Nov 21, 2022

MADORIN: Now is better than never

Posted Nov 21, 2022 1:00 AM
written by: Karen Madorin
written by: Karen Madorin

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now,” declares an old Chinese proverb that makes regular rounds on social media. I can’t think of a more apt statement for our times.

In the last few years, I’ve heard more and more people comment the world rages out of control and that scares them. If lack of control frightens even heroes, then it really frightens youngsters who haven’t survived the natural, societal, and familial cycles that older folks slogged through. Boomers born to Depression and WW II survivors grew up living lessons of how to outlast hard times, but our kids and grandkids know a different world. So, what can we manage while the list of what we can’t grows longer?

We can plant trees. Performing this simple action adds beauty, increases shade in the yard, creates humus to nurture soil and pollinators, and invites birds into the neighborhood. Best of all, nothing so simple does a better job converting carbon dioxide to oxygen than a tree.

While a drought cycle dominates western Kansas weather, we can use ingenuity and rain barrels to offer newly established saplings a decent start. Such a simple action shows our little ones we believe in their future and that one person can improve the world.

One reason we considered this house before we bought it was the fact someone decades ago planted five pines, an ash, an elm, and a mulberry tree out back. That ash shades us from morning sun. It and the other trees offer nesting sites and performance venues when birds feel like singing or fussing up a storm.

When we purchased the house, a sapling silver maple and two small lindens stood out front along with a mature locust that shades our neighbor’s house in the late afternoon. Although we water it, it doesn’t offer us a reprieve from late day heat.

To solve that dilemma, we strategically planted two oaks trees that in time will block sun rays from hitting our living area and front bedroom on scorching afternoons. Currently our acorn producers stand about 6 feet tall, so they have some growing to do before they offer effective shade.

Because we live by a highway, we wanted to muffle passing vehicles and create a privacy fence that looks nice. For help, we visited Ponderosa Nursery west of Ellis to get suggestions for something that would grow big enough to screen traffic noise and still look nice from both the front window and the highway. They understood exactly what we needed and returned from a buying trip up north with blue-eyed spruce trees that while still small have already grown.

When we talk tree planting, the realist lurking in our brains reminds us we won’t live long enough to see our recent transplants reach maturity. That voice speaks truth. Then we consider expense and physical labor. Planting hope for the future requires budgeting money and energy. Despite the negatives, we know a future family will enjoy shade we planted as we rest under the ash and pines out back. I’m grateful to that soul who planted those trees decades ago. I don’t know if that person saw their efforts reach full growth, but he or she made our lives better.

If you didn’t do it 20 years ago, now is the best time to plant a tree.

Karen is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and sixth-generation Kansan. After a time away, she’s glad to be home.