Power beyond belief

December 5th, 2022

When I think I might understand something, when I think I might have an idea or a gist of something — then I am usually faced with the fact that I don't. I thought I understand the power of nature — I have been in heavy storms, gale winds, blizzards, hail, temperatures ranging from minus 30 Celsius to plus 40 Celsius, and even hurricanes while living on the east coast of the United States. I have never experienced tornados or floods or earthquakes, and I hope my ignorance of those phenomena continues.

But, I could tell myself that I understand and have full respect for the power that nature can unleash on us at any moment. And then on a walk in my local forest, I saw that tree in the photo above. There is nothing unusual about fallen trees there, that forest is treated as an unofficial nature preserve and fallen trees are only removed from there if they can endanger the passers-by. If not, they are left to rot, even if fallen across the path which requires of careful walk-over the trunks. And that is how it is supposed to be — when a dead tree still provides nutrients and shelter to insects and birds and by extension to other animals.

But this fallen tree was different. Fallen trees take with them a good chunk of the ground where they were rooted. Torn and broken roots stick from the bottom in an amazing maze of nature’s engineering. This tree looks like it was just twisted off the ground and twisted from the roots that are still in the earth. I have no idea what could have caused it. There are no localized tornados in this part of the world. And even if there was a once-in-a-lifetime natural event like that — I would know somehow. And yet — that tree is proof that something with magnificent and scary power just twisted it off the ground where it was growing for years.

As I was walking nearby, I found another tree, broken and twisted off the ground, with its roots still firmly in the soil. Something unexpected and dangerous happened there in the last few weeks. I go on walks in this forest weekly, and I am sure I would noticed those trees, broken in such a way, before. So in the last few weeks, some event of inexplicable power had happened there. Damage was limited to just a few trees, but the power required to accomplish that damage is unmistakable — and firmly puts me back as an insignificant and scared admirer of this power.