Tuckets heralded the long-awaited arrival.
Birds chirped and flitted from branch to
branch. Spring, however, had to bow
once more to Old Man North Wind.
What did I spy this morning?
The tree. The tree brought back
to life some twenty years ago with
ground fertilizer plugs. Now rotten.
One big gust like blowing out
birthday candles and Old Man North Wind
had an easy task of blowing an entire
limb down. We’ve talked some two years.
Now the decision has been made for us.
In anticipation we planted new trees
and must patiently wait for them
to grow. So sad when the old ones die.
Just like humans past their prime.
Now slowly but surely one branch
after another decays and falls. Life
cycles for all of us. The tuckets
will have to return another day
when spring is actually here. Some
of the birds brave our winter and
peck at the house of bird seed.
Dr. Mary Ann Niemczura 
A tree, which died of old age, is bringing life back to the forest where it grew up. A tree which has been cut down by a logger does nothing for the forest. That’s the sad part in my view.
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I like the German way of planting a new tree for every one felled. Such as the Black forest area. If trees are not replanted when felled, then I agree it is sad. Our tree was very old and ill so it will be felled on Monday. We have already planted two new trees nearby. Thank you for your comment. Enjoy the weekend and stay warm.
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A sweet treatment of something that many of us encounter, but never much reflect on, or write of. I must stop and ask, a “tucket?”
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Tucket is a trumpet fanfare. Look for images online. Spell check and only want to correct the spelling to ticket. I believe word origin is in the 1500s. Thank you for the comment.
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It is interesting to note that ‘Old Man North Wind’ proves stronger than Spring though we all love her! Strange are the ways of Mother Nature…all her elements have to play their role. 🙂 Beautiful poetry Mary Ann. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you for your kind comment. It seems you understand Mother Nature very well. We were surprised by one day of weather at 62 F but knew winter would return. Lake effect snows are forecast to begin later today. Your comment is so very kind and much appreciated. I enjoy writing poetry as do you, I believe. ^__^
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Beautiful and so thoughtful of you to put out the seed house!
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I love to watch the birds feed and build nests. We put several houses around our house for this purpose. Thank you for the lovely comment. Enjoy your weekend! More lake effect snow for us!
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Always look out for our fine feathered friends!
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We mourn the loss of trees torn down by Old Man Winter each year. Here, the ice storms often bend the beautiful birches to the point of no return. Your words speak to the loss that nature brings, not only to the trees, but to us as well. Thanks for this poignant and thought-provoking share, Mary Ann. ❤ xo
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Such a lovely and understanding comment from you, Bette. Thank you a thousand times. We used to often have spring ice storms in Colorado and lose entire trees, especially the younger ones. Today we are dealing with lake effect snow in Upstate NY with the white blanket covering everything and hiding the flaws. Enjoy the weekend. ^__^
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It sounds like your winters are true beasts compared to ours… Sunshine and wild winds today—no doubt that lots of our beauties are under siege. Dan clears the damage late spring and hauls in our winter wood from some of the dead drops. I don’t know how he manages to do it all considering we have a mile and a half of trails that need to be cleared each year. Stay warm and enjoy the wonders of your white blanket. ❤ xo
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Thanks, Bette. Sun is out and seems to heal everything. Saw several robins in our river birch tree now about 3 years old. Robins? My husband says that some actually winter here. That is a LOT of wood. And long trails. More power to him. After about two weeks of a nasty cold, I am trying to warm up the voice to sing in a couple hours and can only hope I don’t wind up coughing my way through. I brace myself for about seven months of winter. First snow in October and then a random one or two in early May sometimes. I love the looks of the white blanket. I’m grateful that the winds have ceased as well. Enjoy the weekend. 🙂 🙂
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If Jeff hadn’t asked what a tucket was, I would have. Thanks for explaining.
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I would imagine that people in the UK would be used to the sight of these long trumpet-like instruments with flags hanging down from them. Pomp and circumstance. I didn’t realize tucket would cause ripples. You see, it came from my word a day calendar last year. It so amused me that I stored it in my memory bank until this blog. I think medieval castles and tuckets announcing the arrival of the Duchess or the King. Enjoy your weekend. ^___^
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Ah! Now I have a word picture of tuckets! Thank you.
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I didn’t bother with posting images which were not free. Readily available online. Word pictures are fun too. Thanks for the lovely comment.
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I’m looking forward to the arrival of spring, Mary Ann. But winter isn’t quite done with us. It’s so nice to see the birds returning. 🙂
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I fear our winter is not yet over either. It seems to last about seven months…
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Liebe Mary Ann,
eine sensibele Betrachtung über die Vergänglichkeit des Seins,die Du diesesmal in Deinem Blog ansprichst. Bezogen auf die Natur ist es einfach Bäume neu zu pflanzen und wachsen zu sehen.Erschreckend sind die Nachrichten über die Zerstörung der Natur die der Mensch selbst verursacht.Bezogen auf das menschliche Leben gibt es zwar inzwischen längere Lebenerwartungen und manchesmal auch lebensverlängernde Maßnahmen. Aus dieser Erkenntnis heraus gibt es die Folgerung,bewußt Leben und jeden Augenblick des Lebens zu genießen.Voller Demut und Dankbarkeit die vergangenen Dinge und Zeit zu sehen und zuversichtlich in die Zukunft schauen.
