The Tree Affect

About The Tree Affect

There is a stillness peculiar to the cedar swamps north of town after a snow — Atlantic white cedar holding the weight in its arms, Beaver Swamp gone soundless, the whole county dropped a few decibels. The Tree Affect works the loud part of that morning: plowing driveways and lots, shoveling walks and steps, salting the places where meltwater will turn to glass by evening. A storm on this peninsula often arrives warm and wet and then hardens overnight, which is why the second pass matters as much as the first. The drive gets opened before the first car needs it, and the steps come clear down to the tread. Then the trucks pull out, and the quiet closes back over the trees.