Listening to Trees: Scarlet Oak

When the Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea, Beech Family), who lived near the dumpsters, found out that I was making the rounds visiting trees, He/She dropped several acorns on me.  Usually when I drop off my trash, I would visit with that particular Scarlet Oak.  This quiet tree wanted me to play with Her/Him.  (For some reason, the Scarlet Oak wanted me to know that She/He was both male and female.)  We played “acorns” for a while until the two nearby Scarlet Oaks decided to join in the game.  Feeling contented and full of fun, the Scarlet Oaks and I threw acorns at each other, while. The Scarlet Oaks informed me that They were not rulers of the forests here, but that the Tulip Poplar and Sycamore were.  The Scarlet Oaks were contented to live in the shade of the taller Sycamores.  My friend, the Scarlet Oak wanted me to laugh, and to experience joy in my life.  I shall continue to visit He/She and play.

Listen to the Trees: Tulip Poplar

Later, the ancient huge Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera, Magnolia Family) informed me that She was the Monarch of the Forest.  Standing tall, scraping the sky, She told me that She saw the original railroad being laid down in the 1850s.  The Tulip Poplar, most decidedly a She, wanted me to know that.  As the Reigning Empress, She ordered me to stand tall and stretch to the sky, while keeping my balance.  Because I balked at this, the nearby trees told me to hush and listen to Tulip Poplar.  After that, I was with Monarch Tulip Poplar for a long time, just standing still.  From Her, I learned to be quiet and still. 

Listening to Trees: American Basswoods

In listening to various trees, I discovered that every species is so dissimilar from the others that the word “tree” is too general to describe these beings.  The Basswoods acted as a community while the Tulip Poplar stood tall by Herself.  Meanwhile the local Scarlet Oaks did not regard Themselves as Kings of the Forest, but preferred to play with everyone instead.

The American Basswoods (Tilia americana, Linden Family) live near the railroad tracks behind my condo building.  They all wanted to speak to me but only the Younger Brother was in a place where I could safely go.  The Basswoods asked me to greet all of them, which I complied by touching their leaves.  (The Basswood Community, for some reason, felt male, both separately and together.) Standing together, these trees formed a shady bower with their curved trunks and branches.  While I stood in the bower that the trees formed, I could hear music.  The Basswoods were singing, in various harmonies, the pop music of Barry Manilow (American, 1943 - ).  The choral singing of these trees reminded me that I could be an individual within a unified whole, since the Basswoods, Themselves, were a community who relied on each other.