A long-standing Saanichton icon is no more. After decades of being firmly rooted near Mount Newton, alone in a crop field, a Garry Oak fell on Dec. 20.
Longview Farms in Saanichton issued what reads as a eulogy to the tree named Thunderheart:
B次元官网网址淵ou have greeted residents and visitors of our community for decades as they come up Mt. Newton Cross Roads. You have kept our daffodils and hay crops company for many many years. Thank you for the beautiful morning sunrises, misty afternoons and moonlit nights. Your size and unique beauty through the seasons will be missed.B次元官网网址�
Ryan Vantreight, general manager at Longview Farms, is the man behind the message. His family has been farming the Saanich Peninsula for generations, so he, like many others in the area, grew up with the tree. He said he was heartbroken when he got the call from a neighbour that the tree was down.
B次元官网网址淚 was surprised to see how the weight of it compacted. As it fell, it broke up. I was half expecting to see a tree there lying in the field, but itB次元官网网址檚 just a pile of broken branches,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ou crest the bushes there coming up Mount Newton and you look into the field and nothingB次元官网网址檚 there. ItB次元官网网址檚 a very strange feeling to look and not see that tree there.B次元官网网址�
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His post on Facebook has been shared more than 130 times, gaining hundreds of likes. Many shared their disappointment and photos of the tree standing throughout the years in snow, fog and a field of daffodils. In the end, one rain storm B次元官网网址� with the help of winds up to 100 kilometres an hour B次元官网网址� took the Garry Oak down.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been an overwhelming response from the community, how many people that tree was able to impact. ItB次元官网网址檚 one of those things we never expected,B次元官网网址� Vantreight said. B次元官网网址淪ome people say itB次元官网网址檚 just a tree, but you donB次元官网网址檛 know the impact of something until it is gone. When you drive past going in or out of Saanichton, that tree was always there B次元官网网址� something that would always catch your eye because it was so unique.
B次元官网网址淓ven though itB次元官网网址檚 not our tree, I think all of us in Saanichton feel like it was one of our own that we lost.B次元官网网址�
It was the previous owners of the land who named the tree Thunderheart. Longview Farms doesnB次元官网网址檛 know just how old the Garry Oak was, but Vantreight said it predates the memory of anyone he knows. HeB次元官网网址檚 not sure if the owners will do a ring count to confirm its age.
As some asked if they could take a piece of the tree for a keepsake or to give it new life as handcrafted furniture, Longview Farms is also waiting for the answer. They only lease the land for their crops, and do not own the tree or know what McDonalds Farms, the current owner, plans to do with the remnants.
B次元官网网址淧lease donB次元官网网址檛 try to grab a piece of history, because in doing so, youB次元官网网址檒l be trampling over a crop,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎 lot of people want to be engaged and involved in it. WeB次元官网网址檙e just asking them to be patient at this time.B次元官网网址�
This morning, Vantreight is adding B次元官网网址淒o not trespassB次元官网网址� signs to the field. After all, itB次元官网网址檚 still home to the daffodils that weathered the storm.
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keili.bartlett@blackpress.ca
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