It’s the trees that make this place (part 2)

It is entirely possible that I could spend all of my remaining time on earth just telling stories about the trees.  We are so lucky that each tree on this mountain contains some element of beauty and history that I feel like it is a part of my duty to share them with the wider world out there.  Most days I take my breaks under the canopy of a different forest, on some kind of nook that contains shade in the sky and a gentle breeze.  I pick my spots based on the bugs, the cold, or the degree of warmth the sun might be bringing but every day I am amazed at what I see when I look up.

Over the last 14 months I have gone out of my way to make pit stops at some of my favourite places of refuge.  I grew up thinking I was a beach dweller and that all of my best times would be spent on the line of where the ocean meets the land but lately I have discovered a new Beech that I wish to explore.  The Beech trees of northern Nova Scotia.

Sometimes Beech trees can trick you.  They can be easily mistaken as an aspen or maple if you don’t look close enough.  They are a hardwood with a tough history in our region.  Sometime in the late 1800’s a fungal infection called Beech Bark Disorder started to become present in our area, coupled with an invasive scale insect that was most likely brought to Atlantic Canada by ship and you have a deadly combination for beech tree.  The result of these hardships can be seen in the cankored bark on display by so many Beeches.  This knotted external skin gives the tree an almost gloomy face which makes it feel like it belongs in some kind of enchanted forest.

There are so many of these knotted giants to pick from that it is hard to write about just one,  however, that is the task at hand.  The tree I want to bring forward is standing on the right side of the fairway on the Red Mountain Course, hole 10.  It is a hole we lovingly refer to as ‘Scotts Stoke’ as no hole on the mountain has brought out safety officer more joy than this one.  About halfway up the fairway on the throwers right stands a beech that looks like it might have been tipped over and started again midway through life.  There is a stand at the top of the tree that splits out into 5 distinct arms as if it needed more hands to reach towards the skyline.  This tree has always caught my eye and I often greet it hello when I walk by.  I think it will witness a lot of aces in its later years of life.  I hope to be the thrower of at least one of them.  You can see this tree on our ‘Peak Disc Golf’ layout we talked about last week, or if you just slip off of the Scott walking trail for a brief but pleasurable detour.

Like all the trees on the mountain it has a story.  I strongly encourage you to introduce yourself next time you are by.  You won’t be disappointed.