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Our property received a forest service grant for a much-needed tree thinning. They dropped upwards of 200 pine and fir across 3 acres in two days. Today, tang and woodcut waft through my forest on a late summer breeze.
Pine scented mounds of downed tree debris will keep us company into the winter while the decomposers go to work.
Beneath their igloos of snow promised by El Nino these poky bales of limbed boughs will wither through winter, curing.
Come this time next year: a controlled burn–– in service of a healthy forest and defensible space.
I sit each morning on our back deck and accompany the dawn.
Sometimes it is robin’s reveille that inaugurates day. Today, mountain chickadees serenaded me with soft cheeps.
Soon after, this pileated woodpecker arrived, perhaps chagrined he has fewer choices of trees.
This much I know is true:
If you are lucky enough to live in the mountains, you are lucky enough.
joy and thanksgiving
birds and bees bring me to my knees
busy the late-summer forest
grooming coneflower and conifer
photos & poem © Patricia J. Franz
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Beautiful…so much to think about in this circle of life moment. I love your pause and description for us. It’s like a mini-retreat on my computer screen.
Patricia, I love the mountains, too. And yay for controlled burns! xo
Patricia, your love for your mountain home is inspiring and beautiful. You taught me a lot with the photos and description of the grant for thinning and the controlled burn later next year. Your two poems do the experience justice. “reveille” and “inaugurates” are two magical words. And “birds and bees bring me to my knees” inspires me to worship. Lovely!
I so enjoyed all you wrote of your love of the mountains, Patricia. My family and I have not lived permanently, but had a cabin in the forest for a long time, and loved our time there. Just to sit and listen, as you’ve written, “birds and bees bring me to my knees”, takes me there! I’m happy for you & always love what you share, like this new ‘cut-back’.
What a gorgeous place!!!!! I just saw a pileated woodpecker in person for the first time but wasn’t quick enough to get a photo so I am loving yours! Love your poem, too, and its beautiful snapshot, of words and pictures, of late summer and gratitude! Thank you!
I can smell the forest and feel refreshed like a new summer haircut.