According to an old Chinese proverb “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.” I was reminded of this today when planting an oak sapling in Bransdale. It will take 20 to 30 years until it produces its first acorns and might even still be around in the next millennium. A mighty oak indeed. Just one of the 1.2 trillion trees our planet needs to combat climate change.
But of course, young saplings are delicious to ravenous cows and sheep so need protection during those first few decades. Lunchtime and our meticulously designed tree guard is substantially complete. Tools downed with just a few more uprights to nail on.
The proverb, of course, means that if you want success and growth in the future, the best time to act is now. But it could also be taken to mean that if you did once plant an acorn that has now matured into a mighty oak, that was indeed the best time. To take an axe to it now and replace it with another acorn is perhaps not the wisest move.
And another entirely unconnected thought, it was on this day in 1931 the Member of Parliament for Smethwick left the Labour Party to form a “New Party” dedicated to turning parliament “from a talk-shop into a workshop”. This party later evolved into the British Union of Fascists. The MP was the 6th Baronet of Ancoats, Sir Oswald Mosley, and had started his politic life as a Conservative. A Möbius strip difference between the far left and the far right.
Leave a Reply to Fhithich Cancel reply