Eli's forest

“Dad,†said my 7-year-old son as we were driving to his soccer game on Saturday, “I’m planning to plant a forest.â€

We had been discussing the changing seasons, and how you can tell tree species by their form, bark and seeds as well as their leaves.

Eli said that it was easy to tell birch trees by their white bark even without their leaves — “They are deciduous, Dad†— and then contrasted them with “carniferous†trees, a delightful malapropism that had me imagining vampire pines (while biting my tongue to keep from laughing). Eli is serious about his knowledge of the natural world, and he pays close attention when we go out walking.

He has been saving seeds from the apples we pick and the acorns we find, planning for the day when he can grow his forest. It will not just have trees, he informs me, but also vines. Like a good naturalist, he is aware that forests have their own vertical structure.

He and I gather wild grapes, process the deep purple juice and make a blue-black jelly that is the very essence of grape. He wants to save some of these seeds as well, but I tell him there will be no shortage of these when it comes time to plant his forest.

Eli’s forest will have many different species, and he plans to harvest fruit from his apples and wood for his fireplace.

He will be vigilant about invasive plants, and he will leave some dead trees for the owls and squirrels to use.

It does not occur to him that he might be able to enjoy his forest sooner if he buys it fully grown. For him, it is all about stewardship, and that is a very active thing, more like gardening than a matter of real estate.

We see the same world with a different sense of time. I, who have known some of life’s limitations and lost opportunities, have a job that has me thinking in forest time, but a personal life that is rooted in middle age and a sense of time’s passing.

He sees the forest that is there in the seed and is not discouraged by the thought that it will be a lifetime before his vision is realized.

“Eli,†I said, careful with his dreams, “you will be an old man when you see your forest grown.â€

“That’s OK, Dad,†he replied with the confidence of youth and the wisdom of an old soul. “I’ll take pictures of it, and then one day when I get to heaven, I’ll show it to you.â€

Tim Abbott is program director of Housatonic Valley Association’s Litchfield Hills Greenprint. His blog is at greensleeves.typepad.com.

Latest News

Nuvance Health to join Northwell

Sharon Hospital, currently part of a seven-hospital system operated by Nuvance Health, may become part of a 28-hospital system under Northwell Health if an agreement between Northwell and Nuvance is approved by regulators.

Bridget Starr Taylor

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. — Nuvance Health will combine with Northwell Health, the largest health provider in New York state, to form a 28-hospital system that spans the New York-Connecticut border, the two organizations announced Wednesday, Feb. 28.

Before the agreement is finalized, it must be approved by New York, Connecticut and the Federal Trade Commission.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bobbie C. Palmer

LAKEVILLE ­— Bobbie C. Palmer, born in Lakeville on Jan. 13, 1948, passed away peacefully on March 4, 2024. He is survived by his loving wife, Marva J. Palmer, son Marc (Sandra) Palmer, daughter Erica (Fleming) Wilson, two grandchildren, Andrew Yost and Ciara Wilson, and two great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents Walter and Francis Palmer and four brothers; Henry Palmer, William Palmer, John Palmer and Walter Palmer Jr.

He leaves behind a legacy of love, kindness, and laughter that will be cherished by his family and those closest to him.

Keep ReadingShow less
Finding ‘The Right Stuff’ for a documentary

Tom Wolfe

Film still from “Radical Wolfe” courtesy of Kino Lorber

If you’ve ever wondered how retrospective documentaries are made, with their dazzling compilation of still images and rare footage spliced between contemporary interviews, The Moviehouse in Millerton, New York, offered a behind-the-scenes peek into how “the sausage is made” with a screening of director Richard Dewey’s biographical film “Radical Wolfe” on Saturday, March 2.

Coinciding with the late Tom Wolfe’s birthday, “Radical Wolfe,” now available to view on Netflix, is the first feature-length documentary to explore the life and career of the enigmatic Southern satirist, city-dwelling sartorial icon and pioneer of New Journalism — a subjective, lyrical style of long-form nonfiction that made Wolfe a celebrity in the pages of Esquire and vaulted him to the top of the best-seller lists with his drug-culture chronicle “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” and his first novel, “The Bonfire of The Vanities.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Art on view this March

“Untitled” by Maureen Dougherty

New Risen

While there are area galleries that have closed for the season, waiting to emerge with programming when the spring truly springs up, there are still plenty of art exhibitions worth seeking out this March.

At Geary Contemporary in Millerton, founded by Jack Geary and Dolly Bross Geary, Will Hutnick’s “Satellite” is a collection of medium- and large-scale acrylic on canvas abstracts that introduce mixtures of wax pastel, sand and colored pencil to create topographical-like changes in texture. Silhouettes of leaves float across seismic vibration lines in the sand while a craterous moon emerges on the horizon, all like a desert planet seen through a glitching kaleidoscope. Hutnick, a resident of Sharon and director of artistic programming at The Wassaic Project in Amenia, New York, will discuss his work at Geary with New York Times art writer Laura van Straaten Saturday, March 9, at 5 p.m.

Keep ReadingShow less