Saturday, June 22, 2013
Happy smell, sad sight
Basic rule: Dry air carries bad smells, wet air carries good smells. This morning's air is still wet from Thursday's allday rain, and it's carrying the best smell I've ever encountered.
I'd heard chainsaws on Thursday, so I directed this morning's walk toward the area where they seemed to be running. Along the way, an east wind brought an aroma that factored neatly into 3 parts mesquite and 1 part mustard. Best smell ever. I suspect it's coming from the Colorado forest fires, filtered by distance.
Found where the chainsaws had been running, and it made me unhappy despite the perfect smell. They cut down the Hypotenuse Tree that I had saluted just a couple weeks ago!
Understandable move, I suppose. The house behind Hypotenuse was for sale for a long time, and now it's been sold. Presumably the buyer wanted the 'ugly' tree to be removed as a condition of purchase.
So my little tribute has turned into an obit.
Sidenote for clarity: I'm emphatically not a tree-hugger, and I would have cut the tree down if I had owned the property. In fact I would have cut down all the trees, not just the Hypotenuse. Which is exactly what I did on my own property as soon as I could afford it! But since Hypotenuse was someone else's hazard, I could think about it sentimentally.
¶ 6:51 AM 
Found where the chainsaws had been running, and it made me unhappy despite the perfect smell. They cut down the Hypotenuse Tree that I had saluted just a couple weeks ago!
Understandable move, I suppose. The house behind Hypotenuse was for sale for a long time, and now it's been sold. Presumably the buyer wanted the 'ugly' tree to be removed as a condition of purchase.
So my little tribute has turned into an obit.
Sidenote for clarity: I'm emphatically not a tree-hugger, and I would have cut the tree down if I had owned the property. In fact I would have cut down all the trees, not just the Hypotenuse. Which is exactly what I did on my own property as soon as I could afford it! But since Hypotenuse was someone else's hazard, I could think about it sentimentally.
¶ 6:51 AM
