Ode to the Elm

The elms are old, some have been here for more than a hundred years. Many are huge, trunks too thick for you and your friend’s arms to encircle, when you join hands. Winnipeg has the largest urban elm forest in North America. And the elms are disappearing.

 

Elms are beautiful. Each summer, as I walk or ride my bicycle through the streets along the Red and Assiniboine Rivers in the often sweltering heat, I so appreciate these shade trees.

 

The elms are disappearing. They are being removed at an alarming rate in an attempt to save others not yet ravaged by Dutch elm disease, to which they are especially susceptible during summer droughts and after spring caterpillar infestations. 

 

Elms are beautiful, even before their leaves have all unfurled in the spring. The crows know it.

 

The elms are disappearing.

 

Elms are beautiful, even if we see only what is left after they have been cut down.