Regarding the sacred…In a former royal forest, tree surgeons, last week, began chain-sawing great, ancient Oak trees, many centuries old! Why? Well, all to rebuild a church monument…The ancient Oaks are being sacrificed to rebuild the wooden-framed spire of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Plundering the Sacred… 1,000 oaks are due to be hacked down by the end of March to rebuild the spire and roof of the cathedral…we value monuments and sacrifice the great trees that sustain our life on this beautiful Mother Earth…unforgivable!
These photographs I share with you have all been taken this morning, the 15th day of March 2021…most are a testament to my church, Mother Earth.
PrimroseA little clump of primroses near the Fairy Wood.The stream flowing from the Spring Well.Saxifraga and Pieris on the veranda.Cultivated Primulas.Cultivated Primulas with Rhododendron in the background.My knitting continues each evening. The wool is mostly Donegal Tweed leftovers from other projects. Each piece will go to form a blanket.The woodland floor is coming to life…The tunnel with its 16year old plastic perfectly intact and good for a few more years yet!Rhubarb…one of the first fruit crops in the holding…though technically its a vegetable!The choir of birdsong is supported here.The BardĀ (c.ā1817) byĀ John Martin,Ā Yale Center for British Art
Hi Colette ,
Your words reminded me of a scene from Anne of Green Gables , when Marilla wants Anne to pray .It’s long time I watched it but Anne says something like : when I wanted to pray , I would go into a
field ,imagine the sky is like the dome of a big cathedral , and I would feel a prayer . Men made
buildings are not necessary to pray , especially if the cost lifes -in this case the oaks .Blessings
Thank you for sharing that. Saddens me to think that that is what is happening to Our Beloved TreeĆ. Your love of Mother Earth and the beauty that surrounds you is a testament to how we should all be in our own way to provide and Revere the beauty Of the natural world around us. Happy knitting!
Oh, No-o-o-o-o, not ancient oaks! There are so precious few of them left in the world. Can’t the engineers come up with an oak-looking substitute? No-one would know simply because it’s such a tall, tall ceiling and spires. My heart weeps for the old trees…
Dear Collette,
I was so sad to hear of the Notre Dame ancient oak disaster. I did some research and found a website here called plasticlumberyard.com.
Apparently, there are heavy duty plastic alternatives even for structural applications available. You have to wonder why these alternatives were not considered…
We live in Florida and have seen these products used outdoors, where the elements are harsh. They do not warp or crack over time. It just seems like they would have at least looked at it, being they are so environmentally conscious in Europe.
We have giant species of oaks here. In Florida, they are a home for orchids, ferns, air plants (many of which are endangered), and even native mistletoe! They are a sight to behold when you see all of this life on an ancient tree!
I cried when I saw your post.
And I also found out that some wealthy landowners in the U.K. are offering up their ancient oaks. Some of these were planted by their own ancestors! Itās a crime, what they have done…
And we love Notre Dame. And we agree that it should be restored to its original looking form. But why not use 21st century technology to win both ways?
These decisions are being made out of ego and the feeling that we are better than Mother Earth. She puts up with so much disrespect. We are ultimately only hurting ourselves in the long run. Arrogance will be our end. I love the pictures Colette. Thank you for showing us what is possible and how much Mother Earth will give back with just a little bit of love. Hugs to everyone!š
I wonder if they used English Oak the first time the Cathedral was constructed? If not, doesn’t France have trees to murder? Although murder is murder.
I just received an email message that says, “sharp shooters will be in the area until sunset this evening”. The purpose of these sharpshooters? To cull the deer herd in my neighborhood. The natural habitat of these beautiful creatures has been gobbled for residential construction, and now the deer are being killed because some people find them bothersome. The arrogance of humans.
I am heartbroken for the deer, I am heart broken for the trees.
It is so encouraging to see the green and all the spring blooms. The heaps of snow are gone for today but a sprinkling of snow is expected any day. Iām afraid we wonāt be able to get our hands in the dirt for a couple of days or maybe a week. So itās on to a bit of tidy up to get ready for planting season. I live in SW Michigan, an area that produces a lot of the plants for all the various big box stores around the country. I enjoy watching all of your videos and feel as if we are garden club friends or the like.
