Tree are really, really beautiful. Not just in the fall, but at all times. There’s a kind of artistry in their branches, in their overall shape, in the way they can grow together in group. I’ve heard some trees or saplings described as being just like young girls. I’ve seen gnarled trees, with deep bark, large and worn by time — and what comes to mind are wise old men who have seen it all, they’ve weathered the storm.
The best time to plant a tree, it’s said, is 20 years ago. Plant one whenever you can. My love of trees began with a silver maple in my parent’s backyard. I would have loved to live in it. I remember climbing as high as I could, high, way high in the branches, and looking down at my neighborhood and swaying with the breeze and swaying because the branch could hardly bear the weight of my 80 pounds.
At the Illinois State Fair I ran into the conservation tent and found the book “Forest Trees of Illinois” at age 13 and I memorized the book. I built a leaf collection of almost 100 different kinds of leaves. I later had occasion to plant a lot of trees, especially disease-resistant elm trees, and then get into the business of citizen tree planting.
My favorites? Burr oaks — strong, tall, tough, native to Illinois and sturdy for 100 years. I like ginkgos because there was a famous one on my alma mater and students would try to bet on when its leaves dropped. I like cottonwoods but mainly because they grow near waterways and I like to kayak. Sycamores are always interesting.
At my third anniversary, I wrote a poem, “A Leaf for Linda,” and it was about how my wife and I met, walking the grounds of a forest. At the top was an ancient oak, and I there I asked her for our first date. I proposed to her on Lover’s Leap at Starved Rock — and I remember toddling through the woods afterwards wondering at what changes would be in store for us.
My brush with trees took a nasty turn with the 2020 derecho and that hurricane wind from Iowa knocked a locust tree on my house. My son and I cleared neighborhood streets of branches just after the wind passed. I planted elms with my property, since they suited the soil and look fantastic fully grown.
Trees are a gift for the next generation. We plant them, maybe enjoy their childhood but eventually our children enjoy the shade and beauty.
So the other day I hiked early one morning at Dayton Bluffs in Ottawa. It’s fall now and it’s cool. The new light of day shone on a glorious red oak. The leaves were beautiful greens, yellows, reds, browns, and glistening with dew. The absolutely most dazzling thing I’d seen all day. I plucked a leaf to take home to my wife, popping it under my baseball cap for safekeeping.
- Todd Volker lives in Ottawa with his wife and son, and they enjoy reading, kayaking, hiking, tennis and camping. He’s a lifelong learner with books in his hands.