A wonderful friend of mine (Lee P.) came up with a way to memorialize the trees that we have lost in our lives.  This thread is going to be devoted to lighting a candle for the tree(s) we have lost due to old age, illness, storms, or greedy corporations. 

So if you have a beloved tree whom you have lost....feel free to post a pic, light a candle, and tell us a little something about that tree.  In treehuggers, we treat trees as living beings with souls, and when we lose one, we grieve them as if they were a family member. 

FOR ALL THE TREES THAT HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES:

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I am lighting a candle for this tree.  This is the one I put in the main group photo, because it was my favorite oak tree.  This tree was not in my yard, but in my neighbor's field, but as children, they let us play in their yard because it was such a large piece of land.  Many a times me and my sister played our little stories under it.  It was such a majestic looking oak......well over a hundred years old, and it stood so tall.  The width of the tree was so big, I think it could have been two or three trees thick.  Many an animal lived in that tree, and depended on it as a home.  It lost many limbs to storms, but still proudly kept standing.  It put up quite a fight when the workers next door took it down.  I was heartbroken to lose a tree that had stood the test of time for so many years.  It lost it's life to make room for condos, as did many other trees I will be posting in the future.  Rest in peace my beloved tree, and may you be standing tall in heaven.

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  I would like to dedicate this candle to all the trees that have been lost due to private property owners, who for one reason or another felt a need to rid of them (pine needles, leaves, hurricaines and storms, general maintenance, etc.)

This was a wonderful idea, Tracy, Thanks!!

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I'm lighting two candles for these two beautiful pines, which once stood just outside my property line.  These two beauties used to stand tall and block the sun light from glaring in my window in the morning.  Everytime I wake up with a glare headache, I miss these two trees all the more.  But they were more than just a sun shade, they were beautiful additions to have near our property....and although they lost many a limb to snow storms, they hung in there and stood proud until they too were removed to make room for condos.  Ironically, no houses are being built where they stood....they could have been left...but the workers were given orders to remove ALL trees on the property.  Rest in peace beautiful pines.

PS--You are very welcome Rosalind, and thanks to you and Diana (another fellow New Jerseyan!) for posting!

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Oh, and along the lines of what Rosalind said....I saw a property owner on a street very near to me, remove a tree just to make room for a fence!  How hard is it to put the fence around the tree?  Instead they took it down, and sawed it up. That poor tree....may you rest in peace.......

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This is such a lovely idea Lee and Tracy. Fortunately I have not had to light a candle for a tree close by to me, for all are still well. But I will think of all those trees that are posted here and all around the World that are being abused.

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of having to cut down some trees in my garden. So I must light a candle.

In my defence they could not stay where they were for safety reasons, (human safety not the safety of property I hasten to add) and we did plant 2 for each we had to fell, so the tree spirits dwelling in them would have had a choice of new home to move to, but there is no way of doing something like this and feeling good about it.

The only thing that comforts me slightly is that they were not native trees and so would not have thrived here anyway. Not much comfort really but better than nothing.

Thanks for this place to remember and apologise to them Tracy.

Blessings and Peace.

Elvin.

Let us remember that the dust of our ancestors before us, lie in the soil that is taken up by the roots of the tree and gives the tree life, the tree in turn, provides oxygen so that we may live.....trees have spirit too.

Earth

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A few blocks from where I live, there was a little park.  It was just some grass, a few concrete benches, a narrow, winding path, and 5 or 6 very tall trees.  The park was obviously there because the small plot was not large enough to squeeze another business into.

These beautiful desiduous trees were placed perfectly so that their canopies merged to form a "roof" over the green space.  They were very large (though not huge) so I assume that some caring person had left them there when development came to the area long ago.

Two weeks ago these trees and the little park that had given so much joy were gone.  I guess someone figured out a way to squeeze in another business.

I can't tell you what kind of trees they were.  My visual impairment keeps me from being able to identify their kind.  I would have tried harder to get there in the fall when I could have seen a fallen leaf up close had I known that they weren't safe.

Lee        

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HAVING SOME CANDLES LIGHTEN FOR ALL THE TREES THAT HAVE BEEN CUT ALL OVER THE WORLD AND, PERHAPS SHOULD SAY, MAINLY HERE IN BRAZIL, IN OUR RAINFORESTS AND FORESTS...

