IT WAS HER KIND OF GARDEN: A Portait Of A Forester

There it was. A plot of rustic, rock strewn land, covered in sinister blackberry bushes and looking like a street wise orphan longing for a plush foster home. And there she was, a pure garden loving naturalist, longing for just such a needy orphan. It was a match made in heaven just ready for the starting bell. The bell rang and it was off to the races, though be it a race in slow motion.

No, no trip to the store for new clothes for the orphan. Instead, a trip to the Campbell Tree and Land Company to arrange for clearing and planting plans.  Roundup and seedlings, rather than new clothes.

Thus started the transformation of the ugly duckling into Cinderella, a fete requiring nearly thirty years and not yet finished. But the duckling is now a flourishing and lovely garden of pines, awaiting its transformation into a mature forest, stately and proud.

The entire encounter reflects a similar scenario in which the pure naturalist played the same role, but rather than adopting a blackberry covered, rock strewn piece of land, it was the creation and nurturing of her own family.

During the Cinderella transformation , as little Pine Trees grow, it was accepted practice that the lower branches be pruned off as they died each year. Presumably, this would allow creation of clear, knot free wood at some time in the future when the tree was harvested. True to form, our loving naturalist would systematically be there each year to effect the required pruning, regardless of some questionable urging to the contrary that such action may not be necessary.

It may be obvious that similar pruning might be a prudent action in other familial developments. I am sure that our naturalist utilized such techniques in all such endeavors. At least, it is apparent that the same keen techniques were applied in the nurture and development of her primary family, obviously with outstanding results.

Her Garden Of Pines is a treasure to walk through. Her family is a treasure to meet and know. All of her efforts have rendered beautiful harvests, and the fruits of those efforts continue to multiply.