Calamity

If you’ve walked in to the Arb through the Walter Street or Bussey Street gates, you may have noticed that the Conifer Path was closed off. For good reason - that storm with high wind and rain some time back wrecked havoc on many strong, mature conifers. I’ve heard that 17 were lost. Some of them were diseased but many were just undone by the high winds and water-soaked ground.

On the Peters Hill side, with which I am considerably more familiar, one of the large oaks broke about 10-12 feet up. It was clearly not in the best of health. The roots and the base of the tree are still there and the broken-off bulk of the tree lay in state for a few days before Arb crews got to its dismemberment.

I’m going to work not to take these complex and alien lifeforms for granted. Most days they look like they can weather anything, any storm or depredation by humans. But like all life, they have their limits. And those were exceeded and we see the result.

With all these losses, there are still conifers aplenty to appreciate. I’m grateful for all the trees still standing.