Truth-Telling Trees
Tales & teachings from trusty tall talkers
Something about trees
hints, in the particular,
the universal.
Sentient Service?
Trees’ roots serve as base…
prop them standing past death’s end.
Keep their kin life-linked!
Trees’ trunk rings keep track…
age, droughts, fires, disease leave marks.
Tell sweet sap story.
Trees’ leaves shelter, shade…
branches bud, blossom, bear fruit.
Serve as swinging bar?
Sentinels Surround
Trees close to home here
are not far from your nest there.
Ain’t all on Earth near?
Meet some of our dear neighbors, five terrific tall trees who we call Oakie, DOakie, POakie, PinOakieo and Maplie:
Oakie, full of life…
hosts Squirrels, Bugs, Birds who sing.
Lets us hang r/hope swing!
DOakie’s trunk bears scars
from mold illness wounding bark.
Healthy otherwise.
Arborist agreed:
he deserves a fighting chance.
Hard-pruned, still tall stands.
POakie showed deep split
days before killer gales hit...
in time! All still live.
Tree medics drilled, braced...
three big bolts now hold him whole.
All neighbors rejoice!
No lie, PinOakieo
shades hammock, Hydrangeas, Quail…
Busy birdfeeders!
This spring, Maplie fell,
by his new verdant leaves’ weight.
Spared those treading trail.
There’s a tiny heart,
as if drawn, on his heartwood.
Rooted trunk base sprouts!
Sweet Syrup
Keystone trees, e’en old,
still home, feed generations.
Not retiring yet.
Living/dying well,
present, homing, nourishing.
Much more than wounds, holes.
May we, like true trees,
grow deep roots, stand right, reach out,
bloom full, bear good fruit.
Sage Spirits?
(Ponderings sprouting from the informative and inspiringly beautiful book Discovering the Spiritual Wisdom of Trees © 2025 by Leah Rampy and Beth Norcross, published by Broadleaf Books)
Tree lessons? Growth… death…
adaptation… renewal…
Reciprocity!
Holy holey sponge…
trees, soil sustain each other.
Mutual support.
Acorns crack open…
so majestic Oaks can be.
Hear calls, surrender.
May we let them be...
standing dead, dead and down trees.
Fauna, funga feed.
See, listen, sense trees…
with curious mind attention.
Sans expectation.
Sticky Sap
(Some reflection teasers of other read recommendations… words and images that stay in mind/heart, like clear, nutritious tree sap)
We’re taken to meet…
Angel Oak grandmother tree.
Tree speaks for herself.
(Angel Oak: The Grandmother Tree, in Seasons of a Wild Life by Annette Naber)
…
Matriarch Maple speaks…
we shall heed her Living Will.
Beyond metaphor.
(Living Will of Matriarch Maple, in Crooked Roots by Stacy Boone)
Trees commune-icate…
sentient spirits, sacred souls.
Inanimate NOT!
(Trees Talk: What if we listened?, in Tree Speech Substack by Stephanie C. Bell)
…
Divinity Tree…
killed for religious school build.
Absent, present. Both.
(The Glorians: Visitations from the holy ordinary by Terry Tempest Williams, 2026)
Shedding
Could we,
as deciduous trees do,
accept
leaving as part of living,
losing as part of lasting,
grieving as part of growing,
hurting as part of loving?
Short Story
Jo and the Pine… a short story about a short human and a tall tree who is wise, for those who wish the world were otherwise.
Size-wise
Some trees don’t grow tall…
still, roots reach down, branches out.
And their trunks reach up.
In Pygmy Forests…
petite versions of same trees.
Not short in glory!
This Pygmy Forest at Salt Point State Park was visited and photographed in the morning of July 31st, and since that early afternoon the region has been experiencing a wildfire, presently 60% contained at 150+ acres. We broke camp shortly before the evacuation of campgrounds, parks and surrounding areas was ordered.
This post is dedicated to trees and other beings of all sizes who burn in these heated times. Wow… sorry… thank you.
Substack Stand
Tree-butes? Among the many Substack writers who have dedicated remarkable memorable work to remarkable memorable trees, this ponderer notes Stephanie C. Bell, Amrita Skye Blaine, Stacy Boone, Maia Duerr, Deborah Gregory, Philip Harris, Annette Naber, and Csermely Szilvia.
Pauses were phone-photographed in late July 2026 in Sonoma County, Northern California, North America, Earth.
Resonate?
Kind kin, heart 💚, restack ♻️, quote “ ”, share 🌍, to spread these ever-free tree seed pod posts 🌱?
Recommend?
Consider, perhaps,
a Pausing for Ponderings
recommendation?
Respond?
Comment with a tree-related true or tall tale, thought and/or read lead for this curious caring community of tree students/ admirers/ fans/ friends/ lovers/ huggers?
Trees, tall rooted kin…
tell true tales through their just being.
Awe, regrets, thanks bow.
I'm an old tree hugger. This one will stay with me, both as education and meditation. Thank you, Marisol.
Gorgeous, Marisol! What a way to start the week. And what an ode to our tree allies. Thank you❤️