Dir ,Russell und Deiner Familie alles Liebe und Gute für die Zukunft,
Dein Arno
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Lieber Arno,
one thousand thanks for the insightful comment. You seem to be able to read between the lines about life and nature in my post. Make each and every moment count along the journey. Your remarks are much appreciated, Arno. To you and your family, a lovely week and life ahead,
Mary Ann
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Wonderful that you helped your beautiful birch live a bit longer. Trees are such beloved companions and it’s heartening to hear that your birch’s passing will nourish new trees.
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We have lost several trees to storms and simply old age and decay. Each time, however, we planted new ones. Yesterday our new river birch branches supported three robins. I was surprised to see them in our snow. My husband informed me that we some that winter over in our vicinity. I love birdsong when I walk through our gardens.
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Ahh…the hard decision of felling a tree taken out of your hands and shaken to breaking point by the storms. It is always sad to lose a tree; I hope you had a chance to say farewell and thank it for all the years of joy it’s given you. Great foresight to plant others and you will enjoy seeing their growth. In Sweden in the forest there are so many trees surrounding the property and every time one has to be felled my mother says goodbye to it … a sad moment. There though more trees are planted than every cut down and the land is more than 70% forest!
Hope the wintery weather is soon over … we are blessed with warmish and sunny days! Heavenly and actually able to be out gardening a little. A delight to see the bulbs flowering. xx
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Spring has sprung in your neck of the woods. How wonderful for you! Unfortunately we have one storm after another. I love the trees in Sweden and in the Black Forest. Good stewards of the land take care to plant new ones! I did say goodbye to our tree, well past its prime. Our landscaping service wrote me about cleaning up the beds after the winter. Some time in April. But we can’t plant much until the end of May earliest. I just finished Daniel Mason’s The Winter Soldier. I don’t recall if you reviewed and recommended it. Add it to your reading lists, Annika. I was up too late reading it too. Hard to put down once you have begun. I ordered another of his: The Piano Tuner. He’s an MD as well as writer. Now I will have to see if our bulbs are trying to push up. The robins were here earlier this last week so maybe spring soon? ox
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So your robin isn’t around all winter? Ours is and always a welcome sight! Thank you so much for the book recommendations, Mary Ann and these sound terrific … both are on my list and think I’ll be requesting The Piano Tuner from the library soon.
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My husband informs me that some robins remain throughout the winter. I just happened to see them in a young tree we planted a couple years ago. Welcome on book mentions. I am awaiting my copy of The Piano Tuner as well. I pass my books on to my husband who then gifts them his friends. Some of us still like to hold the book in our hands. I am curious to see how you like his writing. I jotted down words to look up as I read. It must be the MD in him. It’s ok. I keep a calendar with one word per day and meanings and usages on the flip side. I love learning new words. Happy reading to you.
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A reflective poetic piece, Mary. Agree with Balroop that ‘Old Man North Wind’ proves stronger than Spring. Nature and seasons march to the beat of their own drum. Here in Melbourne we are heading towards the tail end of summer. It’s started to cool down just a bit but this weekend it’s warming up again. I’m not complaining, because good weather can be over just like that.
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Thank you for a lovely comment. Mother Nature and weather can change in the blink of an eye. Now we have snow with ice underneath which makes to difficult travel. It’s so nice to hear that you still have summer weather. Tell me, is Melbourne sometimes humid with the heat? I can tolerate heat with low humidity only. May you still have wonderful summer weather.
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Melbourne is dry, definitely no where near tropical humid. The other day it got up to 40’C/104’F, but usually our summer is around 30’C/91’F. When it gets past 40’C, the dry heat can feel suffocating. I prefer it humid, but each to their own.
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I love the Southwest which can be “hot” but humidity is usually less than 20% and I tolerate it well. It feels good. I wilt in humidity. Most of the summer in Virginia when I lived there, the air conditioner was running: inside the house and in the car. It didn’t matter if I had showered for work or not. My clothes stuck to me when I went outdoors. In Upstate New York, I get a little of everything in our four seasons and can always keep that in mind when I don’t like the weather on a given day. Enjoy the weekend, Mabel. 🙂
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It sounds like high humidity in Virgina if you had to keep the air-con running all the time. When I lived in Singapore, it was 100% humid all day, every day. I loved it but it was the kind of weather where you had to shower at least two times a day. You enjoy the weekend too, Mary 🙂
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Good for you. I would never survive such high humidity on a daily basis. No thank you. Give me my four seasons any day, Mabel. Enjoy the weekend, Mary Ann 🙂
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Okay, you can have your four seasons and enjoy it 🙂 I guess at the end of the day if there are no weather extremes and everyone is safe, that is what matters and is most important 🙂
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Amen. I especially love the New England Falls for the colorful beauty. We try to remain indoors and safe in weather extremes. So glad we don’t have to deal with hurricanes like our son and his wife do.
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