My favorite time to walk in the Maine woods is mid to late October, before the first hard frost. With the leaves gone, a whole new world is open to discover. This may sound strange to leaf peepers who flock to New England, but to me, the colors are just the outer layer of the beauty of the forest. I had to learn to
see the forest, though, before I could appreciate its depth.
Fall of 1988, I was assigned to cruise timber in Grafton with Brian, who had grown up near this area and worked as a forester for many years. While I knew all the technical aspects of measuring tree height and diameter, species identification and disease, Brian
understood the forest.
“Sugar maple…19 inches d.b.h…one log,” I called out to him as I measured another tree. We paced along the compass line, stopping at each plot. Nothing much changed. Red maple, sugar maple, beech, a few white birch and poplar in the mix…tree…tree…tree…tree…they all looked the same.
We paced ahead five more chains to the next plot. Usually, Brian would take out the notebook and get ready to record the data. This time, he stood looking on the ground all around him. I stood next to him, trying to see what had him so mesmerized, but nothing looked different.
“See that? There’s some rhubarb…been there for years.”
“Why would rhubarb be growing in the wild?
“It wasn’t always this way. Look closer.”
Still, I just saw the rhubarb. “You’ve gotta help me out, Brian. What are you looking at?”
He walked over to a shallow depression in the ground, kicked away some brush, and revealed part of a stone foundation.
“So, if the house was here,” he thought out loud, “the well should be right about over…..yep…look here.”
I walked over to where he was standing and saw an old wooden wagon wheel covering a hole in the ground. I wandered around as I pieced the old homestead together in my mind.
“Asparagus is growing here!” I pointed out the airy ferns to him before we continued with our work.
Since then, I’ve found several cobalt blue glass bottles, and one prized, clear bottle with the words ‘Coke Dandruff Cure’ embossed on the bottom. Treasures I would have missed if I hadn’t taken the time to look closer.
This coming T-Day, look at familiar yet still unknown people in your life. What’s their story? Take the time to uncover the hidden treasures in the people all around you. When you take the time to connect, you begin to understand.
Every project is special enough to be registered on the T-day site. Your idea may spark many others to do the same. Our monthly Together We Can Change The World Day is about joining together to make a conscious difference.
Please visit our website at
www.togetherwecanchangetheworldday.com and scroll across available service projects and add your own.
