On my walks and runs I often pass this old cottonwood tree that was long ago struck by lightening, which split it in half and caused one half of it to die and rot, while the other half survived and continued to grow. The dead half was home to owls and squirrels. The living half hosted a nest of red tailed hawks. I always thought of this tree as very special.
I am a lover of trees – having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, where I fearlessly played in the forest behind my house as a child. As an artist I paint trees and as a photographer I take lots of tree photos. These photos are not spectacular, but they mean something to me…
Then on July 4th another dramatic lightening storm rolled through my neighborhood and I witnessed one very loud crack of lightening that seemed to be right overhead. I saw smoke rise and realized that the lightening must have hit a tree. On July 5th I was out for a run and found the old cottonwood fallen over the path…
Goodbye majestic old tree. Thank you for the shade you provided. Thank you for being home to and food for so many critters. I pass the place where you once lived, and although only a stump now exists where you once proudly stood, I will always remember you fondly.
Namaste,
Kat
Want to know more about Cottonwoods? You can learn a lot from my new friend and fellow tree-lover, Kathleen Cain in her eBook, The Cottonwood Tree: An American Champion
One more photo, also taken along one of my favorite walking/running paths, of two majestic cottonwoods. A coyote and her 3 pups dwell in the field of tall grasses beneath them, where the duck and prairie dog hunting is plentiful. Red foxes and mule deer can also be seen in this open space.
Thanks for your touching tribute. While researching my book The Cottonwood Tree: An American Champion (Johnson Books/Big Earth Publishing. Boulder: 2007) I met “Scarstruck,” a venerable old female that had been zapped from top to bottom with lightning–half had split away, but half still works hard to sprout the gorgeous green pearls filled with seeds. She’s in an open space–fitting for a wild tree–so no one complains about her penchant for filling the air with cotton in her attempt to keep her species going. I sitll visit her when I can and admire her life. Namaste, indeed…thank you.
Kathleen Cain
Thank YOU, Kathleen! This tree was also standing in open space, along with about a dozen or more other cottonwoods. As annoying as the seeds can be when they cause my allergies to rage, they are among my favorite trees because they feed and house so many birds and animals – and are so enormous. Of course, you already know this! I will link to your book. I found it via Mr. Google
From one tree lover to another, God bless the trees!
Kat