TuesdayTalk with the Trees. by Helen Hollick

www.helenhollick.net

Trees. I think most of us like trees ... to walk in a wood, along rambling, winding paths to see the sun shining through the leaves and branches, hear the wind rustling ... is a joyful, relaxing pleasure. Of course the liking for trees changes somewhat when one falls on your car or house during a storm, or delays the traffic or trains. Obviously I do not want anyone to get hurt, but it is so sad to see these majestic trees stranded, dying, roots thrusting towards the sky when they have been felled, either by natural cause or the hand (axe?) of man.

Two of my favourite scenes in novels are those with trees - when the Ents, the trees in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy take their revenge, and the tree spirits in the Narnia Stories appear (both these were wonderfully depicted in the movies!)

Did you know that the sounds inside trees have been discovered and recorded? The sap inside the trunk as it rises and falls actually makes different noises. Call it fanciful imagination, but I wonder... are they actually talking?

"Scientists have known for many years that trees make noise, and not from just the creaking that occurs as wind pushes them back and forth. Trees also emit noise that is too high in frequency for the human ear to hear. Past research suggests that the noises trees make change if they're not getting enough water, and at least some of that noise is likely due to cavitation. Cavitation occurs when air bubbles form in the tubes (xylem) that run up and down tree trunks, preventing water from being pulled upward—in some cases it causes the tree to die. What has remained a mystery, however, is how much of the noise coming from trees during times of drought stress is due to cavitation, and how much from other sources, such as cell breakage." click here for more

Listen to the sounds that a tree makes - fascinating video

I grew up on the outskirts of the sprawling London suburbs - on one side of the Borough (Waltham Forest), nothing but houses, shops, offices, warehouses petrol stations, supermarkets, car parks... on the other, Epping Forest, which is where I kept my horses, and later, my daughter kept hers,  It was a joy to ride in the Forest, or walk the dog, have picnics - enjoy the open space. Queen Elizabeth I regularly hunted in the Forest, spending time at her hunting lodge, on the edge of Chingford. Her father spent time there as well: legend has it that he was there on the day Anne Boleyn was beheaded - he heard  the signal cannons at the Tower of London being fired. (Which is possible, it would only be a few miles away, and no modern noises to mask the sound.)  When bombs went off in London during the '80s we clearly heard the 'whoomph'  in Walthamstow. With the wind in the right direction e could occasionally hear the ceremonial salutes for the present Queen Elizabeth II.

Another legend (probably including the firing of more cannons) is that reportedly Good Queen Bess was hunting in the Forest when word came of the defeat of the Spanish Armada - she was so delighted that she rode her horse into the Lodge and straight up the oak stairs! (I wonder how on earth they got the animal down again?)

So what has all that got to do with trees?

I admit I am not very good at identifying trees. I know the obvious ones: oak, beech, silver birch, willow, horse chestnut, field maple, holly, hawthorn... but I do tend to get muddled with hornbeam, larch, alder and such. But I love trees. I love their timelessness, their solidity, their colours, shapes, sizes, sounds. The Sequoia trees in California were awesome - I really felt as if they existed in a completely different time-structure zone from us. An hour in our time is a year in theirs? Everything about those enormous old trees were so different, everything slow and sleepy, like something being played in slow motion. (And, I must add that it was very hot and dry in those Sequoia woods, Fire is a constant danger!)

Sequoia

Since moving to Devon my love affair with trees has expanded. The landscape is beautiful with trees, and I have MY trees - I can't explain how utterly fantastic it is to actually 'own' these beautiful, beautiful living beings! Especially the old, old oaks that are on our land and alongside the lane. In our woods we also have holly, hawthorn, alder, birch...  In the front garden there is a huge old field maple, a giant holly tree,  rowan, lilac, several firs,  and an enormous bay tree (about 20-30 feet high?) I love these trees.

one of the oaks in the lane

And I know I said 'own' - but of course we are just the custodians, the temporary guardians of the environment, and I take my role very, very seriously. The realisation that some of those old, old oaks have stood there since, probably the mid 1800s is - well, awesome! I wish I knew who had planted them.

There's a saying that for every species of mature tree in a hedgerow allow fifty years of age. That makes one of our hedgerow about 200 years old at least. The house was built in 1769... were some of those oaks planted then I wonder? Could they be that old? 

our woods in winter

To see the changing colours through the seasons - did you know there are many, many shades of yellow and green? (Forget the drab 50 shades of grey!) The light changes across the Taw Valley from one minute to the next, changing the colours of the fields and the trees as it does so. Spring, bright, fresh greens which mellow to darker shades in summer. Autumn, the yellows, reds, browns, golds - the berries, the fruits ... Winter when the trees sleep, their branches bare. The wind when a storm blows in from the south-west sounding almost like the sea as it thunders through the branches.

They do 'talk', those trees, believe me they do!

The Taw Valley

And then there are the fruit trees: our apples and pears and damsons. Apple pie, stewed pears and custard, damson jam (I made a super batch this year) and damson gin ... the snag with damson gin, you make it and have to leave it to 'mature' for at least three months,  still, only a couple of weeks to go before I can sample how the 2018 batch turned out. 

Foreground: our woods.

And, for those of you who know my books and characters, it was not by whimsy or chance that I called my pirate Jesamiah Acorne. I have an affinity with oak trees. I collect acorn objects - ornaments and such. No idea why I love the oak above all other trees (Silver Birch is a close second) but the oaks are my 'heroes'.

What is you favourite tree? Leave a comment below, I'd love to know!