Monday Morning Wake-up Call

~ Live & Learn

What I meant was, some people stand in front of a tree and the first thing they notice is the trunk. These are the ones who prioritize order, safety, rules, continuity. Then there are those who pick out the branches before anything else. They yearn for change, a sense of freedom. And then there are those who are drawn to the roots, though concealed under the ground. They have a deep emotional attachment to their heritage, identity, traditions …’ ‘So which one are you?’

— Elif Shafak, The Island of Missing Trees: A Novel (Bloomsbury Publishing; 1st edition (November 2, 2021)

Notes:

39 thoughts on “Monday Morning Wake-up Call”

  7. Please, please read the Guardian’s page – THAT is a book I’d like to read.

    Dave, have you read it yourself?

    This ties in nicely with your former post. To which I have to add that you probably SHOULD cut your sick tree down, but do what we did with a dead (but non threatening) apricot tree: Cut down the dangerous branches, have it done by a PROFESSIONAL. Let them/him/her tell you how bad the interior of the stem/trunk is. If needed, cut down to +/- one meter or whatever it takes, so that the tree is no longer in danger to fall on your house (because, if it does, good luck to you – don’t count on your insurance). Leave the trunk for climbing plants and birds. We were still able to draw a wildly blooming clematis up the tree, we kept some branch stumps where I hung plenty of bird feeders and I nailed an insect hotel to the dead trunk. The buyers of the house wanted to keep it all as it was.

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    1. Loved the book. I highly recommend it Kiki. As to professionals, the get paid to diagnose the health of tree and then get paid directly or indirectly to have it cut down. Sorry I’m so cynical but I am on this topic.

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  8. I wonder how he would think of those who look at the leaves? Some years ago I had Lasic surgery, & as we left after the surgery I realized for the first time that you could see individual leaves on the trees… I’d always seen trees as blobs of green or yellow & while I knew they had leaves I’d never been able to see each one from a distance & didn’t realize that’s how most people saw them. What a joyful revelation that was! So for me… leaves!

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  9. I am a leaves against the esky kind of gal. I love how depending on the sky, their colours are so different — I love how they whisper the stories of the wind, and then, when the leaves fall, I’m all about the branches. Colour me a romantic! 🙂

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  10. What a great photo. I look up at the leaves against the sky. Then imagine the roots underground as a mirror image of the branches. The trunk is for touching when I am close and the tree has invited me in.

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  13. So. I liked this, and then went to look at my pictures to see where my focus often lies. I really am a mix. I’ll take close ups of trunks. I place myself beneath the tree to look up at the branches. Every now and again, I am fascinated by the roots – but a lot less. And I agree, what about the leaves? The textures, shapes, colours…
    Hmm. Especially yesterday, I focused on all but the roots. Interesting.

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  15. Pingback: A Roots Man, Myself | Kevin Barrett's Blog

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