us. Every life is precious even though we use some of them to survive.