Trees, like women, give us life. As the poet, Mary Oliver, said, “When I am among the trees … they... Read More
Trees, like women,
give us life. As the poet, Mary Oliver, said, “When I am among the trees …
they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and
daily.” (Mary Oliver, When I Am Among The Trees, 2006)
Trees add beauty to
our surrounds, and provide us with shelter and food. They are living, sentient
beings. They give us hope for a planet that is in peril. And yet we humans
mould, mutilate and destroy trees, exercising agendas that ignore both the
rights of these living beings and the benefits they bestow on the environment -
an environment we share.
This year, I lost a
battle to save a beautiful, mature Dawn Redwood that had been growing for over
60 years in the garden alongside a shared drive to my property. It was brutally
chopped down by neighbours who apparently prefer concrete and stones to a
garden. Large sections of trunk and limbs were carted off to be
wastefully burnt as firewood, releasing tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. The
stump was reduced to mulch. I have also watched with dismay the limbs of an
even older Copper Beech lopped off by other neighbours because it dropped
leaves on their lawn.
This painting is my
response.