 COMMENT MADE BY YOU ALL ARE SO TOUCHING BUT THAT OF ELVIN D IS REALLY SO IMPORTANT AND NICE!

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I wanted to share something that happened to me several years back, and you can all take it as you will.

There's a lovely little nature trail just south of Newport, Oregon that I used to go walking on.  One winter there were severe storms and some of the trees along the trail were blown down.  Whoever cares for those trails and keeps them tidy, cut a large block out of one tree that had fallen across the trail.  It was an OLD tree, and I stopped to just be in its presence, and when I put my hand on it I could still feel life in it.  I counted the rings and it was way more than 200 years old.

Further along the trail, I came to a little clearing that had two birch(?) trees on a small rise in the ground, and I walked over to them and just stood in their presence for a few minutes, and then I asked (this probably sounds silly) if I could lean against them for a few moments.  I didn't really "feel" or "hear" an answer, but assumed it was okay, and I leaned against both of them in a space that was a perfect fit for leaning against both of them. 

I closed my eyes and became still and quiet, breathing deeply, and for a moment I actually felt arms reaching out and wrapping themselves around me while I stood there.  It lasted only a few seconds, but it was so wonderful.  When I finally decided to move on, I thanked the trees for their blessing and walked on down the trail.

There have been other times through the years that I've had experiences of putting my hand on trees and "felt" their energy - a minor to a really intense tingling sensation.  It's really wonderful; I love the connection.

Anyway, I just felt like sharing this experience.

Janice P.

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We lost two Maple trees around here over the Summer.  I miss my neighbors.

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Tree cut down before I could get a picture, going to light a candle for it anyway!

              Call me crazy but I heard it cry out, it was alive and no reason for it to be cut down.  Was cut cause someone complained it blocked their view.  And that to me was a crime!

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Candles are all lit in memory of the dear trees for the touching stories that have been newly added.  I am also lighting a candle for the the beautiful old sycamore trees that used to line the streets of my downtown city.  They wre so gorgeous, and made the city so beautiful.....then they claimed that their roots were penetrating underground things that they shouldn't...and they also said that the trees were old and diseased, and posed a hazard...TOTAL B.S. I tell you!  Now it looks plain barren down the street in town, and makes it look very unappealing and empty.  A candle is lit for you my beloved trees.....

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A prayer for all of nature :

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Heavenly Father,

Please help us to remember that it was never your intention that we worship Creation, but rather that we respect it, and worship you.

Help us to remember also the purpose of why you gave us legs not wheels, and help us to tread lightly & more carefully on our path across this earth.

Please help mankind to be more open to sharing, less wanting, less greedy, and more giving.

Help to realise also that this earth is not ours, and earthly possessions will not make us more happy, but rather more poor in Your Eyes.

We ask that when our foolish hearts lead us to believe we need more than we really do, that you remind us always of the things we have got, and thereby put an end to our own foolish pride.

Please help us to share with all living things, and make us more worthy of all you have provided.

In Jesus Name

amen.

 [report anonymous abuse]

Peace, love, light, and blessing to all the trees.

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When I went out in my travels today, I saw a heartwrenching sight....a whole line of pines completely destroyed....lying there like fallen souls, all in pieces.....all murdered to make way for a super convenience store.   They could have built around them, they could have been a nice tree line near the road, would have added beauty to the property, yet they chose to mow them all down and leave the place barren...I don't know how they live with themselves.

Here are some candles in memory of all of those poor trees.....

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To all those trees we used to drive by on our way to work and on our way home, Tracy and to the trees that came down in the couple storms previous to this sad day.  What's maddening is its to replace the store that's right across the street just because they want to add gas pumps!

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It sure was Marcy..., and that particular lot, as Val had mentioned, lost many trees due to wind storms this past week.  I neglected to mention those.....forgive me trees, a candle is lit for you too...............  That convenience store is perfectly fine right where it is, it doesn't need gas pumps!   My sister and I work together and on our way home, it is going to be a sad sight each time we drive past where that beautiful line of trees once stood.

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