It scattered seventy trees across or into Balsamea’s 2.5 miles of trails. It’s seventy-give-or-take; I lost count a couple of times while stopping to think about how to deal with some of the fallen trees. Thinking never has been a reliably good idea. It often interferes with nobler processes, even vital ones.
The big winds came on Thursday and Friday, October 31 & November 1, 2019. It is the biggest such storm tree impact in Balsamea’s 14.5-year history. Before now, the biggest one was the “717 Storm” of July 17, 2012.
I’ll never forget the way my heart sank into my stomach when I found 33 trees on the trails on July 18, 2012. Working on clearing them and rerouting paths around some of them — never with a chainsaw, which violates Balsamea law — I learned that it was good for me and good for the trails. Often when I addressed a change that Nature threw onto a trail, the result was a better trail or connection to another trail. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why it’s good for me to go work in the woods, for mind and body and whatever else I may be.
My little Cadivus story of September 7, 2018 explains the immersive experience of co-creating trails with Nature. Handy excerpts if you don’t want to read the Cadivus post (I don’t blame you):
The Balsamean 