The Trees

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Permalink Reply by deerwoman on February 21, 2009 at 1:16pm

Dedication to a tree named 'Hokohongus'

As a friend said to me once, 'The trees are so amazing, they never stop giving.' It impressed me that she said that and I have meditated on that remark, often. There is a tree that once lived named 'Hokohongus' that I learned of, and it has also impressed me and the memory has taken root in my heart.

For a time I lived near the Hudson River, north of New York City. In this area there were enormous trees. I had never, before, seen such large trees or so many of these leviathans. One 'copper beech' that was right outside my second floor apartment window, filled the view and continued to tower skyward, being a veritable skyscraper for the birds.

During this period in my life certain incidents lead me to explore the history of the area. I discovered that had I lived in that spot in 1900, I would have had a view from the hillside where I lived toward fields of maize and a giant 'american chestnut' which the native people, the Wequaskeck, considered a supernatural being. It was called 'Hokohongus'. Their council meetings were held under it's boughs. If the trees that still grow, though of a different species, are any resemblance in scale to Hokohongus, then that tree would have been magnificent. It is recorded that it grew to 100' in height.

All the american chestnuts were afflicted and died from a blight in the early 1900's, including Hokohongus. Yet in that, the Victorian, era, people would pose and have their photograph shot standing beside the enormous stump, covered with vines. There are newspaper clippings of the photos in the local historical archives.

I think of Hokohongus and feel it's strength living in my memory. Sending special thanks and greetings to all the trees and to Hokohongus. Also to those who lived for hundreds of years in the area and honored this sacred tree, the Wequaskeck people.

deerwoman

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Permalink Reply by Sherry on February 26, 2009 at 8:35am

I wholeheartedly agree with you deerwoman. A few years ago, I felt that if I was to be reincarnated, I would want to be a tree. Trees are the ultimate in giving- they cleanse our air, provide shelter to many birds and animals, as well as numerous uses for people. The things that impress me most are their silence, patience and perseverance through all the seasons of life- traits that all people could stand to learn from. Thanks for writing this!

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Permalink Reply by Paul Tobin-coyote Song on February 27, 2009 at 5:36am

There is a hemlock tree that I sit against in my secret spot.One day I asked it from my hart about our connection, I didn't think I was getting a response till I removed my hand, I staggered backwards .Had to grab onto the black birch to keep from falling over.I quickly re connected I'm thankful for my connection.

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Permalink Reply by Helena Wu on March 6, 2009 at 6:51pm

Trees connect Heaven and Earth.
Sugar Maple is a woman tree. It helps us "bring forth with Joy". In the form of a flower essence, I use it for births (I'm a midwife). It helps one to draw strength from the Earth and do your work of opening to the creative power trying to move through. This I have not read anywhere but discovered it as I got to know her. I do hope you all have experienced maple syrup! :)

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Permalink Reply by deerwoman on May 27, 2009 at 11:54am

I would like to hear more about your experience with the sugar maple and what it teaches you, Helen. You have a rare life experience and ability to share unique insight.

Yesterday was an unusual day for me. Part of it was that I got up before dawn and was out before the blackflies... ; - )) and the sun. I live on a cove and went down to the beach early, just after sunrise. I started to find driftwood sticks. I have a walking stick that a friend crafted from wood he had harvested. The stick, made from diamond willow, is my walking companion and is just right for me in scale, weight, appearance. Also, the friend who gifted it to me is spiritually a companion on my walks as well. I felt gifted by the earth to be finding the sticks which may make very nice walking sticks for others. Coincidently, the day before being Memorial Day, one of the gestures extended, here in Maine, to living veterans, was to give them maple walking sticks.

BANGOR - It's a question many Maine veterans are asking these days: Are there any of those walking sticks left that the Cole Land Transportation Museum has been passing out for several years?

The good news is yes, the museum has ordered an ample supply of the maple walking sticks from Peavey Manufacturing, and they're available to Maine veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War who haven't obtained one before and who plan to march or ride in the Memorial Day parade in Bangor.

So in the beautiful morning, while fisherman were out in their boat, their deep voices quietly drifting across the water, I was happily foraging and collecting natural walking sticks. These sturdy branches, memorials of the trees, and the ocean, wind, and tides, ruled by the moon, that conveyed them to this place on the shore, will hopefully find a person to befriend in their travels on the landscape.

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Permalink Reply by Helena Wu on May 27, 2009 at 1:34pm

Beautiful!
It makes me think that there is plenty for all we need if we gather and attend to life with conscious awareness. Nature and Spirit is always giving to us, we just have to recognize this.

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Permalink Reply by deerwoman on May 27, 2009 at 2:53pm

Thank you, Helen.

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Permalink Reply by Lucas Tunkel on June 13, 2010 at 2:35pm

Near where I live there is a pocket of old cedars, with a good sized creek called Lion creek flowing through it. I think it's around 7 miles in, and up. The trail has a lot of ups and downs, it's a kind of hike I love because it allows me to really wake up my body along with all my other facets, and move carrying a very deep gratitude for the balance. It always seems so sudden, once you get to the cedars- it's as if the transition were happening very gently on an energetic or spiritual level, but quickly on the physical. Anyway, once I'm in there, in the glorious silence and cool shadows, there's an incredible sense of support. Letting myself connect and communicate with that forest, I feel this huge and gentle message, the closest words to it I can find are "chill out- be as you are, you'll get where you're going, you love, and are loved, the beauty you see in this is not separate from you." Sitting with my back to one of those trees, or just wandering, I sometimes share in the trees' connection to the creek, and the creek's connection to the river below, and beyond all the way out to the ocean. Scattered among the cedars are a few yew trees, small when compared to what grows on the coast, but pretty big for here in Montana. As a bowyer, yew has a special place in my heart- running my hands over the purple, scaly bark I feel my ancestors who built and hunted with yew bows far, far away. Like the stream that connects to the infinite ocean, my life is connected to the vastness of the lives of those who came before me. This makes me feel small in a delightful way, just like standing beneath the towering trees highlights the smallness of my human body.

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