Andrew approached Uncle Basil and silently showed him what had happened to the rowan trees. Uncle Basil shrugged his shoulders and said sadly,
“During World War II when our Army passed through the territory of fascist Germany, we didn’t crush with our tanks and military cars any of the trees and other foliage. We passed near them, but we did everything possible to keep them safe from harm. In spite of that, it was Germany and Hitler, the land of our enemies. But now, in peaceful times, we have here some people who don’t want to preserve Nature in their Motherland.”
Andrew dropped his eyes and said, “I will plant two or three new rowan trees. Please let me make it up to you and correct my mistake with the oak.”
The red-headed boy, who first caught Andrew near the oak, said, “You will plant. Sure, you will plant. But we will not accept you as a member of our club, ‘Good Friends of the Forest.’ I don’t think so.”
Andrew was shocked. Al he wanted most now was to become a member of their friendly green team. So Andrew said goodbye and went home. The next day he went to the park after school. He became more and more interested in Nature. Suddenly in a beautiful meadow in the park he saw a smal , agile girl. She was standing near a goat, which was nibbling fresh grass. Andrew began to cry loudly with indignation, “Ah, you, the hooligan! What are you doing?”
He rushed up to the girl and said, “Immediately go out and find another, more appropriate place for your goat!” The girl didn’t expect anybody to see what she was allowing her goat to do and so she became frightened. She pulled the goat’s horns, but the stubborn animal refused to stop and continued to nibble the grass on the park’s lawn.
Then Andrew lost his patience. He came up behind the goat and clapped his hands loudly. The goat turned and ran full speed through the park. The girl ran away after her. Andrew followed them, running so fast that he caught them both. He took the goat’s horn, then the girl’s arm and escorted them to Dialogue with the Trees of Strength and Everlasting Life @ 251
the club, “Good Friends of the Forest.” So Andrew became a faithful guard of green verdure. Members of the club accepted him and recognized that he did very well with the goat and the girl.
He asked Uncle Basil why the boys became so angry with him in the forest near the oak. Even then he was thinking that no harm would be done if you break just one branch of an old big oak because the tree is strong and can survive some damage. The boys and girls heard his questions to Uncle Basil. One of them said passionately, “You know what? You know nothing; you are a fool if you think that. This oak that you hurt is a famous, historical tree.”
Uncle Basil asked Andrew, “Do you not know what this oak is all about?”
Andrew had no idea. “OK,” said Uncle Basil. “We’ll explore the oak’s history in the forest.” And they went to the hill where the ancient oak was standing as a guard and a wonderful monument to Mother Nature. Over the years it had become an inseparable part of the village’s history. It stands today because in their turn the village people carefully guarded their most famous inhabitant. Over the years many storms swept over the oak, but it remained standing. The old oak was named Suvorovsky oak because long ago it was planted by the great Russian general, Alexander Suvorov.
Many years ago, during the Russian-Turkish war, Suvorov’s troops crushed the Turkish army and were returning to Russia through Moldova (in the eighteenth century Moldova was cal ed Bessarabia). Before they began to ferry across the big river Dniester in Moldova, they stopped for a picnic. For several months Suvorov’s soldiers rested on the hil . They were exhausted after many long battles with the Turks. However they returned home victoriously and deserved to have a good vacation. General Suvorov had a good time here also. His camp was built near the vil age in the lovely, sunny val ey. He and his soldiers enjoyed the warm sun, the tepid waters of the river, tasty fruits and vegetables, the fresh air of the forest, the beautiful vil age women, and the hospitality of its people. Some of them married local girls and remained in the vil age. Suvorov was so impressed with the people’s hospitality and appreciation that when it was time to leave, he decided to do something significant for them to remember that the Russian troops saved this small country from Turkish invaders. He was a generous, kind man and planted the oak on the hill where his army had rested.
“Grow big here, young oak tree,” he said, “and let the people remember us, the soldiers that defeated the invaders and brought such desirable freedom 252 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
and peace to all living in this small, wonderful
country.”
Then he took a bucket of water from the
Dniester river and poured it on the ground
where he planted his tree. After that Suvorov
mounted a white horse with a golden saddle
and signaled to his soldiers to ferry across the
river. Old and young people and children from
the vil age gathered on the riverbanks to say
goodbye, and they watched the troops disappear
from their view. Now, in this wonderful val ey,
where more than two centuries ago Suvorov’s
army found a hospitable place to rest, wheat and
corn fields stand in golden bloom.
