deep affection

* * *

So this is the elm canopy that covers our house. It shades our deck, makes it bearable to sit out there mid-day, and drops seed, new leaves, and incandescent canker worms onto its slats.

It mottles & shushes & makes any number of shades of green.

It also houses heaps of birds, though so far no owls or merlins (I am trying very hard not to hold that against it.).

And suddenly, though I've had elms towering over me for most of my adult life, I've developed a deep affection for MY elm.

I recently learned that Winnipeg's elms - which make up the elm canopy that for me defines Winnipeg, at least physically - are all about a hundred years old, which is a dignified age for an elm.

We had an elm removed from our block this spring. And my elm has some bare branches, a few of which come to rest on the boulevard whenever there's a particularly stormy storm.

So here's hoping that my deep affection for the tree is at least as good of a safety measure as the tanglefoot bands that go up every year.