A society grows great.....

......when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never
sit in.....or so the old Greek adage has it. I don't know. I DO know
such a man. I mean, he certainly has planted plenty of trees in whose
shade he COULD sit, having been at it for decades.....but he wasn't
all that old a man when he planted those. And anyway, he doesn't sit
in their shade much. Mostly he works in that shade. I know, I've
been there working with him. I cut down just such a tree three days
ago.....and burned it. A forty foot tall American chestnut which,
having outstripped the nearby competing oaks and walnuts, was just
beginning to spread a magnificent crown that would have provided
enough shade for a score of old men in another year or two. But the
blight got to it, and when that happens you cut it down for the good
of the community. There's probably a lesson there. Somewhere,
sometime, there might be some benefit in pursuing it. I suppose.
Anyway, the old man keeps planting trees. But he comes of long-lived
stock. He will probably see enough shade to sit in under any of the
trees he has planted in the time that I've known him before he dies.
But he keeps planting trees. Eventually, the old Greeks are bound to
catch up with him. The trees all die.....eventually.....but there's
no denying that, on average, they outlive us by a long shot, even the
notoriously short-lived ones. A hazelnut, planted today, will
(assuming the squirrels don't get it before spring, and the rabbits
don't get it in the next year or two, and the deer don't get it in the
next ten) probably outlive me.....and quite possibly your children,
depending on how old you (or, more precisely, they) are.....and even
your grandchildren, depending on how profligate you are with them. On
the other hand, a hazelnut would only provide enough shade to sit in
if you are an old man and kinda hunched over, so I guess all that is
beside the point. Speaking of which, beside the point is sometimes
even more fascinating than the point. For example, have you ever
thought about the fact that assuming the number of trees of any
species (or all species combined, for that matter) is more or less
constant over the short or the long term (take your pick), each tree
must, on average, produce exactly one viable offspring which must, on
average, produce exactly one viable.....etc., etc. Thus, one large
black walnut, which may produce several thousand nuts in a good year,
which is to say one in every three or four or five or six years, will
produce a couple hundred thousand (give or take) nuts over its
lifetime.....and only ONE of those nuts will grow into an adult tree
that will produce several thousand nuts in a good year, etc., as
delineated above, on average. Um.....o.k......big deal. But a box
elder, which produces several hundred thousand seeds in a year.....or
a big mulberry which produces several million seeds in a good
year......wow!.....pretty soon you're talking some real numbers!

Anyway, the old man keeps planting trees. Pretty soon, I think, he's
going to stop occasionally to sit in the shade.....for a while.....and
watch me, or someone else, plant some more trees, or prune some, or
mow around them, or cut them down, and burn them.....and then he'll
get up and he'll plant some more. Until he's done.
And there will be thousands of seedlings and whips and saplings who
will never know who their father was, for they will never look down
upon his seated form.....and that's the way it should be.

I suppose.

giles.
who hastens to add that the latent offspring of the late lamented
chestnut have found a good home and are now napping contentedly in
anticipation of the coming spring.

On Oct 7, 9:46*pm, "Tim J." wrote:
Giles wrote:
.....when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never
sit in.....or so the old Greek adage has it. *snip

Thanks, Wolfgang. That was a good read. Robyn and I are going apple picking
this weekend and I'll have those thoughts in my head as I see all the
dropped apples. Autumn is in full swing here in New England - quite a
beautiful sight now.

I've never seen the fabled New England fall colors in person. Call it
chauvinism, but based on the photos I've seen and a lifetime of
experience with our own autumnal displays here in the upper Great
Lakes region, I have always thought that ours are every bit as
spectacular and perhaps even a bit more varied. Some day.....

So far, the show has been somewhat damped here by a week of overcast
and drizzly weather, what most people would describe as dismal, I
suppose. Personally, I think of this kind of weather at this time of
year as being deliciously melancholy.....but this is definitely a
minority opinion. I've gotten used to that.

Enjoy the show and the apples. We'll be heading out for some russets
and winesaps soon. And this year (huzzah!) we've got enough chestnuts
to indulge in the decidedly guilty pleasure of eating a couple!!

giles