Survivors

 

Immune to the steady roar of traffic from the nearby highway, they stand in solitude, overlooking the cold, barren winter fields.

Together they have fought the ravages of time, Dutch elm disease, ice storms, and development. And in the spring they will return to life as they have, without fail, every year for a century or more.

New green growth will cover the bare bones of the elm, and the now empty barn will once again echo with the sounds of an active farm.

They are survivors and we should stop more often to honour them and listen to their stories.