A dead tree starting a new life
Map
Map
Story & Experience

When we moved to our new home in Grand Junction last November there was a very large tree in our backyard that had all of its major limbs cut off. It was naked and dying. The story we were told is that a cougar would kill a deer or other animal and drag it up to the top of the tree to eat it. It also attacked the pet dog of the the previous owner. So, the owner cut the tree to bare bones so the cougar would no longer make the tree its dining room. The poor dead tree was indeed an eyesore and once it got warm enough this spring we had it completely cut down. The pile of wood chips in the photo is all that is left and made a Rad Joy bird there. We will use the wood chips as compost for other areas of our yard and they will encourage new growth of other trees and plants. While it was indeed sad that the tree had to be cut down and that the cougar no longer had a safe place to eat I’m happy that we will be able to repurpose the tree for new growth. We also planted a new tree in another location in the yard to honor the one that died.
When we moved to our new home in Grand Junction last November there was a very large tree in our backyard that had all of its major limbs cut off. It was naked and dying. The story we were told is that a cougar would kill a deer or other animal and drag it up to the top of the tree to eat it. It also attacked the pet dog of the the previous owner. So, the owner cut the tree to bare bones so the cougar would no longer make the tree its dining room. The poor dead tree was indeed an eyesore and once it got warm enough this spring we had it completely cut down. The pile of wood chips in the photo is all that is left and made a Rad Joy bird there. We will use the wood chips as compost for other areas of our yard and they will encourage new growth of other trees and plants. While it was indeed sad that the tree had to be cut down and that the cougar no longer had a safe place to eat I’m happy that we will be able to repurpose the tree for new growth. We also planted a new tree in another location in the yard to honor the one that died.
Why this Place?
My backyard in Grand Junction, Colorado
When we moved to our new home in Grand Junction last November there was a very large tree in our backyard that had all of its major limbs cut off. It was naked and dying. The story we were told is that a cougar would kill a deer or other animal and drag it up to the top of the tree to eat it. It also attacked the pet dog of the the previous owner. So, the owner cut the tree to bare bones so the cougar would no longer make the tree its dining room. The poor dead tree was indeed an eyesore and once it got warm enough this spring we had it completely cut down. The pile of wood chips in the photo is all that is left and made a Rad Joy bird there. We will use the wood chips as compost for other areas of our yard and they will encourage new growth of other trees and plants. While it was indeed sad that the tree had to be cut down and that the cougar no longer had a safe place to eat I’m happy that we will be able to repurpose the tree for new growth. We also planted a new tree in another location in the yard to honor the one that died.
Act of Beauty
I made the Rad Joy bird out of pieces of the dead bark from the tree and some dead roses.
[isc_list]
RECENT STORIES
Nature has the right (of) way at Riverside Salem
After brief introductions and orientation to the Radical Joy philosophy and practice, a dozen and a half curious humans scattered across the Riverside Salem landscape to explore what this ecosystem along the Niagara River would[...]
Honoring the Ash Trees
Our group in Ithaca, New York ended up doing our 2026 Global Earth Exchange two months late, because of our various scheduling conflicts. We chose this year to honor the ash trees. Ash trees across[...]
Close to Home & Heart…and Yet…
In the Heart of Wisdom Zen Temple Garden Even here, like so many places on Earth, there are wounds. Some have been ‘made’ sacred, some have not. In truth, it is all sacred if we[...]


