The day was mainly sunny until when I went for my afternoon walk. Light grey clouds were blowing in by late afternoons. Within a half an hour of getting back from my walk, there was a huge deep grey cloud moving swiftly towards town. Temperatures dropped about 5C (10F) in the short while it took for the cloud to cover the visible sky. Winds increased. As I was stirring a pot on the stove, I thought the ceiling light flickered. Then the whole house shook. It was a big thunderstorm complete with a huge down pour. Thunder continued for another 30 minutes or so and then that storm cell moved on while rain continued.
The storm was a great reminder of
what has been celebrated on this day for the past 52 years. Today was Earth Day
2022. -- a day for us to focus on the impact of global warming. This made me
think of the deforestation occurring in my neck of the woods. To twin the
highway -- a much needed upgrade for safety considerations -- there has been a
lot of clear-cutting. This became very clear as I drove out of town a few times
over the past two weeks.
In my office on campus, I have a
post card with a picture of old growth forest that had been clear-cut. The
caption states -- "O, pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I am
meek and gentle with these butchers." These words were written by
Shakespeare and spoken by Antony in Julius Caesar.
Forests help to clean the air and
produce oxygen. They provide carbon to the soil. I walked a section of old
growth forest on Vancouver Island and found the nurse trees to be truly
amazing. As a larger, older tree falls to the forest floor, it will begin to
decay. New trees begin to grow from the tree that nurses the next generation
with the nutrients held in the decaying trunk. Even selective logging can deny
a forest this regenerative ability. I am from the prairies. We do have trees
there, but far fewer than in woodland and forested areas. Many trees have been
planted in towns and cities. So, I learned to value trees because of their
scarcity. Now I live in the middle of the Acadian Forest filled with evergreen
softwood and deciduous hardwood. Seeing the forest through all four seasons is
amazing. There are so many shades of green and later orange and red. Even in my
yard there are wonderful variations of colour and bark designs.
A song about forests seemed
fitting to share today. It is by an
The Trees -- Rush
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