The tree loomed over the road, precarious, unbalanced - it clearly had to come down. Your words and paintings gave it dignity, Amy, made it magnificent in its own distinct and peculiar way. Thank you for honouring this tree so eloquently.
I love the way you honored the tree and created a space for community around it in it's last day. I was walking in the wood with a friend yesterday recounting this story, talking about cutting trees to create more a view from a new trail, how she couldn't do it. She loved the line about the tree not blocking the view but being the view.
I'm reading this while I'm sitting in a restaurant waiting for my food and eyes are filling with tears. What a sad but beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it with us Amy!
Hi Amy, your story moved me to tears, both of grief and beauty. I love the way you gave the tree a decent 'funeral', with images of the life lost, bringing together the neighbourhood and sharing stories. I work as a landscape heritage officer in Belgium. Part of my job is protecting what we call hermitage trees: trees with a story, history or meaning, including veteran trees. Although we do all we can to preserve their lives as long as possible, inevetably sometimes a tree must go. It would be lovely to have a ritual like this: making place for goodbye, comemmoration and grief on such occasions. Thank you for sharing your story and giving me this inspiration.
It is😊. So far we never did a ritual, but after reading your post I think in the future we should. We do have an online inventory with all the heritage trees (only a part of them are protected by law) and we keep the records even when a tree has dissapeared: then we add additional information about when and why it happened. So he stays 'alive' online with photos and an overview of his life and importance.
Thank you Amy for this beautiful and loving tribute. The loss of the tree, your pictures, the reactions of the community have greatly tugged at my heart strings.
The tree loomed over the road, precarious, unbalanced - it clearly had to come down. Your words and paintings gave it dignity, Amy, made it magnificent in its own distinct and peculiar way. Thank you for honouring this tree so eloquently.
Oh! Thank you for this sweet reflection. All of it. 💔🌲
Thank you for the way you write and sharing that gift of a story. I don’t have the words but you do!
Such a beautiful homage. I had to read it out loud to my family.
Oh thanks for sharing it!
It was a pleasure! 😁
Lovely post. Thank you.
and this - "It didn’t take long for me to understand that it wasn’t blocking my view. It was my view." so good
Yes, I liked that bit as well.
💔 ow, ow, ow, ow. Thank you for your beautiful heartfelt remorse for this beloved neighborhood tree.
Such a beautiful way to celebrate Honor the life of this old tree. !!
thank you!
This was so completely wonderful – this story of a tree in drawings and words. Thank you VERY much, Amy.
Thanks Jeni!
I love the way you honored the tree and created a space for community around it in it's last day. I was walking in the wood with a friend yesterday recounting this story, talking about cutting trees to create more a view from a new trail, how she couldn't do it. She loved the line about the tree not blocking the view but being the view.
Oh I'm so glad you shared it, thank you!
I'm reading this while I'm sitting in a restaurant waiting for my food and eyes are filling with tears. What a sad but beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it with us Amy!
I'm in a very similar state. Yes, thank you for a beautiful story and for your action to share with others in the tree's neighborhood.
Awww thank you!
Hi Amy, your story moved me to tears, both of grief and beauty. I love the way you gave the tree a decent 'funeral', with images of the life lost, bringing together the neighbourhood and sharing stories. I work as a landscape heritage officer in Belgium. Part of my job is protecting what we call hermitage trees: trees with a story, history or meaning, including veteran trees. Although we do all we can to preserve their lives as long as possible, inevetably sometimes a tree must go. It would be lovely to have a ritual like this: making place for goodbye, comemmoration and grief on such occasions. Thank you for sharing your story and giving me this inspiration.
Thank you so much! That sounds like a very interesting job. I'd love to hear if you ever did have a ritual like this.
It is😊. So far we never did a ritual, but after reading your post I think in the future we should. We do have an online inventory with all the heritage trees (only a part of them are protected by law) and we keep the records even when a tree has dissapeared: then we add additional information about when and why it happened. So he stays 'alive' online with photos and an overview of his life and importance.
Lovely tribute. I may have shed a tear reading your story.
Amy,
Last year, around the release of your trees book, you commented that, "Some of my favorite people are trees."
A beautiful quote that now lives in my heart.
I'm so,so sorry for your loss.
Thank you Amy for this beautiful and loving tribute. The loss of the tree, your pictures, the reactions of the community have greatly tugged at my heart strings.
Amy, this is so, so beautiful.
Thanks Stephanie!
Okay, I'm tearing up. This was a beautiful tribute.