Hi Colette,
Happy Tuesday to you, I wondered if you minded me sharing a snippet from your podcast, the way you talked about the relationship between mother nature being used as a commodity was eloquently put. Blessed be x
Well now Collette, some synchronicity here. I volunteer at a community eco project, which happens to be organised by the church.
The curate herself posted the same comments as you, deploring the culling of magnificent oaks, and stating that the church has missed an opportunity to walk forward into a sustainable new model.
Thank you for your comments on the destruction of ancient trees for the “repair” of Notre Dame Cathedral. This decision breaks my heart–how can a country as “enlightened” as France do such a thing? The wooden spire doesn’t even belong on top of that medieval temple–it was added on a whim much later and truly doesn’t fit aesthetically speaking. The forest IS a temple, as Baudelaire says. Let’s worship there! I hope you do acquire 30 acres, 50, 100 acres–there is land longing for your loving care. Wishing you well!
Hi Colette and the lovely boy Jack. Outraged to hear about Notre Dame and the needless sacrifice of ancient trees at a time when trees, especially those of such a great and venerable age, are of the utmost importance to the planet. It is an act of extraordinary vandalism perpetrated for a roof and a spire. These things could so easily have been formed from something that wouldn’t cost, quite literally, the earth! Madness. Bright blessings to you, the boy and the bird!
Plundering nature is nothing new to the churches.they plunder the night sky by floodlighting their temples of superstition and lecture us about the environment and similar matters.
Adding, much prefer “praying” amidst nature in my yard than in a palatial building of stone, gold, and fanicful adornments. May be struck down for this but….Where is God in that?
Colette, Love your little bird buddy twirping away, most likely expressing gratitude for your kindness. Just read your post about 1,000 ancient Oaks being sacrificed for the Notre Dame spire..to destroy nature in the name of God is just simply the antithesis of Christianity. š¢
Hi Colette
I am sorry to hear about the ancient trees being cut down, but then organized religion has always ruled with fear and destroyed cultures in the wake of their teachings. Thank you for your beautiful pictures this morning the dew on the Primrose is so lovely to see. I hope this find you well. I am looking forward to your Book of Days
Joyce
Ontario Canada
I didn’t know about that! What a shame! That’s an outrage! Thank you for informing us about that…I hope someone will do something about that in France, but even left wing parties seem to do nothing about those things nowadays, only promises and beautiful speeches.
Btw, beautiful photos you shared in this post! I really like your pond! š
Disgraceful! Why don’t they make the spire out of re-cycled plastic. Who would care or know the difference! Perpetrators of evil all over this earth while preaching morality.
Perpetraitors always refer back to their “holy” book where it says multiply and subdue the earth. Justification for plundering the planet. And when beliefs are set, they’re unchallengeable.
The best we can do is follow the example of Colette and plant more trees. There’s a fun guy who posts on YT all the time – look at “Crime pays but botany doesn’t” for an education. Warning though: He’s a pretty salty guy. But an educated person advocating for protecting the earth.
I hope your dream of more land happens for you dearest Colette . It is so very sad that beautiful Oaks are going to be cut down just to rebuild a small part of a cathedral. I personally have no need for churches or cathedrals because when I walk out into my garden …….. that is the place I say my prayers and feel closest to our Mother Earth . Lovely to hear from you and thought you might be taking a well earned little break . Thank you for all you do for the Goddess , I help her too but not on such a grand scale as you do , but if we all done a little it would make such a large difference . Blessing to you and darling Jack xxx
It’s disheartening how ruthless we human beings are! When will we collectively as a race, understand the value of Mither Earth and the Nature….? I felt very saf to hear the news.
I was very interested to see that you’d posted a picture by the artist John Martin – I live in Haydon Bridge where he was born and indeed we have a walking trail in his honour – the John Martin Trail.
I agree about the oak trees – we have destroyed too much. It must stop. One very hopeful thing I’ve seen on tv was a programme called Inside Chernobyl with Ben Fogle. He was able to spend some time in the huge exclusion zone around Chernobyl and it was amazing to see the trees taking over the city, and wolves, bears, moose etc moving into the accidental rewilding project. Mother Nature will undo our work one of these days!