Andrew looked at the amazing Herculean oak. Each of its leaves was like a masterpiece of Nature. Each looked like a delicate, expansive jewel in gold and bronze, and suddenly he understood that only Nature is capable of creating this special art, and this art is inaccessible to us, people. Let us listen to her tender music and then we will understand the eternal language of the forest—of the trees. We’ll hear the delicate sound of trembling leaves and the songs of happy birds. We’ll see with new eyes the rich colors of fading leaves in autumn, crystal trees in the winter snow, talkative pine groves, and flowers in the spring in this mysterious silence under the oak’s shadow. The tree’s branches were slightly moving under a light breeze. The powerful oak was standing as a soldier, ready to thwart any attack from a newcomer with bad intentions. The clean fragrance of warm leaves hung in the air. The leaves had been rustling in the light wind. It seemed to me that they tried eagerly to tell everyone how wonderful the forest was in all four seasons of the year; and about Suvorov’s oak, Hercules, and about his remarkable friends, loving passionately this amazing treasure of the earth and carefully guarding her fabulous green attire.
When I was leaving, at the end of the village on the shore of the Dniester river, three tall poplars peacefully murmured a good-bye and stood quietly in their miraculous splendor. It seemed that they stepped out of an ancient myth about Phaeton, the son of Phoebus, god of the sun, and Clymene, a nymph. He asked his father to do an impossible thing: to appear in the sky instead of Dialogue with the Trees of Strength and Everlasting Life @ 253
the god of the sun. He was allowed to drive his chariot across the sky, but it was too much for the young man. He lost direction in the sky and couldn’t control the powerful winged horses that pulled the chariot. Everything was on fire in the sky and on the earth and could be destroyed.
Then the god Zeus threw the sparkling lightning with his thunderbolt and extinguished the fire—but not before the fire had killed the young man. Phaeton fled into the air with the curls on his head still burning, and like a falling star he tumbled in flames from the sun’s chariot into the waves of the river Eridanos (Eridanus, now the river Po), far away from his motherland. There water nymphs buried him on the banks of the river.
Deeply mourning, Phaeton’s father, the god of the sun, covered his face with a black shawl and did not appear in the blue sky all day. His mother, Clymene, and his three sisters, the Heliades, sat near his grave and wept on the riverbank. They remained weeping and murmuring until their feet took root in the earth. Great gods turned the crying Heliades into poplar trees. These three poplar trees remain kneeling above the river, with their tears falling into clear water. They never stop throwing their tears into the river, where they solidify. In the s
unlight their tears of sap have a golden color and turn into transparent, yellow amber.
When Pliny wrote his Natural History, he doubted the story of the poplar, which was told also by Ovid in his poetic metamorphoses. Maybe he was right because the most popular version is that amber was made 50 mil ions years ago from the resinous matters of only one variety of pine tree, Pinus succinfera. It grew from the early Eocene period until today in the northern part of Europe, the area covered by the Baltic Sea, which includes Scandinavian countries and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland. Would you like to determine what tree corresponds to your birth date?
Use this calendar from the book The Celtic Tree Calendar, Your Tree Sign and You by Swiss writer Michael Vescolli. This book was published in English translation in 1999 by British publisher Souvenir Press, Ltd., and Rosemary Dear (English translation). I would like to thank Souvenir Press, Ltd. for permission to reprint information from their book. 254 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
Your Tree Sign
From The Celtic Tree Calendar Your Tree Sign and You
by Swiss writer Michael Vescolli
Oak
Olive
21 Mar
23 Sept
22 – 31 Mar
Hazel
24 Sept – 3 Oct
1 –10 April
Rowan
4 – 13 Oct
11 – 20 April
Maple
14 – 23 Oct
21 – 30 April
Walnut
24 Oct – 11 Nov
1 – 14 May
Poplar
15 – 24 May
Chestnut
12 – 21 Nov
25 May – 3 June
Ash
22 Nov – 1 Dec
4 – 13 June
Hornbeam
2 – 11 Dec
14 – 23 June
Fig
12 – 21 Dec
Birch
Beech
24 June
22 Dec
25 June – 4 July
Apple
23 Dec – 1 Jan
5 – 14 July
Fir
2 – 11 Jan
15 – 25 July
Elm
12 – 24 Jan
26 July – 4 Aug
Cypress
25 Jan – 3 Feb
5 – 13 Aug
Poplar
4 – 8 Feb
14 –23 Aug
Cedar
9 – 18 Feb
24 Aug – 2 Sept
Pine
19 – 29 Feb
3 – 12 Sept
Willow
1 – 10 Mar
13 – 22 Sept
Lime
11 – 20 Mar
Yew
3 – 11 Nov
Dialogue with the Trees of Strength and Everlasting Life @ 255
You can use also the following chart where I name these trees based on my experience and my impression in dealing with these powerful creatures of Mother Nature.
