I’m not sure what I find stranger about this big old tree: The little seat it has grown that is at the perfect height and size for sitting, or the large eye above the seat that watches over the woods. I can never walk by this tree without feeling that it’s staring at me. Can it be just a coincidence that a ready-made chair juts out right below an ever-watchful eye?
I have sat here on occasion after walking for quite a while
and feeling very tired, although I usually try to avoid it if I can. Once I sit in it, I find many reasons to not
get up again. I know it’s just an
enchantment, but knowing it and being able to do something about it are two
completely different things.
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| The Ent Sentinel. |
I will say that if you sit directly under the eye and look
straight out, you can get an uncanny view of a road not far from here. Oddly enough, moving just a little bit to the
right or left seems to obscure that view considerably. It occurs to me that passersby on the road
will not have as good a view of the tree as the tree has of them. Note also that this tree sits in a small
clearing with only little trees immediately around it, and that’s a bit strange
as well.
It is obviously an Ent sentinel. This tree guards the woods behind it. Nothing goes by without this tree knowing about
it, and the smaller trees around it are little enough to just lift their roots
right out of the soil and quickly spread whatever message must be given to the
trees behind them. This is Maine, after all, last
stronghold of the Ents and Faeries. They
hide in plain sight and even offer their vision to an inquiring passerby such
as myself. The price, of course, is to
sit in the tree and have your thoughts raked over. It’s a good trade if you’re feeling up to
it. Just don’t stay too long.
