I love my little piece of paradise; it’s nestled in the tall trees, across the road from the river, at the base of Mount Si.

For a few years there was a deer with two fawns that would wander through and eat the fallen apples, after they were gone she’d try to reach for the ones on the low branches. One day Chris went outside and moved slowly towards the tree. Amazingly enough, the deer must have known what he had planned, because even though she moved away, she didn’t go far. Chris shook the tree lightly and a few apples fell. She moved back in with her fawns and ate them as Chris watched nearby. He moved closer, and she stayed closer, as he shook the tree again. This scene repeated itself many days over the next few weeks. Deer eating what had fallen to the ground, and patiently waiting as Chris increased the supply.

Just a little side story here too. The elk eat my garden as well. They love daffodils, roses, bamboo, bulbs of any kind which they pull up by the roots and tomatoes. I resorted to having a patio of flowers and potted tomatoes but that did not deter Mr. Elk who we once caught on camera with his head and huge rack learning over onto the patio to get the newly ripened cherry tomatoes. Sigh… but the way I see it they were here first and they give me much more pleasure than they take.

So that’s how it would go, year after year, the little apple tree providing food for my forest friends and they providing enjoyment for me. It remained my little bit of paradise.

Then a few years ago, I noticed another forest creature was enjoying the fruit from the crabapple tree. Not that I saw it but because it left a nice little surprise outside my door. I used my “super tracker” instincts which told me it had been eating apples. It was Bear!

Mr (or Ms) Bear was not as sweet to have around. Yes the elk ate the roses, but Bear turned over the trash and Bear came onto the patio and dumped an entire kettle of peanut oil. Bear once dragged an entire bag of fertilizer onto the edge of the lawn and ripped it open; must have thought there would be a nice treat inside but was disappointed I am sure. One great benefit from that is that the weeds and blackberries grow beautifully there now. All the same, my mind was set to be more cautious of Bear and when he might be around.

So time goes on and last year the deer arrived on schedule as the apples began to fall. After a warm sunny summer, the tree was full of apples. Everything was as usual in my little corner of paradise, until one afternoon I returned home and found small broken limbs and leaves covering the ground under the apple tree. My first thought was that the elk were here trying to reach the lower branches but really didn’t think much beyond that. The next evening I returned home and my little apple tree was leaning over on the ground, uprooted, main branches snapped and the tree nearly destroyed! What on earth? I went to my security cameras and there it was — Bear!!

He had climbed my little apple tree to greedily get every apple he could. He ventured out onto the little branches near the top; they broke easily under his weight of probably 400 pounds or more. Then as he continued to climb, he uprooted my little tree and it fell over. After which, Bear, ate all the apples off the tree.

Sad, but after all he is a wild bear; he and his ancestors were here before me and my apple tree as well. Saddest part of all was that even though we propped the little apple tree back up and sealed the open wound from the broken branch (actually half the tree as it was broken at the “Y” in the trunk), my little apple tree did not produce fruit this year. Therefore, none of the wildlife benefited from its free fruit. All because Bear was greedy (or very hungry) and wanted more and more…he wanted it all. I know Bear did not have the conscious to know his greed; he was after all just a bear but his actions destroyed the food supply just the same.

Now I come to the real reason I am writing this story. This morning as I left for work, I looked over at my poor little apple tree and wondered how many years it would take for it to recover and produce its tart little crabapples again. I thought about Bear and his actions and wondered if there was an analogy here, a lesson to be learned. Whether it be the fish taken from the ocean, the fossil fuels, the trees downed in the rain forest or the way money is used and wasted in running the country. Does there come a time when it is discovered that we have destroyed the very thing that provides our needs because of our desire to want more, take more, and use more? Is it time to rethink the giving and taking? Should there be more thought about not taking more than we need just because it there and recognizing that at some point there will be nothing left to give? There is a provision to use and share, however, there should be an awareness and knowledge that unless there is planning and conserving, next year the cycle may not repeat and continued benefit for all, will be lost.