Chapter 3 – The Open Book Café – The Legacy of Trees
Updated: Feb 21
Welcome to Chapter 3 of The Open Book Café.
'Find yourself alone in calm woods, leaves drifting to forest floor, creeks running downhill under fallen tree bridges, and leave your footprints in the mud. Let yourself be inspired by a place that continues to breathe after you leave.' – Sarah Harmer, Foreward in The Last Stand
The Last Stand, A Journey Through the Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the Niagara Escarpment, by Peter E. Kelly & Douglas W. Larson, follows the life of these trees, with prose, facts, and opinions and sentiments by those who have inhabited the area.
'New growth advances over the stumps of broken or dead branches. Living branches stretch outwards for light. Roots weave their way along fissures or ledges. They seek out cavities on the face and plunge into networks of small cracks and fissures.'
The Niagara Escarpment
'It cuts its way from the Niagara Peninsula in the south to the Bruce Peninsulain the North, stretching onto the islands off Tobermory. From there it continues onto Manitoulin Island.'
When shooting the Ken The Finder video series, we have seen the beauty of it for ourselves. Here is a photo of Flowerpot Island (more footage will be on the upcoming KTF DVD):
What Kinds of trees do you mostly find in your area?
Ontario is home to a wide variety of trees: oak, elm, maple, birch, aspen, spruce, apple, cherry, mulberry,... Here's a link for Ontario's tree atlas:
https://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/tree-atlas
'The Deciduous Forest Region, also known as the Carolinian Forest Region, occupies an area of southern Ontario nestled between Lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron, plus a narrow strip of land along the north-west shore of Lake Ontario.' – Ontario's Old-Growth Forests. A Guidebook Complete with History, Ecology, and Maps. By Michael Henry and Peter Quinby.
Hiking through the forest is one of my passions. I have been living in Oakville, Ontario, Canada for over a year now. And I've been told about the (over 250 year old) white oak that was saved from destruction. I had to go and see this very special tree. The main photo is featured at the top of this blog. They had built the road around this tree.
Tree Hugging
I wrapped my arms around this tree. No, it wasn't a spiritual / tree worshipping / new age experience. It was for stress release and gratitude. If your intent is pure, you can feel the energy being drawn into you.
A heartfelt Thank You, to those who saved this tree from destruction.
More info: http://www.elgar.ca/The_Great_White_Oak.htm
Oakville's Ancient White Oak
Yin and yang
Duality of time.
Our 'reality' of
Now and Then.
Branches arching,
Curving upward
And downward.
As above,
So below.
If the axe does fall,
Just know
That the seeds
Will Blow
The subject of trees cannot be fit into just one single blog.
The Open Book Café is now open to include your suggestions on titles only available on electronic devices. And TOBC is in support of alternative printing options (e.g. using hemp for paper).
But, the bottom line: there is nothing like a physical book.
If the power goes out, you can still crack open a book after the break of dawn.
Feel free to share (the Introduction has community guidelines):
- what you are reading now
- your content that is related to this post
- images of your favourite reading space
- your favourite moving passage (please include the author, and book title (if you know it)
Thanks for stopping by The Open Book Café.
See you next Sunday!
About the author
Susan Leitch is a multimedia artist and curator of art. One of her writer pseudonyms is Hannah Ellie.
Her ongoing projects and various creations can be found at MultiMediaSusan.com
© Copyright 2019, Susan Leitch. All rights reserved.
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