Bonnie the Birch |
We adopted the paper birch sitting solitaire on Dogwood
Street in Campbell River in the fall of 2012.
She had been neglected over the
years and it showed. With the help of my husband Frank, our grandson Grayson
and some beautiful friends, we cleaned the trash from around and under her,
pulled the weeds, and provided her with fresh soil and water. We all breathed a sigh
of relief. I felt happy energy emanating from our new comrade.
Later that year, we moved on from our lifestyle as
apartment managers and began travel teaching looking for isolated Baha'is throughout western Canada and the Yukon. We also did house and pet sitting.
I thought of Bonnie the Birch often, a name we had assigned her.
I thought of Bonnie the Birch often, a name we had assigned her.
Then, in
June 2019, we found ourselves back on Vancouver Island. I prepared a sign to place at Bonnie's base. On this day, we drove to be with her. She’d grown significantly along with her offspring. We pulled over and
began to tend to her.
First, we removed all the discarded trash around her.
Frank trimmed her lower branches, turned over the dry soil and pulled the weeds at
her base. She brightened up significantly. The paper birch is famous for its
white bark and small leaves. She’s such a beauty.
A few folks came past and stopped to read the sign and glanced at the music notes on Big White.
If you happen to be travelling along Dogwood Street, just past building 301, keep her in mind.
If you happen to be travelling along Dogwood Street, just past building 301, keep her in mind.
Susan places Bonnie's sign |
"Behold a beautiful garden full of flowers, shrubs, and trees. Each flower has a different charm, a peculiar beauty, its own delicious perfume and beautiful colour. The trees too, how varied are they in size, in growth, in foliage—and what different fruits they bear! Yet all these flowers, shrubs and trees spring from the self-same earth, the same sun shines upon them and the same clouds give them rain." (Paris Talks) Addresses Given by Abdu'l-Baha in 1911 www.bahai.org/r/733601770
one happy, well loved birch! (Diane)
ReplyDeleteHello Diane, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. It's great fun to have a tree as a friend. With love, Susan and Frank
DeleteTaking care of the environment. Well done Susan and Frank!
ReplyDeleteStuart North - Prince Albert SK
Hi Stuart, considerate of you to leave a message. We'll care for Bonnie the Birch as long as we're on the Island. We send love, Susan and Frank
ReplyDelete