It’s Spring

Most everyone loves spring…including me. This year Lizzy and I have had lots of time hiking on trails around our home.  It has been wonderful…and good for our health.  We have been able to see the coming of spring, up close, in all of God’s well-ordered splendor, buds first appearing on trees, blooming into flowers, and giving way to green, luscious leaves. Additionally, we have experienced birds singing and flying enthusiastically around our heads. I can hear their songs saying, “It’s spring. It’s spring.  Glory to God, it’s spring.”

My favorite tree on our hikes is the Eastern White Pine. It is the state tree of Michigan. It’s long needles are green and fragrant reminding us of spring all year long. This distinct smell is shared among most species of pine trees. Moreover, the Eastern White Pine is a related species to the Longleaf Pine that I have heard my father and his brothers talk about often as they remembered growing up in North Carolina. 

Walking with My Dad

I can recall walking through a pine forest with my dad and remembering him telling me of trees over 100 feet tall, with trunks of 50 inches thick.  I can hear him saying, “These longleaf pines take 200-400 years to mature. They are slow growing and just about vanished from this country.” I can see him bend down and picked up a pine cone, tossing it to me as he continued to talk, “The problem for the longleaf pine is that it is the most favored tree for all construction.” He looked back at me as he spoke saying, “I’m told that longleaf ship masts would sell at prices 30% above other masts. And, with a boom in big cities, there was a need for good quality building materials. These longleaf pines were in big demand.”

Its Not Just the Lumber

 “It’s not just the lumber that was desirable. People in these parts would burn pine logs in shallow pits and then collect the pitch, dripping out of the logs, into barrels sunken into the ground. They’d extract tar from the pitch. This sticky mess was good for waterproofing the seams between the planks of ships, and sailors use it to coat the rigging. It seems the salty air would eat at the canvas and ropes.” Looking at me he shook his head and said, “I guess people will do anything for money.” He laughed, “I heard it said that ‘tarheels’ is what they called folks in this business, because they got plenty of the goo on the soles of their shoes and feet.”

Additionally, as we came to the edge of the forest, I can hear him say. “I’ve even heard that you can tap a living longleaf pine, like you would a sugar maple for syrup, and get sap that can be distilled to make turpentine. Yup, it’s a mighty valuable tree, won’t be long before there ain’t any left in this country.”

My Uncle Grover

My Uncle Grover told me, “The Longleaf Pine wood itself is dense. As strong as red oak and resistant to decay.” He said, “You can bury a post in the ground and it won’t rot. A bug won’t bother it either.” The wood has an amber to reddish color and my uncle said “It never needs painting. Also, the more it rains, the slicker it gets.” Yes, a very valuable tree.

With every new start, every spring, every new bud on every tree, God demonstrates his purpose to restore his creation. Spring reminds us not to despair. God is bringing order to our world.  

Also, see Random Acts of Kindness.

Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear