It is a question that has haunted man and grade school students since someone got the bright idea to teach philosophy in addition to trade related knowledge and skills as regular curriculum.
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound?
Well thanks to a heavier than normal breeze that passed our way the other night I think I have an answer.
I was on my way home from a very long hard day at work. It had been stormy most of the day and I never weary seeing a little rain fall in our desert lands, especially when drought is the talk of many areas and flooding the parts of others. Having a pleasant medium is not a bad thing to experience.
Just as I was pulling up to the house, I noticed that something seemed out of place. At first I wasn't quite sure what it was and then that moment was quickly replaced with the notice of an object on the lawn that wasn't there the last time I had mowed.
I tried to investigate further to determine a cause or if a motive could be established because that was about the cleanest tree removal unintentional or not that I have ever seen. Over the course of a lifetime, if one is paying attention to their surroundings, they will notice life happening to themselves and others and so I have seen my fair share of trees laying on their sides but never I have I seen one that did not bring or at least attempt to bring a good share of its roots and a goodly section of the ground around it up with it.
I paced it off and figure that this beautiful tree of long pine needle was about thirty feet long which equates to about thirty feet tall when it should in its formerly upright posture. In case you are wondering, I took a picture with my size 12 boot for a size comparison.
The next day I commenced clean up efforts and learned that pine is one of the softer woods which means it was easier to start the deconstruction process as the loppers I used were making quick work of the branches. It was still going to take some time though as there was a lot of tree to deconstruct.
I quickly filled our two garbage bins and was glad that it was our garbage pick up day today. As I wheeled the two over flowing containers to the curb, the garbage truck arrived. This surprised me because we are usually one of the last ones to be picked up in our neighborhood and the cans on the other side of the street were yet to be emptied. The gentleman driving the truck pulled up and told me that he had noticed my downed tree earlier and that he would take these now and if I had them ready I could put them on the other side for him to empty on his return. I was grateful for this offer and went straight to work trying to do just that.
He was true to his word and although they were not quit filled to overflowing as the first batch were, they still contained a pretty full load. Freshly emptied, I began again to fill. Six bins worth and a few big parts left over that might make for a nice pit fire some night but I finally got it cleaned up.
There was some ingenuity employed to make that log into shorter more manageable lengths but more importantly make them light enough that I could move them, but it was done and it is done. I am going to miss that tree, even if I know that a few more years and a little more wind in a slightly different direction, the outcome could have been much worse. This is one of the easier things to handle all things consider when life happens.
So that brings me back to the beginning of this little story. I was visiting with my friend and she asked me what that loud sound was from the night before and I explained about the tree and see nodded knowingly so even if I wasn't there to hear it, it made a sound and was heard. At least that is what a little birdie told me.
But wait, she was there to hear it. Forget what I said. The question remains unanswered. At least the sky wasn't falling. This is Ed Nef with a
view from the Farrwest.
