From my cozy couch, while laying in a twilight slumber before the tv, the sound of... of what? awoke me from my dream. Laying there, disoriented, the racket continued and continued and continued until finally, I got up from the couch and looked out the window.
I couldn't see anything. I surmised that the lawn maintenance crew was mowing and weed-wacking, the annoying sound of their machines never-ceasing. I closed the window hoping to block out the irritating sound until they finished.
The afternoon wore on as did the sound. Often I went from window to window trying to figure out what the droning sound was. My vantage point from every window revealed nothing. I did ascertain that the sound was most prevalent from my living room which overlooked the woods.
The woods... a small forest of approximately 10 acres of pine trees, maples and oaks that reached for the sky and were home to a variety of birds: finches - purple and gold; black crows, blue jays, cardinal, starlings, robins, sparrows, cow birds, hummingbirds, wrens, woodpeckers, owls, red-shouldered hawks, turkey vultures, and so many more, as well as the squirrels and chipmunks, rabbits, raccoons and opossums. There were bushes and brambles, flowering shrubs and Indian grass and reeds, where the playful rabbits, lumbering ground hogs, and other small creatures lived peacefully.
Often I would watch the Lord's nature show from my third floor balcony as deer would travel through the woods, slowly making their way in and out of the woods to the cool dark of the pine trees in the summer and the protection of the pines in winter. A small marshy area was home to the tree frogs that came out every spring evening and serenaded each other, their whistling croaks filling the night air. An occasional red fox would pass through always on mission to another place. Whatever and whoever else Mother Nature chose, grew in or lived in the Woods.
It was a beautiful place to look upon every day of the year. In the Spring and Summer the wildlife and bird activity in the woods was a constant show and a balm to my soul after the hectic day at my job. Snow falling on the woods in the Winter was beautiful and quiet with an occasional red Cardinal or Blue Jay offering bright color in contrast to the browns, grays and white canvas.
Over the years I had taken many pictures of my woods in all four seasons, in every kind of weather. I never tired of looking out on the landscape to watch the critters or listen to the birds sing.
As I wandered from window to window, the sound droned on and on. A tiny sense of dread knotted my stomach. I grabbed my camera and went out on the deck and began clicking more pictures of the woods, the bird flying by, the sunset on over the tree tops. The sunsets... oh how I loved the sunsets. I had taken many pictures of the brilliant un-named colors in shades of pink, orange, purple and blue that accompanied an especially beautiful sunset. Again the sense of urgency drove me to take more pictures, praying for a beautiful sunset.
The harsh din continued and by now I knew where it was coming from and what it was. It was the sound of tractor engines. I knew without a doubt that my woods would soon be no more. My stomach knotted and I felt queasy. I could have cried at the thought that by this time next year, next Spring, I would be looking out at roof-tops instead of my woods. But mostly I hurt for the critters. Where would they go? The ones that would survive. This was Spring... the time of renewal, of births. Already the trees were filled with their diligently-built nests and their nests were filled with eggs. The rabbits were out of their warrens and growing fat on the sweet green grasses of spring. What would happen to their babies that were tucked away underground blissfully ignorant of the serpent-like tractor's destruction. What about the other creatures with their young? Where would they go? How many birds would fly away from their nests in the nick of time to save their own lives, but not able to save their clutch of eggs or the lives of their newly hatched babies? What would happen to the tree frogs? Would I ever hear their spring songs again?
For the next few days the air was quiet other than the songs of the birds. All was peaceful again in my woods. Maybe I had been mistaken.
Tonight I was out on my deck, enjoying the warm spring evening, watching the sun slowly descend, watching the hummingbirds that frequented my flowers pots and nectar feeders. It was a beautiful evening. Suddenly, the awful noise pierced the serenity again. Somehow it seemed closer now. I could actually hear the cracking of wood as the decades old trees feel before the machine. It was not long before I saw a flash of metal through the trees. My stomach sank. I went into the house and got my camera. The cacophony continued. I focused my camera on the spot where I had seen the metallic flash and zoomed in. There... the flash was there again, tempered by orange. I stood there videotaping as the huge ugly serpent bowed it's orange head out of site, only to rear up with a tree in it's metal jaws, tossing the tree carcass behind it as if it were no more than a fistful of weeds. I stood there mesmerized and horrified as the evil serpent continued its path of destruction. My woods was being raped and devastated by the tractor.
