Photo by Bill Stokes
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, reports that the keeper, fresh from reading The Overstory, where Richard Powers relates trees to humans, walked in the woods with son Larry to assess the kill of ash trees by the invasive emerald ash borer.
The walk included pauses at many of the dead, brown, bark-shedding ash, as well as a stop to admire the cluster of towering white pine on the top of a rocky cliff. It was obvious to the keeper that the communication between Larry and the trees on his property was two-way and deep, a la the tree-human soul dissection in the The Overstory.
It is perhaps foolhardy for a parent to think they might have had any role in anything positive that happens in an offspring’s development, but Larry’s deep appreciation of natural things, especially trout and trees, does the keeper proud anyway.
Thank you, emerald ash borer, for a great Walk In The Woods.
