Aspens are the largest living organism on earth, propagating through its roots to form large colonial groves from a common root system., These roots are not rhizomes, as new growth develops from adventitious buds on the parent root system, making clones. Their tree family is connected literally and genetically. This speaks to the eternal, the everlasting.
I was hiking in the Eastern Sierras in September and witnessed the emergence of golden ribbons cascading down thousands of feet of the mountain’s side. The aspens were turning from light green that blended into the forest and ground cover to gold as I watched. Like stars emerging in the night sky, small patches of amber appeared suddenly. In the space of a week, the hillsides were adorned by wide swaths of shimmering gold, twinkling and rustling in the fall breeze, quaking.
Psalm 93 expresses my awe and wonder at the wisdom of Aspens, if only we would listen:
Speaking from the center of the universe,
In the silence beyond all thought
Is the voice silently speaking
In the depths of the listening heart.
