Life at TwoTrees – Susannah Ravenswing

Sometime following the Civil War, on a tract of sandy bottom land in the flood plain of Town Fork Creek, a seed from the cone of a Loblolly Pine took root. The young tree, with its bundles of three gently spiraling aromatic green needles, grew rapidly, nourished by the rich, loamy soil and Carolina sunshine. As a young seedling, it looked like a bright green feather duster, its rusty brown trunk strong and straight. It was the straightness, along with the species’ quick growth, that made the tree so valuable. In the coastal plains, the trees were called ‘Slash Pines’ for the way that cuts caused them to give up copious sap for the production of pine tar and turpentine. The stout, straight trunks, rising some distance in towering columns before branching, made for excellent lumber and were also harvested for timbers for the shipping industry.

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Since our Ancestors first realized that they could take an active role in planting and propagating edible plants, humankind has engaged the Holy Powers in that process through rituals and offerings in hopes of maximizing the ultimate yield. Anyone who gardens knows that the results are unpredictable and that farming is, at best, an on-going experiment. In cultures where people lacked the capacity to test and balance such factors as soil nutrients and were ever at the mercy of random late freezes, droughts and hail storms, the propitiation of the Gods and spirits governing agriculture was critical. Rarely was sufficient food stored and preserved to last for more than a single year; in northern climates, the challenge was to simply survive the long and often brutal winters.

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The Grandmother Tree

Charming of the Plough