Life in the Tree Office

People have written a lot of songs about trees. Has anyone else noticed this? Like, you listen to any country song ever written and they’re all over the concept of pine trees. Doesn’t matter that you can’t find pine trees in absolutely any country area in the world; nope, it’s all about the pines. The sweet pines, sometimes, even though that’s now how I would describe the smell of pine trees. It’s more of a natural musk.

Don’t get me wrong, because I LOVE a good tree song. It’s why I chose to study dendrology, and all the wonders that come with it.  I spend a lot of time with trees, and not just pine trees. I get to meet loads of interesting people, too. Like, arborists in Melbourne, tree-huggers wanting to protect nature, gardeners…uh…the people in my lab. Honestly, we don’t really talk to each other much. I prefer working with the arborists.

I keep trying to get everyone to talk a bit more but it’s all about the trees. People do talk to them, I guess…and if you were visiting you might think the office is buzzing with life. People chatting ALL over the place, but it’s all just to the trees. It’s a thing among tree people: we treat trees LIKE people, and that means friendly chatting to make them grow faster. I also means cutting them down when they become too overbearing. I never quite subscribed to the idea as much as my colleagues, perhaps because I have to work with arborists. Treating trees like people when they’re being lopped would bring a lot of heartbreak. Honestly, a lot of the tree removal companies in Melbourne I have met with still think I’m a bit strange. I know that I’m a bit weird. I still talk to trees more than I probably should. Makes a person forget how to talk to real people.