The Naked Trunk

Today I spent some hours climbing up into trees and cutting away the ivy that had enveloped their trunks. I got as high as I could with each, and sometimes large sections of the vines would peel off in single pieces. This one gave off a 7-foot long cylinder of vine, sloughed like the skin of a snake or one's sock after a hike through miles of mud.

Every time I do this I'm re-amazed at the amount of habitat the ivy provides for snails, slugs, and various small bugs. The chickens always appreciate the fresh spread of edible plants and creatures exposed by this work.

I love to cut back vegetation, perhaps because it makes a place look far neater in a short time, or it may be for some illusion of control it gives --control over a small part of the world around me.

I didn't know until now that "Ivies are of major ecological importance for their nectar and fruit production, both produced at times of the year when few other nectar or fruit sources are available. The "Ivy Bee" (Colletes hederae) is completely dependent on ivy flowers, timing its entire life cycle around ivy flowering."

Now that is cool.