YES MANIFESTO

We say yes to a healthy, undisturbed soil ecosystem; yes to moss colonies, green, healthy, taking hold on dead blow downs, and tree boles; yes to mouse ear-sized oak leaflets in mid-May, and their flowers and insects that attract migrating warblers; a yes vote in favor of all trees who live in this bulls-eye of a potential clear cut; yes to the climbers like poison ivy, wild grape and European bittersweet who work toward light and rely on strong trunks; and yes to the struggle, completion and balance of all species who live in this forest; yes to the dark shade of red cedar trees; a big affirmative for those who pass by these trees quietly on foot; and yes as well to the community of human outliers who come here for peace, open air, hearty exercise, and restoration of their spirit; yes even to the ticks, who have their place in the web of life; to turkeys who range here looking for fallen acorns and deer who find foliage along the edges of openings in the tree canopy; and …YES to multiflora rose, with canes of wicked thorns, so cat claw sharp that they can take a hat off and rip skin.

Tom Stock March 30, 2016