At Last, A Last Atlas Cedar. Alas.

[grouper52]

The snowbell tree in the front yard is in full bloom now, looking like an Orville Redenbacher wet dream - right on time again this year, despite the daily high temperatures still lurking in the low teens. That’s probably an exaggeration - more like the mid-fifties, and yet somehow warm enough that my dry beans, and potatoes, are on auto-pilot now. I’m focusing on Ireland Creek Annie beans this year - got a huge crop of Rockwells last season, and I decided to give up on Steuben Yellow Eyes finally - great beans, but just a tad too cold for them here. Out of deep compassion, I did, however, put in a few rows of Yellow Indian Woman beans again this year - it’s their last chance to impress me, and I can tell they know it.

Having grown tired - actually, bored, if the truth be known - of the task of hazing the new survival chicken recruits, I have just turned that responsibility over to the remnants of my existing flock, led by Gunny. The survivors are probably loyal enough and mean enough to do the job for me, and do it properly, I reckon, but it ain’t what they call rock-n-roll. I catch them eyeing the fence sometimes, plotting their escape. Can’t say I blame them.

And then, in a fit of petulance and ennui the other day, I was thinking: if my and my wife’s professional lives in health care are snubbed out by the Supremes this Thursday - like a Roman emperor giving the big thumbs down in the Coliseum - I might just as well become a Buddhist monk in my final days. But now, even that seems soooo last week after attaining enlightenment Saturday night. Sounds a bit boastful, I know, but not hard to understand once you realize I had just accepted “Henry the Cat,” of YouTube fame, as my root Guru. So now the Buddhist monk schtick is out. Probably a blessing to all sentient beings, quite frankly, but it leaves me kind of at loose ends.

Where was I? Oh, yeah, BonsaiNut. Sorry. I was trying to lead up to my rationale for purchasing another tree: this Atlas cedar. Do I need a rationale? Probably not. Henry doesn’t think so, and Gunny’s not answering, and my wife would say “no” if I asked her - but I haven’t. And I won’t.

Anyway, here it is: another strange thing from a local nursery; another 3 to 7 year project - if it lives, and if I live, and if no one steals it. More later.

 

[JudyB]

I thought you had another book to write???

Thanks for the morning entertainment! and an interesting find esp. from a nursery...

 

[grouper52]

Of Mere Being

The Atlas cedar at the end of the mind,
Beyond the last thought, rises
In the bronze decor,

A gold-feathered bird
Sings in the cedar, without human meaning,
Without human feeling, a foreign song.

You know then that it is not the reason
That makes us happy or unhappy.
The bird sings. Its feathers shine.

The Atlas cedar stands on the edge of space.
The wind moves slowly in the branches.
The bird's fire-fangled feathers dangle down.

[My deep apologies to Wallace Stevens and his heirs]

 

[iant]

Wow Grouper, very nice literary start to the morning!
Do true cedars grow well up where you are (i.e. is it warm enough?) This one looks very nice so I suppose it is. I like the rougher bark at the bottom.
Nice poem... Do you think 'it' in the first line of the 3rd stanza refers to the bird???
Ian

 

[grouper52]

Thanks, Ian.

True cedars of several varieties grow well here. The Cyprus and Lebanon varieties are seldom seen, and only then as variants. Atlas - green and blue - and Deodar grow very well here.

IMO, "it" refers back to the title of the poem: the reason of things, or the reason for things, from our human perspective, is not necessarily what brings us joy. Indeed, discursive thought can get in the way of an experience filled with beauty. The "Mere Being" of the scene, unfiltered through rational thought, can move us to deep happiness. We've all had that experience - something so beautiful the rational mind just stops, and we stand in awe. I believe that is what is being referred to.

 

[tmmason10]

Quite a post Will, I'd love to see what you do with it in seven years. It's funny, you're one of the few who actually do have post updates year over year, for a few years now.

 

[iant]

Grouper I like your interpretation of it. I was thinking it must be broader.
What's your plan with the tree?
Ian

 

[grouper52]

Cedars, especially Atlas cedars not grafted onto Deodar stock, is a little less vigorous and forgiving than many other conifers, so I'll go slow. Besides watering and routine feeding, I will probably do nothing until the tree goes dormant in winter, when it's generally less likely that heavy pruning will deplete the tree's vigor through sap loss. At that time it will be safe enough to jin about half the branches, those with no growth in near the trunk. Since the tree would benefit from more foliage in closer to the trunk, and since the tree has already demonstrated its ability to back bud onto proximal areas of some branches and even onto the trunk, I will at the same time cut most of the other branches way back (but leaving some proximal foliage) to see if I can force some other new back budding in even closer, or at least direct the tree's energy to those small current back buds when the tree comes out of dormancy.

After that, I'll let it recover for a season, then probably repot into a grow pot for a number of years to develop those young branches. Some carving of deadwood features will undoubtedly be on my list as well. An actual bonsai pot will probably welcome the tree home in 5-7 years.