This is at the vet's. In fact there are two - equally vast.
And gnarled.
Must be a different hybrid. I've never seen one as big as these. Could they be the promised pure Black?
I don't think so.
But it's good to see them old and thriving.
One thing though - they were NOT Lime trees.
I've had a thought about the Poplar Path - and indeed the Crow Crossing. I am beginning to feel that this tree and this bird acted as portals into the world of trees and birds. They were not being species specific about it, but acting as the chosen reminders to engage with the more-than-human world.
My perspective has changed... I mean, today I was listening to Robert Wright and Jonathan Haidt talking - I like both of them a great deal. They were talking about the problems of tribalism and how humans can't talk to each other from a shared cultural standpoint. That we are divided and losing the ability to connect with each other.
I was listening and I thought of this...
Imagine a vast convention centre... and I mean really vast as it has to hold 8.7 million living beings. Now, these beings, all together, are part of a community. The vast majority of them live in various relationships with many others. Some relationships are parasitic, some commensal, some symbiotic. The beings vary in how much each gives and how much it takes from a whole network of others. But while they may harm each other, they don't tend to kill each other; and while they may use each other, there is usually some form of reciprocity - even if the user gives back to someone other than the one they have used. But among these 8.7 million is one, who has to stand on a platform to ensure superiority. This one has enslave about 2000 others and about a million have been of will be destroyed by this one.
But what is also notable about this one in nearly nine million is that it does not talk to any of the others. It Hardly talks about them - apart from how best to use them. It is obsessed with how it works: with its internal mechanisms, its thoughts and feelings, its inner conflicts and its health.
It only EVER listens to itself.
This one struggles to acknowledge that more than, say, 100 of the other nine million have any rights. And that's on a good day. A very good day.
Great tree photos. I found that episode with Robert & Jonathon and plan to listen. Your convention centre tale is unsettling! ps Yeah I like Robert. First learned about him on a Coursera course he did several years ago. Have heard of J but don't know much about him. Looking forward to listening to the podcast.