“Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”
I’ve been planting trees. It’s hard work. Slow going. Then again, it’s better than whining about “lockdowns” and sucking down media propaganda. Maybe I won’t live long enough to harvest them. Maybe I will. Either way is fine.
What sort of tree? I planted a Surinam cherry yesterday. Are you planting food or firewood or ornamentals? Nuts, maybe?
Forest trees, nothing edible.
I suspect there are critters out there who would find them totally edible!
Ha ha ha absolutely! I installed a 4’ tube for every tree. Looks like a little minefield.
AC
It’s that time of year around the nation. I was out with my boys (all elementary school age) planting apples and pears, pruning blueberries, blackberries, and boysenberries. They “helped” get mommas new herb beds built and ready for planting. All part of the inter generational obligation to preserve values and culture. Most of my peers have grandkids, as do my younger siblings. I was busy chasing bad people around the globe for Uncle Sam; had kids late in life. It’s a blessing.
Next chore is to thin out the underbrush and deadfall in the hardwoods. One of those boring UTVs sounds like a nice thing to have for that chore. Not in the budget anytime soon. Happy to have these challenges. Retrieving the land from nature is a lot more rewarding than many of the modern alternatives. There is great truth to be found in hard work.
Yes, working the land is good for the soul. Glad you can do it. Also, thanks for your service.
IStarted a vermicomposting bin and a separate ‘hot box’ composting setup with pallets and construction scrap from around the neighborhood. Feels good to improve one’s own lot in life in the middle of so much self professed ‘persecution’ & misery.
Was also deployed a good portion of my adult life, self realization with homesteading tasks feels rewarding.
Do you know Orwell’s essay “A Good Word for the Vicar of Bray”? It makes the same point, but perhaps even better, because Orwell.
The walnut trees dad and I worked to plant fifty years ago purchased a retirement house for his widow a couple of years ago. And there are still plenty to provide shade, morel mushrooms after a rain, walnuts to feed the squirrels and deer, and in another ten years they’ll pay for most of a college education for my kids. It is sobering for a grizzled old man on the far side of middle age to mark a tree for auction and realize he’s just now seeing the harvest of a cash crop he had planted before losing his baby teeth. Trees are, indeed, a long-term investment.