Have you seen a big tree lately?
Here in Maine, the trees are leafing out… even the oaks are halfway to green. It’s a great time of year to get out exploring and find some new trees to put on the National Register of Big Trees. They take nominations…
Last year, me, my husband, and sister, went out to find Herbie, the biggest living elm tree in New England. Located in Yarmouth, Maine, it’s a short 30 minute drive from home. I expected Herbie to be on the main drag in Yarmouth, and it took quite a bit of driving around, getting lost, and even giving up, before we actually found Herbie. We were discouraged and trying to find our way out of a Yarmouth neighborhood to go home when we all sort of had the same realization at the same time “wow, that’s a big tree.”
Herbie is inconspicuously located in a regular neighborhood in someone’s yard. A plaque marks its girth and age. Herbie survived the Dutch Elm epidemic that wiped out a good portion of the nation’s elm trees in the 20th century.
In America, the “land of big,” big trees are somewhat of a rarity. We’re used to seeing big buildings, big spaces, big plates, and big people..but one trip to Europe can convince you that our trees are downright puny. The big trees that we do have are majestic, inspiring, historical, and rare. They remind you that not everything is new in this young country. Some trees predate white people by hundreds of years.
So now that I’ve seen Herbie, my next trip is the giant redwoods in California.
What big trees are in your neighborhood? In your state?
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