The Denizens of the Northwest Woods

Now that you have met the Ancestor Tree, perhaps you are interested in being introduced to some of the other denizens of the Northwest Woods. [Although as it turns out, denizens, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (of which one anagrammatic possibility is A Stirring Holy Ox Confided) is not exactly the correct term since it refers to residents who are not natives, and the trees in the Northwest Woods are most certainly natives since it is an old-growth forest. Nonetheless, we are partial to the term (denizens sounds particularly apropos of the woods, although it does appear to limit us to forest mammals), and we are disinclined to let our flaming misappropriation of it dissuade us from nonetheless employing it. You will note, by the way, that this kind of Willful Misrepresentation is seldom encountered in the natural world, although it is difficult to say which is worse: not knowing we misused a term, or knowing and misusing it anyhow. It might be argued that it’s a case of being forced to choose between obtuseness or obstinance, and we are, in any case, choosing the latter.]

But to continue.

We have heard it inquired how it is that trees, traditionally regarded as tight-lipped, if lipped at all (although with some exceptions, see below) can be said to speak.



Well, it is our opinion the issue is not so much do trees talk, but do we listen? We are, in modern times, virtually bombarded with words and noises, and we daresay many of us have quite forgotten the virtues of silence. It is precisely in the practice of that latter virtue (for it surely deserves to be one) that we each might hear so much more than we hear.

One final point must be made as to the issue of gender (which we recognize you have not raised, but we are anticipating your objection). We have been asked how in our tree conversations we can tell the difference between a him and a her, and, quite frankly, we cannot. This, in many respects, appears to be a superior arrangement to the human, who must oblige (and/or resist) any number of mandates by virtue of a factor that quite rightly perceived would be only a minor detail on the order of where you part your hair (if in possession of same).

For that reason, we highly encourage each of you to modify the reported genders in any way you deem relevant to your own experience. We can promise the trees won’t mind in the least.