If it’s possible to be both a logger and a tree-hugger, I am a little of both. I look at trees and I see board feet, cordwood, and BTUs. I walk among them and feel peace, awe, and a sense of connection to the earth. I sit by my fireplace in the wintertime, and explain to my children that the trees have stored the sun’s energy, and when we burn them, we bring a little bit of last summer’s sunshine into an otherwise cold, dark house.
In truth, I’m a poor excuse for a logger, and nor do I actually hug the trees. But my small woodlot has a management plan that I need to adhere to, or face a higher property tax rate. I could pay a professional to do the work, but I’ve chosen to do it myself – with the help of a good friend who has done some logging. We spend long, cold hours doing hard, dangerous work, and we couldn’t enjoy it more.
Forestry is long-term gardening. We are currently harvesting a crop that took 50 + years to grow –planted long ago by another gardener. The firewood thinning that I do annually is called “crop-tree release”, and is in a sense, weeding. The short-term result is the firewood I burn, but the long-term results will be a healthier stand of Sugar Maple, Red Oak, and Yellow Birch.
We’ve owned the property for 15 years, and I’m not sure when it occurred to me, but I will not live to harvest much of that crop. Nor will I likely walk among the mature stand of towering, majestic trees that I envision, and am working so hard to grow.
When I began teaching martial arts for a living, I often said that I was doing so to avoid having to get a “real job”. The typical martial arts student of that era was an 18 to 24-year-old male, and it was a tough, macho, ego-driven environment. If I could have looked ahead and seen myself today – surrounded by young children, telling stories, tying belts, running a business – I might have had second thoughts. It has turned into a very real job, but one that I will love to do, for as long as I can.
In truth, I’m a poor excuse for a logger, and nor do I actually hug the trees. But my small woodlot has a management plan that I need to adhere to, or face a higher property tax rate. I could pay a professional to do the work, but I’ve chosen to do it myself – with the help of a good friend who has done some logging. We spend long, cold hours doing hard, dangerous work, and we couldn’t enjoy it more.
Forestry is long-term gardening. We are currently harvesting a crop that took 50 + years to grow –planted long ago by another gardener. The firewood thinning that I do annually is called “crop-tree release”, and is in a sense, weeding. The short-term result is the firewood I burn, but the long-term results will be a healthier stand of Sugar Maple, Red Oak, and Yellow Birch.
We’ve owned the property for 15 years, and I’m not sure when it occurred to me, but I will not live to harvest much of that crop. Nor will I likely walk among the mature stand of towering, majestic trees that I envision, and am working so hard to grow.
When I began teaching martial arts for a living, I often said that I was doing so to avoid having to get a “real job”. The typical martial arts student of that era was an 18 to 24-year-old male, and it was a tough, macho, ego-driven environment. If I could have looked ahead and seen myself today – surrounded by young children, telling stories, tying belts, running a business – I might have had second thoughts. It has turned into a very real job, but one that I will love to do, for as long as I can.As teachers, we plant seeds and foster growth. Whether our growing season is an academic quarter or a number of years, we have a limited time to accomplish our goals, and help our students reach theirs. If we see it as merely a job, we miss the simple joys of gardening. When we remember that our influence may be life-long, we can overlook the temporary setbacks and struggles of our workday.
My wife and I are blessed with two children, ages 16 and 8 at the time of this writing. The final phrase of that sentence almost takes my breath away – it jolts me with a reminder of the fleeting and transitory nature of parenthood. They won’t be 16 and 8 for long. This gardening is long-term as well, but seems to speed past faster than a Vermont growing season. We do our best, make our mistakes, hold on to the moments, and plan for the future.
We do most of the things we do either for love or by necessity. When we are truly blessed, the two converge. Sometimes when we are doing our best work, we work with a vision of a future we may never see. But that vision gives us strength, perspective, and hope. Further, it helps us appreciate the sacred nature of the present, fleeting moment, as well as the towering majesty of human potential.
David Quinlan, Owner and Lead Instructor
Bushintai-Do Programs and Martial Way Self-Defense Center
Milton, Vermont
info@MartialWayVT.com
