Bitter Kelpie

Today, the forestry crew continues its task of cutting trees down. They usually do this far from the residences, and the wood is cut and stacked for firewood. We have enormous stacks of firewood by our residences, enough to last us several years. These trees are not coming down for firewood, they're coming down, goes the reasoning, (put forth on the land use proposal posted by a Morningstar resident and approved by the Land Planner, after input was gathered for 10 days), so that "mold won't grow in Degania and Morningstar. There's been about 10 trees downed so far, and another dozen or so are doomed, with ropes around them, between Morningstar and Kaweah, and behind Degania.

We've been discussing "solar clearings" for years, here at Twin Oaks, and this one, in addition to killing mold, it is said, will let more sunlight hit the roof of Morningstar, where maybe someday there'll be solar panels of some sort up there, doing something groovy and money saving, for the people of Morningstar and Twin Oaks.

Not up for discussion is all the homes destroyed by tree cutting. I'm wondering how many birds, and what kinds of birds, are being displaced, for one. And it's strange to me that everyone seems to believe that cutting these trees down will reduce mold growth. I believe they're in for an unpleasant surprise. The buildings are old, and never have been air conditioned (although there are a couple of dehumidifiers running constantly, now, for the past year or so). The arguement has been that children need to live in buildings that are not moldy, for their health. Cutting down trees seems to be more politically acceptable than air conditioning. Hmm. Now Morningstar and Degania have a lot of stumps and tractor ruts around them.

Oh well, I tell myself. We killed a lot of trees and remade the local world when we built the pond. But I'm still angry at the sound of chainsaws and the sight of stumps. Have you ever had a lot of trees cut down by your house against your will? I feel bitterness creeping upon me. Phrases like, "how can this be an eco-village?" are running around in my head. "What on earth were these people thinking?" and mostly, "why didn't I oppose it when I had a chance? When was that chance? I seem to have missed it."

Oh well. Keenan tells me that blueberries and peach trees will be planted there, and I hear the stumps will be inoculated with mushroom spore so they rot faster. WTF. I'm so angry I could spit. Ok, I gotta go milk some cattle now. And, you know, we kill them, too. It's part of life, I guess, if you're an Oaker.