What the Ponderosa Said by Rachel Lake
I was at Sand Hollow State Park, it was a sunny, beautiful day. There was no wind, no clouds, and it was so quiet you could hear a beetle walk across sand. It was just me, my breath, and red sand. A ponderosa pine had a breath of its own. The moment I heard it creak, I recognized it was speaking.
At that time in my life, I had just dropped out of college and moved back to Utah. I was young and overwhelmed by anxiety about my future and the planet’s. I questioned whether I was on the right path.
The ponderosa did not speak in words, but it encouraged me. It reminded me to root deeper in the place that raised me — Utah. The following semester, I began studying plant biology and moved back home. I graduated from the University of Utah. You could say a tree changed my life.
