American composer Edward MacDowell wrote a number of sketches inspired by nature.
His "To an Old White Pine" is stronger and darker than most of his pieces for solo piano, but an old white pine would have to be strong to survive the legendary winds of November and the dark of winter year after year.
In a forest, pines are injured in many ways: other trees fall on them, Ice and storms break their branches, blowing ice crystals abrade their bark. And, insects invade.
Some of the greatest damage is done by bark beetles.
The female beetles bore holes through the bark and lay their eggs. When the beetle larvae hatch, they feed on living plant cells. When insects eat the tree cells that transport water, minerals and nutrients, needles wilt and branches may die.
Equally nasty, bark beetles carry fungus spores. Trees infected with pathogenic fungi begin decomposing even before they die.
Insects attack trees, healthy pines fight back!
When insects penetrate the bark of an evergreen, the tree "pitches out." It squirts out globs of sticky sap. The sap drowns the invaders — in fact, the hapless insects are embalmed in the pine pitch.
Now that it's the time of year when deciduous trees are leafless, we can more easily see the battles scars of old conifers.
Branches are broken, limbs misshapen and amber globs of hardened pine pitch attest to insect invasions.
Nevertheless, these old white pines truly are stately.
