"Days pass.
Slugs slither.
Moss creeps.
Conks clasp.
Lichen tickles.
Jelly fungus sticks.
Nurse log welcomes them all."
We know the beauty and majesty of trees. They provide shade on a sunny day, a home for birds and animals, fruit to satiate hunger, and a perfect place for climbing and swinging. After living a long and productive life, trees die and fall to the ground.
"The tree grows old.
Sap slows.
Roots let go.
Green turns brown.
The tree falls
down,
down -
creeeeeeak!
Crasssshhhh!
Thud!"
That tree has a new life now ... as a Nurse Log.
Now she provides shelter, sustenance, and a new place for growth. Chipmunks hide in a hole in the log, bobcats use the bark for sharpening claws, mushrooms and ferns take root, and bugs scurry to find a new place to live. All are welcome. They find rest there and needed shelter. She holds water when the land is parched, and feeds a seed that will one day become another tree. That new tree follows in its mother's path. She is a resting place for a child while he enjoys a quiet lunch. She is mother to all. Seasons pass, visitors can see the new growth she supports ... and then she crumbles and returns to the earth that once sustained her.
The Pacific Northwest setting is beautifully captured by artist Elke Boschinger. Digital images offer the lush greens of the forest growth and provide a wondrous backdrop for the story told. The emerging life she is able to capture following the tree's fall is full of extraordinary detail. Ms. Pendreigh's poetic language assures that readers know the towering Douglas Fir in life, and after the fall.
The author provides back matter on nurse logs and how they nurture new life, how they help new trees grow, how they keep the whole forest healthy, are all nurse logs fallen trees, and an explanation concerning the trees in this story. Fascinating and helpful for new learning.
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