As a random and unpaid garden writer, I don’t often have an
opportunity – or a desire – to quote Donald Rumsfeld. Still, in his many years
of public life, he did say one thing that has stayed with me: “…
But
there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we
don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other
free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.”
I often think of
this quote when I read letters to the editor in newspapers, or comments appended to blog posts. The latter often exemplify the situation
Rumsfeld was describing; charity dictates that we assume ignorance rather than
malice or even duplicity on the part of the writers.
Obviously, most
of us have areas of expertise, and certainly we all have areas of total
ignorance. Unfortunately, the ease of posting a comment on-line causes many
people to forget they have no knowledge of what they are writing about.
Lately, there has
emerged a trend toward stifling some of these shoot-from-the-lip posters. Colin
McEnroe recently stirred things up on his blog by banishing a commenter who posted
one too many topical limericks. I never had the chance to read these, and
cannot judge their quality, but I support McEnroe’s right to choose what gets
published on his blog.
So what, you may
ask, has this to do with gardening?
The occasion of
my meandering down this path was an article in another news blog this morning,
which described some trees posted for removal on High Street in Middletown. And while the
article did not describe these trees as I would have, the photograph told the
story: these trees are nearly as dead as the Monty Python parrot.
A little background: On at least an annual basis, Middletown’s Tree Warden assembles a list of
municipal trees to be removed; these trees are potential hazards to
people or property. Almost always, they are trees that are dead or dying.
By State statute,
this is the job of a Tree Warden. Tree Wardens receive technical training and
certification from the Tree Wardens’ Association, the Urban Forestry Division
of CT D.E.E.P. and the CT Tree Protective Association.
In Middletown, the next step
in this process is to solicit bids from arborists to remove (or, in some cases,
prune) trees on the list. But an important piece of the process is to “post”
the trees, so that residents can protest their removal.
Any Tree Warden
who has worked for more than a month at his or her job will tell you that the
protest phase is uncomfortable. Tree removal is an emotional issue, even with
trees that were planted by the City, not by homeowners.
To recall the “unknown
unknowns,” a torrent of negative comments followed this article’s publication. One
writer passionately wrote: “How heartbreaking to live in a world
that has no sensitivity to the beauty of the Creator and how valuable beauty
is.” At the end of this litany, one writer actually went to look
at the trees, and backed off from his criticism. The others, presumably
satisfied at writing a furious comment, left it at that.
To all the
outraged writers out there, let me say this: a dead or dying tree, especially
one that weighs several tons, does not belong on a city street. People can be killed by neglected hazardous trees in parks or along streets and
highways. Be glad Connecticut
puts our safety first by requiring Tree Wardens.
If you love
trees, plant some in your own yard. Lobby the City Council for a tree replacement
line item in the budget. Use single-ply toilet paper. Recycle newspapers.
Compost your leaves. Install a rain barrel or two to collect roof run-off. Do
all the obvious things to conserve energy and reduce global climate change,
because that’s the real killer of our trees.
The 15th annual Cruise Night was a busy affair on a hot first day of summer. 
Mayor Drew announced that the City, along with the Commission on the Arts will be presenting a celebration of Independence Day on Tuesday, July 3rd this year. All downtown parking will be free during the event.
The inaugural season of Middletown Youth Lacrosse came to a close Saturday, with a picnic attended by the families of about several dozen eager players. There was no better evidence of the season's success than the spontaneous and joyful hours that the players played pick-up lacrosse during the picnic. Many parents had to come on the field to retrieve children who couldn't stop playing.
Mayor Dan Drew came to the awards ceremony, greeting the parents and praising the efforts of everybody involved, especially Heather Iaderosa, who started the league from scratch. He read a proclamation announcing that Sunday, June 17th was Middletown Lacrosse Day in the City. 
The league this year had 4 age groups, a clinic for 1st and 2nd graders, Bantam (3rd and 4th grade), Junior (5th and 6th), and Seniors (7th and 8th). They played games about once a week, against teams from other cities in Central Connecticut. 
The Children’s Circus of Middletown, run by Oddfellows Playhouse as part of the Middletown Commission on the Arts’ Kids Arts program, is, once again, looking for musicians to play in its circus band. The band is open to all adult and teenage musicians willing to make the commitment to rehearsals and the performance on Friday, August 3 at 5:00 pm. Band director is well-known local musician, Dirck Westervelt.
Lately, there has
emerged a trend toward stifling some of these shoot-from-the-lip posters. Colin
McEnroe recently stirred things up on his blog by banishing a commenter who posted
one too many topical limericks. I never had the chance to read these, and
cannot judge their quality, but I support McEnroe’s right to choose what gets
published on his blog.