Hi Colette ,
Your words reminded me of a scene from Anne of Green Gables , when Marilla wants Anne to pray .It’s long time I watched it but Anne says something like : when I wanted to pray , I would go into a
field ,imagine the sky is like the dome of a big cathedral , and I would feel a prayer . Men made
buildings are not necessary to pray , especially if the cost lifes -in this case the oaks .Blessings
Lieve
Thank you for sharing that. Saddens me to think that that is what is happening to Our Beloved TreeĆ. Your love of Mother Earth and the beauty that surrounds you is a testament to how we should all be in our own way to provide and Revere the beauty Of the natural world around us. Happy knitting!
Oh, No-o-o-o-o, not ancient oaks! There are so precious few of them left in the world. Can’t the engineers come up with an oak-looking substitute? No-one would know simply because it’s such a tall, tall ceiling and spires. My heart weeps for the old trees…
Dear Collette,
I was so sad to hear of the Notre Dame ancient oak disaster. I did some research and found a website here called plasticlumberyard.com.
Apparently, there are heavy duty plastic alternatives even for structural applications available. You have to wonder why these alternatives were not considered…
We live in Florida and have seen these products used outdoors, where the elements are harsh. They do not warp or crack over time. It just seems like they would have at least looked at it, being they are so environmentally conscious in Europe.
We have giant species of oaks here. In Florida, they are a home for orchids, ferns, air plants (many of which are endangered), and even native mistletoe! They are a sight to behold when you see all of this life on an ancient tree!
I cried when I saw your post.
And I also found out that some wealthy landowners in the U.K. are offering up their ancient oaks. Some of these were planted by their own ancestors! Itās a crime, what they have done…
And we love Notre Dame. And we agree that it should be restored to its original looking form. But why not use 21st century technology to win both ways?
Blessings.
Susan Casamento
This is precisely why we cannot wait for the so called governments of the world to put a stop to this. I am lost for words.
These decisions are being made out of ego and the feeling that we are better than Mother Earth. She puts up with so much disrespect. We are ultimately only hurting ourselves in the long run. Arrogance will be our end. I love the pictures Colette. Thank you for showing us what is possible and how much Mother Earth will give back with just a little bit of love. Hugs to everyone!š
I wonder if they used English Oak the first time the Cathedral was constructed? If not, doesn’t France have trees to murder? Although murder is murder.
I just received an email message that says, “sharp shooters will be in the area until sunset this evening”. The purpose of these sharpshooters? To cull the deer herd in my neighborhood. The natural habitat of these beautiful creatures has been gobbled for residential construction, and now the deer are being killed because some people find them bothersome. The arrogance of humans.
I am heartbroken for the deer, I am heart broken for the trees.
Thankyou so much.The podcast was….everything. the birdsong was so soothing and your words ,just awesome.
It is so encouraging to see the green and all the spring blooms. The heaps of snow are gone for today but a sprinkling of snow is expected any day. Iām afraid we wonāt be able to get our hands in the dirt for a couple of days or maybe a week. So itās on to a bit of tidy up to get ready for planting season. I live in SW Michigan, an area that produces a lot of the plants for all the various big box stores around the country. I enjoy watching all of your videos and feel as if we are garden club friends or the like.
Hi Colette,
Happy Tuesday to you, I wondered if you minded me sharing a snippet from your podcast, the way you talked about the relationship between mother nature being used as a commodity was eloquently put. Blessed be x
Well now Collette, some synchronicity here. I volunteer at a community eco project, which happens to be organised by the church.
The curate herself posted the same comments as you, deploring the culling of magnificent oaks, and stating that the church has missed an opportunity to walk forward into a sustainable new model.
Ireland already gave at the office! Yet another tree-vasty.
Thank you for your comments on the destruction of ancient trees for the “repair” of Notre Dame Cathedral. This decision breaks my heart–how can a country as “enlightened” as France do such a thing? The wooden spire doesn’t even belong on top of that medieval temple–it was added on a whim much later and truly doesn’t fit aesthetically speaking. The forest IS a temple, as Baudelaire says. Let’s worship there! I hope you do acquire 30 acres, 50, 100 acres–there is land longing for your loving care. Wishing you well!
