I pause a moment this evening to remember the magnificent maple tree — Acer saccharum recordatus — that stood in front of Rosslyn during our earlier years. Having succumbed to age, rot, and wind, the handsome denizen of this historic holding for much of its two centuries is now little more than memory. And so I offer this winter watercolor as tribute ti the tree as it stood on February 16, 2010, fifteen years ago today.
I’ve recounted elsewhere the mind-melting moment this giant tree came tumbling toward me. Falling short of me and Rosslyn, the impact reverberated through the house and through my body. Weighty wood colliding with rain soaked lawn. A thud I can still hear and feel so many years later. Probably 150 to 200 years old. Dead. Destined for firewood and mulch.
The Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is a large, slow-growing, deciduous tree which flourishes… in the Adirondack Mountains… This species has a life span of 200-300 years, with some specimens in old-growth stands persisting to nearly 400 years.
The Sugar Maple is… the dominant tree in the northern hardwood forest, along with American Beech… [and it] is the state tree of New York.(Source: wildadirondacks.org)
One of my favorite North Country tree species, and a defining member of out forest canopies especially during Adirondack autumn.
Acer saccharum Recordatus
When age, rot, and wind
conspired and converged, you broke
free from history.
So much changed in that moment. A facade transformed. A new heritage…
What do you think?