Apple, the tree of Beauty and Love
December 23–January 1
June 25–July 4
Fir, the tree of Independent Spirit
January 2–January 11
July 5–July 14
Elm, the tree of Fairness and Solidarity
January 12–January 24
July 15–July 25
Cypress, the tree of Freedom and
January 25–February 3
Recognition
July 26–August 4
Poplar, the tree of Moderation and
February 4–February 8
Doubt
May 1–May 14
August 5–August 13
Cedar, the tree of Achievement and Nobility February 9–February 18
August 14–August 23
Pine, the tree of Modesty and Wisdom
February 19–February 29
August 24–September 2
Willow, the tree of Humanity and Intuition March 1–March 10
September 3–September 12
Lime, the tree of Sensitivity and Satisfaction March 11–March 20
September 13–September 22
Hazelnut, the tree of Ambition and
March 22–March 31
Performance
September 24–October 3
Rowan, the tree of Harmony and Perfection April 1–April 10
October 4–October 13
Maple, the tree of Determination
April 11–April 20
October 14–October 23
Walnut, the tree of Passion and Power
April 21–April 30
October 24–November 11
Chestnut, the tree of Honesty and Quality
May 15–May 24
November 12–November 21
256 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
Ash, the tree of Flexibility and Healing
May 25–June 3
November 22–December 1
Hornbeam, the tree of Loyalty and
June 4–June 13
Protection
December 2–December 11
Fig, the tree of Comfort and Balance
June 14–June 23
December 12–December 21
Oak, the tree of Vitality and Power
March 21
(spring vernal equinox)
Birch, the tree of Light and Beginning
June 24
(summer solstice)
Olive, the tree of Happiness and Prosperity
September 23
(autumn vernal equinox)
Beech, the tree of Necessity and Patience
December 22
(winter solstice)
Yew, the tree of Survival and Death
November 3–November 11
Dialogue with the Trees of Strength and Everlasting Life @ 257
This is interesting to know:
^ In federal reserves and national parks, the United States and Canadian governments have the largest area of protected forests in the world–greater than Russia, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Brazil, and the United Kingdom combined. Canada has nearly 86.5 million acres of protected forests, the largest protected area in the world. Canada’s area of protected forests is equivalent to the size of Germany. National parks in 49 states of the United States account for another 83 million acres (33.6 million hectare) of forest and no forest land.
^ North America’s forests are abundant and growing. The forests in the United States and Canada make 15 percent of the Earth’s forest cover. The coniferous trees of the Pacific Northwest, the broadleaf forests of Appalachia, and the mixed forests of the United States South support a large number of diverse species of wildlife.
^ According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, forest planting in the United States currently averages about one million hectares a year.
^ The average North American uses 18 cubic feet (½ cubic meter of wood) and 749 pounds (340 kilograms) of paper per year, equal to a 100-foot (30 meter) tree.
^ The single oldest living tree on Earth is a twisted bristle-cone pine named “Methuselah.” It grows in the White Mountains of California. It is 4,723 years old and there are other pines in the area that are nearly as old. These trees have been growing since the time when Egyptians were building the pyramids.
^ The tallest tree in the world is a 367.5-foot (112 meters) redwood in Montgomery Woods State Preserve in northern California. This tree is 63.5 feet (19.4 meters) taller than the Statue of Liberty and over twice as high as Niagara Falls.
^ More than 5,000 products are made from trees: houses, fences, furniture, baseball bats, books, newspapers, tires, cellophane, fabric rayon, and explosives.
^ Wood fiber derived from the trees and cal ed cel ulose is one of ingredients in production of ice cream, toothpaste, and shampoo. 258 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
Each disease has its own healing herb.
—Russian proverb
ƒ
Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps the singing bird will come.
—Chinese proverb
ƒ
Tall oaks from little acorns grow.
—Anonymous
ƒ
It is remarkably pleasant occupation, to lie on one’s back in a forest and look upwards! It seems that you are looking into a bottomless sea, that it is stretching out far and wide below you, that the trees are not rising from the earth but, as if they were the roots of enormous plants, are descending or falling steeply into those lucid, glassy waves.
—Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883), Russian writer
ƒ
. . . because the Forest will always be there . . .
and anybody who is friendly with bears can find it.
—A. A. Milne (1882–1956), English poet and writer
ƒ
Dialogue with the Trees of Strength and Everlasting Life @ 259
We all travel the Milky Way together, trees and men; but it never occurred to me until this stormy day, while swinging in the wind, that trees are travelers, in the ordinary sense.
—John Muir (1838–1914), Scottish-born American naturalist ƒ
. . . old Indian teaching was that it is wrong to tear loose from its place on the earth anything that may be growing there. It may be cut off, but it should not be uprooted. The trees and grass have spirits.
—Wooden Leg, 19th-century American (Cheyenne) warrior
ƒ
I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do.
—Willa Cather (1876–1947), American novelist
ƒ
Those beeches and smooth limes—there was something enervating in the very sight of them; but the strong knotted old oaks had no bending lan- guor in them—the sight of them would give a man some energy.
Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Living Page 27
