Calm Photos

One of “Three Sisters” oak trees falls

I’m really into “signs” - the small, usually unnoticed occurrences in daily life that signal the fact that there is a far greater force at work than just the inconsequential “hand-of-man.”

Just a few weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon in late July, my two young daughters and I went on a nature hike at Sugarcreek. One of the spots both Emma and Chloe wanted to see was the location of the “Three Sisters,” the 500+ year old White Oak Trees that just about everyone who is familiar with the MetroParks of Dayton know so well.

Just this week the middle “sister” fell, beginning the process of returning to the earth her life and nutrients that will be reborn with the growth of new trees. Such is the cycle of life that I explained to my daughters while we stood observing the ‘Sisters’ and I was answering that inevitable and honest question that comes from young and inquisitive minds, Dad, what will happen when one of them dies ?

Even before the start of 2008 I had a strong premonition that this indeed would be a year of change - change that would largely involve pain that is associated with loss. Indeed it has been, not only on a personal level and within society, but even taking place amongst familiar and natural surroundings. But change it will be, to something new.

Below: The Three Sisters on a mist-filled morning in late autumn, 2004

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