It is a new year for us. I think of it like a ring added to the girth of a tree.

Will 2026 be an abundant growth season? Or, will it be a dry, even wildfire season?

When I look out my front window I see a huge Mother Tree that dwarfs the other ones growing on the hillside around it. I often feel humbled by her majesty.

A tree’s health history is measured by the width and shape of rings forming its body within the bark. Rings with dark stains and deformities indicate fire or insect damage, while thicker, more rounded rings are the record of a season with plentiful water and nutrients.

For us, the seasons of our lives are held within ensembles of neurons we call memories. Neurons are more difficult to measure.

Trees have an outer bark that is continually renewed from the inside out. How cool is that? We are furless mammals, but a tree’s........

© Finger Lakes Times