Rings of Life

The last couple months, we’ve been doing a fair amount of work and cleanup at the Munns family farm. We’ve been tidying up inside the house built in 1899 and also doing some outside cleanup. The farm buildings definitely aren’t in their heyday, but it’s important to me and other family members that we care for this piece of our heritage.

Today, we had to take down a dead tree that’s one of several planted by my great-great grandfather William Munns. Although it was sad to see it come down (yes, I cried a little), it was just time for this tree.

William purchased the farm 130 years ago in 1890. I’m not sure exactly when he planted this tree and the others along the driveway; however, now we have a general idea. My counting is not precise, but it appears there are around 120 or more rings! So, that means William planted them around 1900 or earlier.

tree-before — Here’s the tree in front of the house before it come down. You can’t tell from this angle, but the needles on the backside are all brown.

Mike-Eileen-tree — My uncle Mike and aunt Eileen pose by the tree before it came down. Eileen was reminiscing about hanging from the branches as a kid.

Witnessing this happen was definitely a sensory experience. Obviously, the visual of it all was a little emotional. Soon after the chainsaw started, I could smell the beautiful wood smell. The wind was blowing my direction, so I could feel (and sometimes taste) it all, too. We could hear the creaking of the branches. Later when it was safe to approach, you could feel just how dried out the wood was – a true testament that this tree’s upright life had come to an end.