As I videotaped the horrific scene, I realized I was speaking aloud. "The animals... my God, what will happen to them and the birds? Look how it just rips at the trees and spits them out." I wondered how the people operating the machines felt knowing they were destroying a little slice of heaven, killing wild life and destroying their families. How frightening for furred and feathered creatures... to see this huge orange monster coming into their peaceful woods and destroying their homes, their families, killing their babies - too young to run or fly from the glutenous jaws.
I was overwhelmed. I had to turn away. I turned off the camera, went into the house and shut the door and window. The sound still audible, I went into the back room and closed that window too. I turned on the tv to drown out the horribled growling racket.
As I sat in the chaise trying to concentrate on the tv to block out the unpleasant noise, I remembered a Christmas morning a few years ago. I was alone and feeling a little down. I sat in my comfy chair next to my bedroom window looking out at the woods. As I watched out the window lost in my self-pity, I noticed a doe and two young deer, walk slowly out of the woods to graze on the green weeds that never seem to fade. The seemingly delicate creatures were beautiful. The two young ones would occasionally chase each other in half circles while the doe nibbled and pretended to ignore the romping yearlings. It was a beautiful scene for a Christmas morning, for any morning, and I thanked God for letting me witness His creatures at peace. The scene lifted my spirits.
My woods would be gone in a few days times. What took Mother Nature years and years and years to plant and grow, to nurture ... would be gone in a matter of days. The untouched beauty of the woods would be replaced by orange mounds of dirt and clay.... to be turned into a neighborhood of condominiums housing up to 90 families, new homes to keep their families safe and warm.
But what about the wild life? What will happen to them? Those creatures and birds that survive will slowly and treacherously find their way to ever-shrinking woodlands. They will instinctively and slowly make their new homes, and raise up new families. They will be safe. But for how long? Until the next landowner decides to sell his property and the until the orange serpent is fired up again and goes on it's next rampage? More wildlife will be destroyed. Where will the survivors go? How many times can man do this? Until there are no more woods left?
My woods was Green Acres, at least that's what I was told when I moved here. In fact, the beauty and peace of the woods was the deciding factor when I bought this condo. I thought that even though I could not afford to buy a house with a yard, I would at least have the beautiful view of the woods from my balcony, which made the walk up three flights of stairs worth it.
Now I would just be living in a third floor condo, surrounded by a hundreds of other identical condos. The money-hungry corporation would build the new ones. Then, next spring they would plant new sapling trees and bushes in an effort to make the neighborhood look nice. And it will... in about 15 years when the trees begin to mature. But it will never be peaceful like the woods. Will we ever see the does and their fawns lazing under the pines, or the rabbits playing leap frog with their young ones, or the ground hogs peacefully grazing in the grass? Will my hummingbirds come back next year? Will the hawks leave?
The pines are gone... the deer will leave. A few rabbits will remain in the few clumps of bushes left standing. The ground hogs will move on too. My hummingbirds? I'll continue to feed them and hope that there are still enough natural food sources left in the area to sustain them. Without the trees the hawks and birds will fly away in search of the tall trees and bushes necessary for their nest-building. Without the trees and marsh the tree frogs will disappear.
Man will continue.
What about all the animals?
***********************************
I was just thinking.... so I'd thought I'd write it.
Peggy a/k/a Emerald Twink
May 20, 2003
April 29th, 2004. Postscript: The new condos are built and families are starting to move in. The loss of the woods still bothers me. I now look out my balcony to rows of townouses where beautiful woods used to be. But luckily, they are far enough away that I don't feel closed in. And, luckily again, my hummingbirds found my deck again - even without the woods behind me. It will take years and years for the trees that have been planted by the builders to mature into beautiful, large, full trees. I plan on planting alot of flowers on my deck again, and also plan to plant climbing, flowering vines to put trellises to help disguise the view. I've grown morning glories on the deck before. Last year I planted a trumpet vine. It grew but did not flower. I am hopeful that this year I'll have flowers on it. But even if there are no flowers, the green vines are still nice. Since my beautiful wooded view is gone, I'll just have to make my own beautiful view from now on.
What about the animals? Well, the deer are still here. I've seen them a few times, but mostly I see their tracks which are more visible than ever. They now graze on the grassy area that is in between the condos, which has a small rain run-off stream in it. I still see rabits, and groundhogs, but not as often as I used to. I haven't seen any Goldfinches this year, they seemed to make their nests in the wild bushes that edged the woods. Now without the woods, there are no bushes, thus no Goldfinches. I smelled a skunk the other night too. I'm sure there are more animals that I haven't seen or maybe they did have to move on to find space to live. Life goes on. Amazing how nature adapts.
