Seven Life Lessons I Learned from an Evergreen
By Eden E. Hopper
I grew up in the stunningly beautiful San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. Yes they were real mountains. And yes, it snowed there! :) A lot. (Usually the first question people ask me, now that I live in wintery cold Northern Utah, is: Um, did you ever even see snow, in Southern California? And the answer to that is always, much to my stifled humor: Yes.) Yes, they were – are, rather – actually real mountains. And the trees are actually green and the snow, when it does snow, is actually very white, and very deep.
Not much powder there due to the more Mediterranean-type climate, and from what I understand there’s not nearly as much snow these days anymore, anyway… I guess due to global warming. But growing up, we got lots of great big fluffy snowflakes.
We even had snow days where school was called out of session! It wasn’t because we weren’t used to the snow, mind you. No, it was because there were so many unbelievably steep and narrow roads, bridges, and cliffs to navigate… It made the task of plowing an absolute logistical nightmare.
But I digress. I would love to paint you a picture of what my childhood mountains were like, but really that’s not what this post is about. My purpose here is actually to let you in on some interesting things I learned from the San Bernardino Mountain’s beautiful, massive evergreen trees.
There were trees everywhere. You could drive down any given road, reach your hand out the window, and cry out with laughter as the soft fronds of a Douglas fir brushed against your palm. You had to be careful, of course. And sap was a much more common thing to clean from your fingers at the end of a long day than, say, germs and flu bugs that require loads of hand sanitizer.
Playing in your “yard” was really the endless exploration of forest, streams, and ponds. I was “queen” of a large rock outcropping that overlooked the stream. We would hide Ding-Dongs, bags of candy and various other prizes, in amongst the rocks to keep them safe until our next “club meeting.”
The ponderosa, sugar, and the Jeffrey pines. The white fir and the juniper. The big-cone blue spruce. Mmm, and the smell of the lovely incense cedar. And then, there was that most respected of all the evergreens: The Giant Redwood.
The entire north face of our mountain was one massive, heart-stopping grove of Sequoias. The evergreens were my life. They were so tall, and the forest so dense, that whenever the wind blew, and it frequently did, there were a couple of ponderosas that would bump gently into the side of our house, causing the whole thing to shake a little. And strangest of all, was that it was somehow comforting. (Especially when you consider the fact that we were right down an earthquake fault line.)
Our home, several decades old, had been built on a steep downhill slope… That kind of thing should probably go against your natural instincts but there in those mountains, it’s really the only place there is to build a house. But, fault lines aside, I considered it – and still do – my true home. No matter where we’ve lived since. Every time we go back to visit, I roll down my window and just breathe in, breathe in. I feel alive for those few precious days, like I’m recharging my batteries and my soul. I can sometimes even convince myself that I’m finally back home again, for good.
Well, at this point you may be wondering how any human being could love trees and mountains this much. Sigh… ;) I hope there are a lot of people out there who share my love of nature in your own way.
I thought maybe it would help bridge the gap, if I share with you a few things I learned from living there amongst those trees, for as long as I did…
Seven Life Lessons I Learned from an Evergreen
1. The evergreen tree lives up to its name every day of its life, staying true to its colors, even when the world is grey.
2. It shares its peace and beauty with all who come near it, no matter what they look like or what they believe.
3. It sways and dances, whispering strength to all its neighbors and its fuzzy little tenants, when the harsh Santa Ana winds come whipping up the face of the mountain.
4. It makes a safe, warm haven for those it harbors in its care, giving them shelter and comfort from the cold.
5. It bows gracefully when the heavy snows come down.
6. It stays firmly rooted to the ground through it all.
7. And last but not least, it grows just a little bit every day, as it strives to reach toward Heaven...
By Eden E. Hopper
I grew up in the stunningly beautiful San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. Yes they were real mountains. And yes, it snowed there! :) A lot. (Usually the first question people ask me, now that I live in wintery cold Northern Utah, is: Um, did you ever even see snow, in Southern California? And the answer to that is always, much to my stifled humor: Yes.) Yes, they were – are, rather – actually real mountains. And the trees are actually green and the snow, when it does snow, is actually very white, and very deep.
Not much powder there due to the more Mediterranean-type climate, and from what I understand there’s not nearly as much snow these days anymore, anyway… I guess due to global warming. But growing up, we got lots of great big fluffy snowflakes.
We even had snow days where school was called out of session! It wasn’t because we weren’t used to the snow, mind you. No, it was because there were so many unbelievably steep and narrow roads, bridges, and cliffs to navigate… It made the task of plowing an absolute logistical nightmare.
But I digress. I would love to paint you a picture of what my childhood mountains were like, but really that’s not what this post is about. My purpose here is actually to let you in on some interesting things I learned from the San Bernardino Mountain’s beautiful, massive evergreen trees.
There were trees everywhere. You could drive down any given road, reach your hand out the window, and cry out with laughter as the soft fronds of a Douglas fir brushed against your palm. You had to be careful, of course. And sap was a much more common thing to clean from your fingers at the end of a long day than, say, germs and flu bugs that require loads of hand sanitizer.
Playing in your “yard” was really the endless exploration of forest, streams, and ponds. I was “queen” of a large rock outcropping that overlooked the stream. We would hide Ding-Dongs, bags of candy and various other prizes, in amongst the rocks to keep them safe until our next “club meeting.”
The ponderosa, sugar, and the Jeffrey pines. The white fir and the juniper. The big-cone blue spruce. Mmm, and the smell of the lovely incense cedar. And then, there was that most respected of all the evergreens: The Giant Redwood.
The entire north face of our mountain was one massive, heart-stopping grove of Sequoias. The evergreens were my life. They were so tall, and the forest so dense, that whenever the wind blew, and it frequently did, there were a couple of ponderosas that would bump gently into the side of our house, causing the whole thing to shake a little. And strangest of all, was that it was somehow comforting. (Especially when you consider the fact that we were right down an earthquake fault line.)
Our home, several decades old, had been built on a steep downhill slope… That kind of thing should probably go against your natural instincts but there in those mountains, it’s really the only place there is to build a house. But, fault lines aside, I considered it – and still do – my true home. No matter where we’ve lived since. Every time we go back to visit, I roll down my window and just breathe in, breathe in. I feel alive for those few precious days, like I’m recharging my batteries and my soul. I can sometimes even convince myself that I’m finally back home again, for good.
Well, at this point you may be wondering how any human being could love trees and mountains this much. Sigh… ;) I hope there are a lot of people out there who share my love of nature in your own way.
I thought maybe it would help bridge the gap, if I share with you a few things I learned from living there amongst those trees, for as long as I did…
Seven Life Lessons I Learned from an Evergreen
1. The evergreen tree lives up to its name every day of its life, staying true to its colors, even when the world is grey.
2. It shares its peace and beauty with all who come near it, no matter what they look like or what they believe.
3. It sways and dances, whispering strength to all its neighbors and its fuzzy little tenants, when the harsh Santa Ana winds come whipping up the face of the mountain.
4. It makes a safe, warm haven for those it harbors in its care, giving them shelter and comfort from the cold.
5. It bows gracefully when the heavy snows come down.
6. It stays firmly rooted to the ground through it all.
7. And last but not least, it grows just a little bit every day, as it strives to reach toward Heaven...
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