The Talking Trees (with photobomber)

Just started reading an interesting book, The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben.
The subtitle is: What they Feel, How They Communicate.
The author is a forester in German forests, especially in Bavaria.  For years he had been a typical forest manager who "harvested" trees and kept the forests clear. Then he discovered how the trees grow in communities, how they migrate, their sense of time and so forth.

On the northern tip of my property, right on the edge of the street, this blip shows the willow glade I started two years ago. And a single, not totally happy, Balsam fir tree I planted nearly 10 years ago.
I love this wee forest. The way the light and wind play in the leaves and bending branches.
There are three types of willows or hybrid willows here. I planted them to control the flooding water that flows down from the hills above, down the street,  and right into my property. They love the water and are thriving.
I think it may be one reason the Balsam fir is not flourishing-- too much water on its roots.
There is another Balsam I planted at the same time in another less soggy spot that is easily 6 to 8 feet taller. Sorry I cannot move the misplaced fir. Perhaps it will come to feel at home with the community of willows. They are certainly thriving.
So far the result of this experiment is positive with somewhat drier soil behind it. I believe this grove of willows communicates under the soil as Peter Wohlleben describes. I will enjoy watching this over time.

Gracie agreed to be a size comparison model for this blip. Or she would have had I asked. She was just rushing over to get a ride on the scooter I use to get around in the garden.
We went out early to find out where 'our' caterpillar has gone or if it has become a chrysalis yet. But it is hidden now until spring. Following Debi's advice (isn't blipping wonderful?) I will stop cutting down all the Queen Anne's Lace and most other plants until April clean up. Just in case there are other butterflies needing a safe place to rest.
It will make the garden look even wilder and neglected but it is a wildlife garden first. The other neighbour's properties look trim and well-mowed, the image of 'suburban life'. That is a joke because we live on the boundary of Oxford Village not the suburbs of a city, more on the edge of farmland and forest.