Great grinding jaws stalk
dormant leafless stretches of
birch and pine. Hawks hunt
fleeing hare and mice, afright
under a pale yellow sun.
For months, a crew of tree service people have been working to clear the power lines on a five-mile stretch of road (and probably more, but I only see them on the stretch I regularly drive on.) They have various pieces of equipment including caterpillars that can roll right over the woody carnage they leave behind. The top photo is along the next-door neighbor’s ditch. The bottom photo is across the road, where they cut a wide swatch back to the neighbor’s house. It’s pretty extreme, but hopefully there will be fewer blackouts now.
Top photo. Taken 030421
Bottom photo. Taken 030421
Linda Lee Lyberg is today’s host for dVerse’ Open Link Night.
Tao Talk 
A few years ago they put a lot of powerlines underground and where the old powerlines were wood is coming back… I hope it will be worth the investment with less powerbreaks.
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I really wish they’d bury them here too but one of the neighbors said the way the ground shifts with the high water table so they didn’t want to risk it.
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Seems you have a most peaceful place, Lisa. Hopefully less flickering expect the magnificent stars.
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Yes, it’s usually very quiet and peaceful here. Thanks, K. Even more with less flickering you’re right 🙂
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Blackouts can indeed be disconcerting. Hopefully there will be fewer in the coming future 🙂
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Many thanks, Sanaa, yes 🙂
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Wow-I wonder how much wildlife is now displaced?
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Am guessing a lot. What you see in those pics is repeated all down the 5 miles I’ve seen 😦
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Oh my.
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Even without your background info, Lisa, the succinct verse tells a great story with exceptional clarity. Well done.
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Windmills do not cause cancer, but living too close to a power line can contribute to a higher incidence of the Big “C”–or so I have read.
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I’ve read that too, Glenn. If you can see the wires in the one photo these are single strands so not too much worry there. They laid underground lines for fracked natural gas along here in the past year or so and somehow found the heaving ground safe enough for them but not for the electric lines…
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You had me wondering at
“Great grinding jaws stalk
dormant leafless stretches”
At least the hawks are making the most of the situation.
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The machines they use have cutting, chomping, grinding, and probably other mechanical means of chewing up the winter trees, shrubs, and whatever else is in the way to clear the area around the lines. Lots of noises to go with all of that activity as well.
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Yep that’s brutal alright – lovely write though and your photos: I could just step into and feel the cold, clear day.
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Thanks, Peter.
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We had a big loud transistor blow out in our area recently. No fun
Good that the repair team came in to man the situation
Happy Thursday
Much💜love
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Oh I imagine that made a tremendous boom. Did it take your power out?
Gillena, I can’t imagine how much these guys are costing the township. They park all of their equipment about a mile down the road at the park at night, but they are on the road working every M-F until 5pm. We were having power outages pretty regularly and very glad they did something about it.
Happy Thursday (almost Friday now) to you, my dear. ❤
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Progress of man, devastation of animal habitat.
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Yes. As if it wasn’t bad enough to have to scrounge for food and stay warm in winter they’ve become homeless 😦
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Yes, exactly! Very selfish of us humans.
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We had steep hills like that…with a pathway cut…we would sled down those things at breakneck speeds. We are lucky to still be here.
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🙂 I bet!
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I can imagine the noises and disruption to nature it has caused. Even with your short poems here, your writing is always brimming with vivid imagery!💖
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Yes it has. I appreciate your kind words, Tricia, thanks!
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Vivid is exactly the right word, as Tricia wrote. Lisa, it’s amazing how much you relay in so few words. I was gripped by even the very first 3 words –
-David
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Thanks, David. I watched them with their equipment stalk the woods, going where they wanted, the long necks of the machines reaching for the branches and limbs and chomping them down. First time seeing how those machines do what they do.
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A powerful evocation of humankind and nature struggling to live in balance. I think the balance has already been tipped too far but let’s hope we can redress it in the small amount of time we have left.
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Such a vivid portrayal, even without the explanation. I could see the hawks and small animals fleeing. I feel bad for the displaced wildlife (and the trees). Hopefully, this will help with the power.
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Thank you, Merril, I do also!
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awesome visuals!
When man and nature overlap danger lurks. Our bush is meant to be burnt regularly but with homes built in these zones it’s not pretty …
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The price we pay for our modern world is a heavy one. (K)
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These are the workers who provide their help without asking and they are nameless. Yes, Jade hopefully less blackouts forthwith!. Thanks for hosting!
Hank
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Thanks much for your comment and my pleasure, Hank!
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Oh, you poem brings back memories of the gas line they cleared behind my house a couple of years ago. The did restore it with grass and wild flowers. It ended much better than I anticipated. Hopefully your results will be good as well!
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I remember you writing about that, Dwight. This crew just clears the lines, so no restoration. That said, the land around here is so fertile that it won’t take long for it to fill in.
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It is amazing how fast nature comes back!
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Loved the opening line of your poem, great attention grabber! It must be that time of year for the “great grinding jaws”. They just cleared the lines in our alley, and took off a whole side of one elm and with it some of my privacy, but no animal habit destroyed.
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Thank you, Heather. They do seem to like to disfigure trees that are unlucky enough to grow near the lines. Glad your critters still have their homes.
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You’re welcome!
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This had an ominous feel to me, probably because of how evocative the top photo is of the border between east and west Germany that I visited in 1992, just after reunification. We went to a large supposedly natural area, except for the cut like a razor where there were still signs that said “caution, mined” and the ruins of guard towers. Reading your poem in that context still absolutely works, but gives it a very different meaning.
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It is a different context but there is a starkness to it where I can see it evoking an ominous atmosphere. (At least the sun was shining!) Taking it even further, nobody gives permission for these crews to do what they do, but the end result is reliable electricity so nobody complains about it. Am guessing some of those old guard towers are still standing.
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