Monday, 8/28

I understand why they did it. But that doesn't make it any less painful.

The city of Marquette, being such a beautiful place, has a problem. The city has planted a lot of trees everywhere, and seeing as how trees have the termidity to grow unfettered, you end up walking down a sidewalk and find yourself having to run a gauntlet of branches and leaves.

Kinda like this--

While it can be a pain in the butt, I don't mind, as the trees are green and living and, you know, part of Marquette. Every so often city workers will trim back the branches, which is something I noticed they did to my favorite lilac tree--

Like I said, I understand that the branches were impeding upon the sidewalk and yes, I understand that they needed to be trimmed. However, the parts they cut off had some of the biggest blooms on that tree---

And now they're gone.

I know; it's just one lilac tree in a city with thousands of them. But it was "my" lilac tree, the one I walk past every day, the one whose buds I use to determine how far away the tree is from blooming, and the one into which I shove my nose and inhale with all my might once those blooms are out.

And now, part of it's gone.

Like I said, it's just one of those things. I know it needed to be done, and I'm sure that people will find it easier to use that portion of the sidewalk. But still...it's sad to see something that gives such beauty and such joy taken away, even if it's only a portion of it. Sure, the tree will still have plenty of blooms come next May, but it won't have all of them.

And for that, I (weirdly) mourn.

(jim@wmqt.com), lilac freak