I used to have repetitive dreams of being in a house that had a lot of secret rooms. When I walked down one hallway, I would inevitably discover a new hallway that led to rooms I hadn’t seen before. The house went on and on and provided me with a never ending adventure.
That is what it has been like for me to work in the Greenbelt. I enter one area after another that is covered by blackberry vines, ivy and bamboo. I never know what I will find on the other side of them.
One day my adventure started here.
As I cleared a path, I saw many downed trees.
Soon, I came across this tree. It looked as if a maple tree that had fallen had birthed a new tree.
I discovered that another part of the tree had traveled north and it too had become a maple tree.
Other parts of the tree had traveled to the west and to the south. There was a new tree at the end of the western portion. I haven’t reached the end of the southern part yet so I don’t know what I will find there.
It is mind-boggling to me that a tree which has been so beaten down by the environment has such a strong will to live, and due to that will has accomplished what seems impossible. I look forward to the day when all of the invasive plants have been removed and the trees can reach for the sky without being hindered.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Against The Odds
Shared with Senior Salon
Living, Learning and Letting Go 
An interesting dilemma is that the invasive species have a will to live too, and so one life form is killed to make room for another life form that we prefer, or a life form is determined preferable because it is native to the environment. I remember trying to deal with this years ago when my roses were covered with aphids. Do I let the aphids live and kill the rose, or do I kill the aphids and save the rose? Aphids are the predators, roses the prey – Is the more ‘moral’ choice then to kill the predator? Aphids are ‘higher’ on the life spectrum than plants – is it better then to let the insects live? Crazy-making! But I love the image of the trees being freed to breathe in the light, after hanging on for years under blackberry and other invasive vines. Great post!
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What you say is true. It seems like an aspect of the decision making process is how much damage something is doing. I’ve had to deal with that choice with carpenter ants, rats, and wasps in the walls,
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Yes, that’s a good way to choose. But…it’s damage to *our* home and *our* food, whereas they’re just trying to make their own home and find their own food. But that’s an argument of luxury. If my children wouldn’t be able to eat b/c of ants and rats, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. So there we are!
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I’m for the trees, invasive species have a way of taking care of themselves 🙂
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Jumped over from the Senior Salon
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I’m with AL – and I have a deal with bugs and vermin: I won’t pursue you outside my doors, but you are NOT allowed inside my abode. Enter at your own risk.
Were you aware that National Invasive Species Awareness Week is coming up, btw — February 27-March 3.
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to transform a world!”
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I’m that way too. Spiders in outside no problem, spiders inside get carried (in a container) outside! No I hadn’t heard of that awareness week. I will look it up!
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I came across it investigating for a post that my blogging pooch, TinkerToy” will be releasing shortly after 1am (in NY) tonight — shortly after a linked post goes live.
xx,
mgh
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Lovely shots!
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Oh the balance of nature … what a dilemma it is. I spent years trying to understand what wasps are actually for. Now my cousin’s son is working at Smithsonian doing a PhD in a particular wasp that has not evolved at all and that is crucial to Darwinian theories. As for the trees …. well I’m for letting them breathe, throttled as they are by the interlopers they have no chance so I applaud your work in freeing them. The invasive species will otherwise take over completely and what does that do to Mother Nature’s balance …. mine is just to wonder!
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That information about wasps is fascinating. I wonder if there is anything online about it. Do you know?
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Yes, he has a blog – I will find a link for you when I am on my laptop rather than iPad which I am hopeless with!
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Here you are …. http://www.sumnerlab.co.uk/the-group/patrick-kennedy/
I hope you find it interesting 🙂
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And this is his personal blog http://www.patrickinpanama.co.uk/
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You have a very educated eye when it comes to this greenbelt. I am afraid I don’t know one species from another and who is being invasive and who is being invaded. My husband is a gardener like you, and gets very frustrated with invasive growth.
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I have lived in my house since 1973 and until August of last tree the only trees I knew the names of were the blue spruce and the magnolia. That is three out of ten or more. I asked friends about the names of the others after I started working in the Greenbelt!
I think blogging has had a big part in developing my interest because prior to blogging I had no interest in photography. Doing the Wordless Wednesday and Weekly Photo Challenge posts resulted in me really “seeing” what is in the world around me.
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It is interesting how many different ways participating in the blogging universe increases our awareness and creativity.
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I totally agree.
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