There are places on earth where living does not come easy. Places with harsh environments that most people would not do well in: parts of North Dakota, Nevada, Maine, Arizona, Oregon, or Louisiana. The Great Plains with its blizzards, droughts, tornadoes, and constant breath-stealing wind can drive people to the edge, too. All you can do is stand and take it, because it’s not gonna give in.

HARDY TREES

Shade don’t come easy on the high plains. It takes a pretty hardy tree to survive.

It is no place for the oak, the maple, or the stately sycamore. Though these trees are imposing and grand, they are cripplingly dependent. They are like corporate purchasing agents. Powerful and catered to only as long as their lifeline remains intact. In the case of these trees, they require a constant supply of water in vast quantities.

As long as it rains, they stand tall and live long, resistant to the puny encroachments of bugs, woodpeckers, and real estate developers. They have the strength of iron.

But survival in a land where rain is dear requires a different kind of strength. The ability to bend without breaking, stretch without snapping. To shrivel and wither, then spring back pliable and sinewy when exposed to water. Their strength is that of rawhide.

I saw a photograph in a magazine of an old gas station. The photographer was trying to capture a nostalgic feeling. The horizon behind the station was flat, and the ground was dusty. The only thing green was the elm tree.

It could have been in Perryton, Texas, Philip, South Dakota, Grover, Colorado, or a million other places where trees are not taken for granted.

Elm trees probably came with the settlers. They took root and made many a squatter’s nest a home. They lined the streets in towns that were to be. They staked a claim for civilization.

Nowadays, lots of folks consider the elm tree a pest, a “trash tree.” They are exterminated from well-kept lawns where the flowering ash and weeping willow are given a manicured stage. And for good reason. Elm trees send out suckers. They have lots of deadfall. They shed, pollinate, and break. They are susceptible to beetles, fungus, and horses. Some might say they are ugly and have outlived their usefulness.

But, ya know, it’s hard to kill an elm tree. I’ve even taken to planting them around my place. I kinda admire something that can take everything God and man can throw at ’em and still keep comin’.

Shade don’t come easy on the high plains. It takes a pretty hardy people to survive.