To kill a tree
Written by John MacphersonWhere I live there are superstitions. Many of them. We move amongst them every day. Some are more visible than others.
Clootie (cloth) Wells for example. Sacred wells which it is believed may cure illness.
There is such a well behind my house, in the forest. Another across the cold water of the Firth on the Black Isle in front of my house, in a woodland. Both are easy to miss, but if you know where they are you may visit and pay your respects.
To do this you must dip a rag in the water of the well, wash the affected part and then hang the rag in a nearby tree. As the rag disintegrates so too does your illness.
These are old beliefs rooted in the worship of nature.
But who decides the size of your ‘rag’?
Maybe a larger rag is more auspicious?
Some people leave socks.
Others remove their t-shirts.
Whilst others leave coveralls, shoes, bangles, ribbons, hairclips, messages on paper, baseball caps, jackets, underpants, bits of curtain, bandages, even a forlorn once-beautiful princess, one leg missing and with her sparkle now fading.
Someone left a plaster cast from a damaged leg.
And always they leave a part of themselves.
It is hope.
Fading beauty © John MacPherson
But what they do has a consequence.
The sheer volume of votive offerings, draped, fastened, festooned, tied, knotted, wrought, wound and thrown, drags down upon the trees. Pulls and tugs, with every rain shower growing heavier. Catches the wind. Blocks the light, denies the leaf its birthright.
And kills the tree.
Death of a tree © John MacPherson
We worship the possibility that nature might save us. Might cure us. Might heal us.
But will we ever be thoughtful enough to do the same for nature?
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.
Discussion (2 Comments)
Hi John,
I love this work. Love too the film that you showed at The Hinterlands. Would you post it?
B
Thanks Ben – yes will do.