Hi Colette and the lovely boy Jack. Outraged to hear about Notre Dame and the needless sacrifice of ancient trees at a time when trees, especially those of such a great and venerable age, are of the utmost importance to the planet. It is an act of extraordinary vandalism perpetrated for a roof and a spire. These things could so easily have been formed from something that wouldn’t cost, quite literally, the earth! Madness. Bright blessings to you, the boy and the bird!
Plundering nature is nothing new to the churches.they plunder the night sky by floodlighting their temples of superstition and lecture us about the environment and similar matters.
Beautiful photographs. Such a wonderful time of year.
News like this is devastating. How could it be happening? Trying to make sense of it but finding it incomprehensible
Adding, much prefer “praying” amidst nature in my yard than in a palatial building of stone, gold, and fanicful adornments. May be struck down for this but….Where is God in that?
Colette, Love your little bird buddy twirping away, most likely expressing gratitude for your kindness. Just read your post about 1,000 ancient Oaks being sacrificed for the Notre Dame spire..to destroy nature in the name of God is just simply the antithesis of Christianity. š¢
it is a tragedy to be cutting down the oaks for a man made structure in todays age.
I know grief for persons left, but there is also a grief that is ongoing whenever I hear of trees being felled.
Such a sad thing to see the ancients go. Blessings on all things.
Hi there, lovely to hear all those beautiful sounds of nature. You are an inspiration. Good luck with your next project.
Blessings to you and Jack x
Thank you Gloria…here’s hoping it will happen!
Hi Colette
I am sorry to hear about the ancient trees being cut down, but then organized religion has always ruled with fear and destroyed cultures in the wake of their teachings. Thank you for your beautiful pictures this morning the dew on the Primrose is so lovely to see. I hope this find you well. I am looking forward to your Book of Days
Joyce
Ontario Canada
Yes, sadly very true! My next book is in the making…no working title as yet, but this website will be the first place I will post info!
I didn’t know about that! What a shame! That’s an outrage! Thank you for informing us about that…I hope someone will do something about that in France, but even left wing parties seem to do nothing about those things nowadays, only promises and beautiful speeches.
Btw, beautiful photos you shared in this post! I really like your pond! š
Thanks Helena…I like to capture Her image as much often as I can through all Her glorious days!
sending positive thoughts for the land blessings to you Colette from sleive Croob
Disgraceful! Why don’t they make the spire out of re-cycled plastic. Who would care or know the difference! Perpetrators of evil all over this earth while preaching morality.
Those in high office make these decisions…and are there because they have no relationship with Mother Earth!
Perpetraitors always refer back to their “holy” book where it says multiply and subdue the earth. Justification for plundering the planet. And when beliefs are set, they’re unchallengeable.
The best we can do is follow the example of Colette and plant more trees. There’s a fun guy who posts on YT all the time – look at “Crime pays but botany doesn’t” for an education. Warning though: He’s a pretty salty guy. But an educated person advocating for protecting the earth.
I hope your dream of more land happens for you dearest Colette . It is so very sad that beautiful Oaks are going to be cut down just to rebuild a small part of a cathedral. I personally have no need for churches or cathedrals because when I walk out into my garden …….. that is the place I say my prayers and feel closest to our Mother Earth . Lovely to hear from you and thought you might be taking a well earned little break . Thank you for all you do for the Goddess , I help her too but not on such a grand scale as you do , but if we all done a little it would make such a large difference . Blessing to you and darling Jack xxx
The ridiculous part of this is that the builders could have used steel…or not bothered with such ostentation. Oh well…there it goes!
It’s disheartening how ruthless we human beings are! When will we collectively as a race, understand the value of Mither Earth and the Nature….? I felt very saf to hear the news.
We are governed by ego, all to a more or lesser degree…that is the issue as I see it.
Hi Colette,
I was very interested to see that you’d posted a picture by the artist John Martin – I live in Haydon Bridge where he was born and indeed we have a walking trail in his honour – the John Martin Trail.
I agree about the oak trees – we have destroyed too much. It must stop. One very hopeful thing I’ve seen on tv was a programme called Inside Chernobyl with Ben Fogle. He was able to spend some time in the huge exclusion zone around Chernobyl and it was amazing to see the trees taking over the city, and wolves, bears, moose etc moving into the accidental rewilding project. Mother Nature will undo our work one of these days!
Love Carole X