Noise!

It’s a trek to get to where this tree is. It’s a big sprawling tree, been around for a while and not in the best condition, or so it seemed to me. It’s off the Conifer Path – there’s a dirt path with the ambiguous name “Woodland” in case you wondered. From there you wiggle around toward the Centre Street Gate. The tree is huge, two main trunks; it’s an Osage Orange, I’ve been told, a member of the mulberry family. Confusing, eh?

 Pushing through the brush to get closer to the tree, it’s hard not to notice how close to Centre Street I am. This is not my usual morning walk, at this time of year virtually completed before the sun is up. Not many traffic sounds, especially on the Peters Hill side. I am struck by the juxtaposition of this wild natural corner of the Arb and the first world cacophony of cars and trucks doing what they do.

 Honestly, the noise is irritating. And then I remember living in a city means we get both of these. On a good day, I can remember that I want to create some balance for myself between these two, to bring memories of the natural world to my interactions with the rest. Looking at this aging, ailing tree helped with that balance.