Almost every morning I stand on the Zuivelbrug (a bridge) and look for birds and faraway people.  It’s a ritual.

A huge weeping willow tree is part of the vista.  Sometimes birds sit near the top.

Last night a fierce storm passed through Gent.

Today I saw this …

(Sigh)

The end of a life, a glorious green one that no doubt has touched many people … such as me.  I’m sad.

Was it yesterday I wrote “All things must pass”?  Indeed.

***

I’m reminded of the song Bonny Portmore –  “a traditional Irish folk lament that mourns the destruction of Ireland’s ancient oak forests, specifically the loss of the Great Oak of Portmore (an enormous ornamental tree in County Antrim that fell during a windstorm in 1760)”. 

Beyond the wind was human commerce … and greed.  Many forests in Ireland were cut down to supply wood for shipbuilding.

Listen to the sorrow in the voice of Megan Walsh, who was then a member of Celtic Woman.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=k6vQZKNJ7Lw&si=BMrDxUQjsrSdQxtY

Two trees

Many trees