Monday, May 28, 2012

Under the Protection of Trees


Under the Protection of Trees
All day long they had stretched out their boughs to an azure sky, green and blue mingling to create an aquamarine sea in the air all around us.  Light from a golden sun dripped down like honey through leaves slowly waving in an afternoon breeze.  It was a day made for May, a near perfect creation with nary a hint of drama nor fear.
The darkening of the sky was imperceptible at first, a mere triviality this close to nightfall.  The wind remained in the wings until the very last moment, when it suddenly rushed on stage as in act three of Lear, coaxing ominous tunes from the wind chimes as it whipped round the garden, an invisible portent of the chaos to come.  The old trees took notice.  Before our eyes they seemed to grow taller, every sprig and spray of green burgeoning, billowing, to link arms with each other over our roof.  Like eagle’s wings they covered us as the hail began to fall.  
Blown in by the theatrical wind, it crashed into our garden with a deafening sound, an artillery of ice as unusual as it was destructive.  The floor of the garden turned white, a macabre snowfall on the doorstep of summer.  For at least twenty minutes it continued to fall as we stood at the window as helpless as kittens.  And then, like a dream, it was over.
As an otherworldly fog rose up from the icy ground, like Dorothy on arrival in Oz, we stepped out our door, expecting to see the garden in ruins. 
 But the hydrangea blossoms were smiling.
  The rose was untouched. 
 The yellow petunias, crystal-fragile and translucent, still cascaded over the stone planters, as fresh and unspoiled as morning.  We looked up at the trees - the magnolia, the poplar, the pine and the oak - our giant sentinels, our protectors - and not for the first time, we nodded our thanks. 
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The hailstorm of last week was an unusual one.  It lasted much longer than any we’ve ever experienced and gave us a violent pounding that caused me to put my fingers in my ears.  We got out afterwards to look round the neighbourhood.  The streets were covered in pine needles and thick with a fog unlike any we’ve seen.  The ground was white.  Most gardens had a good deal of destruction, but our big trees broke the fall of the ice and we escaped any damage.  
One more reason to love them. 

14 comments:

  1. I so love trees and believe this is just one of the best reasons. So happy to hear your lovely blooms were protected.
    Karen

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  2. What an amazing story. I love trees to; but I have never heard of such a thing!!

    Wonderful; and as always so beautifully written!

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  3. I love a dramatic storm, but it's so good your flowers were protected. Big trees are just amazing. I especially love ones that droop and hang, like willows.

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  4. Hello Pamela

    How sudden this inclement weather struck without so much as a warning or "by your leave". You must have been at sixes and sevens as your watched, like kittens from window. I just love the visuals of this sudden interruption of what was until then a blissful day. The poem "I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree" has been coming to mind as you thank the trees.

    Helen xx

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  5. oh how beautiful.
    i have loved trees since i was a little girl and had a "secret place" inside an ancient cottonwood tree trunk near a stream. it was big enough for me to sit inside it! it encompassed me like a gentle giant in a silent hug.
    i literally cry when i see trees being cut down for no good reason.
    they are givers of life... the very oxygen we breathe!
    i was a tree hugger before it became a derogatory label. still i'm proud to be a tree hugger even today! i do hug them, literally.
    here's to more tree huggers.
    they need us.

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  6. I think the tree deserves a hug Pamela...it loves you. Protecting you as it did..if trees could speak, if Edward could speak..just imagine! Sending you rays of sunshine from our trees to yours... Jeanne xx

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  7. A hailstorm turned on its ear, a magical word picture of the event. I so love trees...they provide so much excitement when the winds come up...otherwise, they're gentle giants standing guard...fun post :)

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  8. Pamela a wonderful story. We have had some huge storms lately, not hail right in my area though. You have a very special tree!

    Do come and see my interview with Leslie of Segreto Finishes and enter to win her Fabulous Book!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  9. Give each one a special hug Pamela - they deserve it.

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  10. Thanks indeed, these beautifully rooted soldiers!

    Lovely!

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  11. Trees are very special beings,so few people realise how necessary they are to our survival. I'm glad that your trees protected your garden from the hail, it sounds as though it was quite a scary event.

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  12. Lovely, - sometimes Nature takes care of her own...

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  13. Have been reading for sometime but have not commented . . you lead me to Wilf the Pon blog a while back. I love your writing, your world seems to be part fairytale and part so very real all interwoven. You must be a magical person to be around.

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  14. This post is wonderful. Thank goodness for your trees and their protection of your garden. What a storm that must have been! So happy everything turned out all right.

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I love to read your comments! Each and every one! Though I'm always reading your comments, I may not respond in the comment section. If you want to write me directly, you may do so at pamela@pamelaterry.net. Thank you for reading!