Glimmer #21 Life Goes On

We have lived in this neighborhood for almost 34 years. When we moved in, the houses on the street were relatively new, having been built in an area of pine forest that had been cleared only 10 years before. The yards contained a collection of trees and native bushes, but the forest behind the homes was dominated by white pines.

The pines clustered together to provide shade over the swingsets, a barrier to the winter winds, and a reminder of the fact that we live in a beautiful natural place. They were the stalwart guardians of nature.

One year I saw a fern sprouting from a cleft where two branches as moved apart. It was at least 20 feet above the ground. I watched it grow for several years, until at last the old tree seemed to be sporting a bright green beard.

There were squirrels in the trees, and owls often huddled in the branches. The trees that stood in front of our house, a circle of six of them in our front yard and another several dozen in the woods along the drive and behind the grass, were the definition of where we lived. We smelled the pines as soon as the spring thaw came. We watched the bright yellow tips of new needles appearing on the end of every branch. We swept and raked up the bounty of golden needles that fell every fall. And the always green beauty of our pines kept our spirits up all winter, when the world seemed particularly…