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Arbor Harbor
Arbor Lay: If you were to divide the burial ground into four
roughly equal quadrants, tree-wise the top left sector would
certainly win the award for diversity with one of each - honey
locust, horse chestnut, dogwood, linden and oak.
Of those five,
the two unquestionable stars are the honey locust, due to its
unique growth around the Adino Bulfinch headstone that I wrote
about a couple of pages back in The Sod Couple and the dogwood
that, come springtime, after ten months of posing as a small,
unassuming specimen, bursts overnight into a brilliant halo of
bright white leaves that would make albino-haired musician Johnny
Winter feel right at home.
BTW – note the size of the linden
trees in the 1931 photo on the next page. Apparently the one
closest to John Hancock didn’t make it.
Of the remaining
three quadrants (or would that be “tree quadrants”) both the
top-right and bottom-right are a sea of linden, with a single oak
in each to break up the majority-species’ monopoly. The
bottom-left quadrant again is linden-dominated but if this group
of trees were a band, come springtime, the lead singers would be
the pair of New England magnolia trees by the wrought iron fence.
For around three weeks this duo becomes unquestionably the belle
of the sidewalk ball as the resulting sea of intense white/pink
petals not only overtakes the visual landscape but actually bows
down the branches, thus becoming an irresistible target of adults
and shoulder-riding youngsters alike.
Arbor Slay: For
years a half-dead honey locust clung to life just to the right of
the Franklin Family monument but was mercifully taken out of it’s
misery in 2011. A year later the burial ground’s solitary ash tree
was removed due to disease and a dangerous leaning disposition,
the mentioning of which allows me to tangentially segue to…
The Cane Mutiny:
Whenever I pass the stump of that ash tree (back right corner) I
can’t help but think of the classic story of when President Calvin
Coolidge, prior to the start of an official event, was to be
presented with a wooden ceremonial cane.
After several minutes of
the opening speaker making numerous metaphorical comparisons of
the President and the strength, durability and unbending nature of
the hickory tree that the cane had been born from, Coolidge stood
up and received the memento and was asked to make any comments as
he pleased.
Long known as “Silent Cal” for his short-but-sweet
style, Coolidge gave the cane a good look over from a variety of
angles, tapped it once, took a quick sniff, and with a puckish
smile, proclaimed: “Ash.” He then politely nodded and sat back
down.
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