Three Sisters

Life in Christian County, Kentucky... More About Trees and Plants...

Three sisters

These three trees have been growing side by side for a while. Perhaps they've been together fifty or a hundred years already. At first they existed separately, but now their height and breadth have increased and their branches and roots are intertwined. The trees have not grown as large or as evenly as they might have in isolation. The one in the middle has been most affected.

Human history has not touched these trees as they stand on their hill by the road. In their slow, simple lives, their sap ebbs and flows; the sun, rain, and soil feed them. Their leaves mature and and fall. Winter comes and spring follows. In some years they flourish, and in others they simply endure.

They have grown side by side long enough that they've become dependent upon their combined structure. While they are three, they are strong against the wind and weather, but if one falls, the others will be more vulnerable.

This phenomenon is seen when forested areas are cleared to build houses. When a few "lawn specimens" are left standing, those suddenly isolated trees are prone to weather damage. Their roots were torn and trampled when their mates were ripped away, and the branches and trunks that were strong in the group are not robust enough to stand alone.

"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools." ~John Muir

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