The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~Nelson Henderson
Having planted at least one tree at each cowcamp, I know that holds true for me.
I try never to go back to see how my trees are doing. Besides some are planted in places that only I know. Though I did recently look at a topo map of the last cowcamp the Cowman and I had. I planted 9 redwoods, 3 raywood ash, 3 black pine, 3 cedar and a fir there and a small orchard of threeway fruit trees. They are all gone except for a couple of the ash and the fir. I don't know why. A lot of thought went into their placement and they were growing well when I left.
When I was designing landscapes to help pay the bills for the cows I loved the process of finding the right trees for the owners and the land. A landscape with good bones endures.
While scanning the topo maps I found a large acreage that I, long ago, designed for a doctor and his family. The thing was that after many hours of work on that design, he said he didn't care for it, and would not be paying me more than a small consult fee. More than the money lost I was crushed that he didn't like the design. Now, looking at that plot of ground... I know he copied the drawings and had it planted exactly as designed. It is my design and the bones of that landscape have stood the test of time, I'm more than happy with that.
And with a touch of the hat brim to LL:
Good Timber
by Douglas Malloch
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
Good Timber
by Douglas Malloch
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
Nelson Henderson - See more at: http://www.savatree.com/tree-quotes.html#sthash.tQKU470I.dpuf
Nelson Henderson - See more at: http://www.savatree.com/tree-quotes.html#sthash.tQKU470I.dpuf
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
Nelson Henderson - See more at: http://www.savatree.com/tree-quotes.html#sthash.tQKU470I.dpuf
Nelson Henderson - See more at: http://www.savatree.com/tree-quotes.html#sthash.tQKU470I.dpuf
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
Nelson Henderson - See more at: http://www.savatree.com/tree-quotes.html#sthash.tQKU470I.dpuf
Nelson Henderson - See more at: http://www.savatree.com/tree-quotes.html#sthash.tQKU470I.dpuf
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
Nelson Henderson - See more at: http://www.savatree.com/tree-quotes.html#sthash.tQKU470I.dpuf
Nelson Henderson - See more at: http://www.savatree.com/tree-quotes.html#sthash.tQKU470I.dpuf
