News from Clarksburg

These two trees are on the route into Clarksburg village that Maggie (the golden retriever) and I walk in the mornings to fetch the Globe and Mail. About four years ago I noticed a young Mountain Ash growing in the crotch of a branch of the Maple about five metres above the ground. I suppose a squirrel or bird must have carried a berry up into the tree and the seeds took root. Each spring as the Maple burst into leaf, so did the transplanted Mountain Ash. It produced its own orange berries each summer just as it parent did down the street. I made a point of searching for any other young Mountain Ashes in the same area but the only one I could see was the one growing in the Maple tree.

The ritual was repeated this spring and Mountain Ash was now about 2 metres tall growing in a normal fashion five metres above the ground. Unfortunately, the old Maple was having a hard time. Each storm brought down more of its dead branches and even big pieces of bark. Two weeks ago I was sad to see that the Maple and its Mountain Ash were gone. It must have happened while I was away for a few days because I did not see the work crews. All that is left is a round patch of dirt where the stump was removed. Soon the grass seed will cover over the spot and the two trees will only be a memory.

Is there a moral to this story? Perhaps not. Just another example of the wonderful way that Mother Nature works and the importance of us noticing.