It is hard to imagine that while living in the city, I would use the word de-forestation and mean it. I have to take it seriously and use it personally. When we purchased our house, the street was quiet and tree-lined. It is still pretty quiet, but now from the corner to my house, there are no trees. In the last few months, we have lost nine trees. Some were lost because of the bug called the emerald elm borer, some were the wrong kind of tree for the rigors of Chicago winters, some were taken down because of new owners with Mr. T complexes.
I would be awaken every morning by the calls of sparrows, robins and cardinals. Some mornings it was barking squirrels. Now, without the trees, the wild life has gone elsewhere. We don’t even have the company of squirrels anymore.
The quiet is stunning. It’s eirre. I miss my feathered alarm clocks, they were very entertaining and life assuring.
