Favourite tree
I mentioned in one of my blogs, that the blue heron is my favourite bird.
My favourite tree is the cabbage tree or Ti Kauka. I have been lucky enough to have both of these favourites in and around so many of the places I have lived.
A small patch of native trees is currently growing next to one of our outdoor decks and amongst them, two of my beloved cabbage trees, so I constantly view them when looking outside or enjoying the afternoon sun. The trees have also featured in some of the sunset photos as they face the westerly aspect of the house. I will try and find one of these to accompany this blog.
My love of these sinewy natives, stretches back to childhood. As youngsters, growing up on a steep, hill-country farm, my brothers and I would cut off the stalks of these cabbage trees and slide down the hills; sitting on the slippery leaves and using their stalks to guide our passage down the slopes. The effect was like a bullet-fast toboggan, particularly on dewy mornings when there was plenty of moisture about. We had so much fun, as we did in those days, improvising our play things from the materials around us – Bows were made of supplejack vines while arrows would be fashioned from fern sticks, swimming holes would be shared with slimy eels and swings would consist of ropes dangling from tall trees, or if in the bush, supplejack vines.
In Barry Brailsford’s book, Wisdom of the Four Winds, Ti Kauka denotes gentleness. Following is an extract from that book: Ti Kauka teaches us truth is paradox. The stronger the wind blows, the less Ti Kauka’s leaves resist its power. Becoming at one with the tempest, accepting its overwhelming energy, they ride its excitement. Ti Kauka gives way, but does not yield. It is open, unresisting and yet free. This is the path of gentleness, the way founded on courage and strength to let go. It is time to walk beyond the need to control….Find yourself again. Find purpose, and in purpose discover the dream once more. Ti Kauka calls all to completion.
I have pulled the Ti Kauka card from Brailford’s pack many times over the years and I love the wisdom it imparts. Learning to ride the storm and not fight the energies during these turbulent times in life has been an invaluable lesson. In another extract, Brailsford sums it up well: When the storm winds beat upon the forest and the great trees fall, Ti Kauka continues to stand tall. Finding strength in the long slender trunk, it defies the tempest. And all the while its leaves accept and deflect the thrust of the gale.
On the way back from the beach this morning, I observed two recent developments on either side of the road. On the right, years-old clumps of pampas had been bulldozed aside, clearing the wilderness. Left standing, were three or four cabbage trees, exposed and shining in their glory, now that the pampas had been removed from around them.
Across the road, long grass has been cleared and two small cabins placed together with a connecting central decking area. To the right of the entrance way, four cabbage trees have been planted. I think how lucky I am, to have these trees on my journey to and from the beach. Being surrounded by things we love is uplifting, and seeing these two separate clumps of my favourite tree, my own cabbage trees growing outside and the blue heron flying overhead, just reinforces for me that I am where I am meant to be at this stage of my life.