I had a wonderful dream!
A village, in a pretty little valley in the mountains. There was a type of pine tree that smelled amazing, piney and fruity and like nothing else. The
trees had been cut almost to extinction in the past, as their
wood was lovely and retained it's fragrance for years. The name for it was in a language I don't know, it translated to Fragrant Pines.
The village life was arranged around the pines. Their primary goal was to replant and grow as many as they could, and to take care of the living ones. They had a strong tourist industry, and it revolved around the timing of the pine tree harvesting and planting. 6 trees a year were harvested to finance all of this, carefully chosen, and every scrap was was used well. The dates of the tree harvesting and plantings were published, and many people came to the occasions. I got to see a harvest.
The ritual that was done was, I was told "a little bit for the tourists, a lot for the trees" and it was educational, as well as each part of each tree being thanked. The tree chosen was 8-10 inches in diameter, and was one that was in a position that it's removal would make the surrounding trees grow better.
After a lot of explanation, and songs, the first cut was made using a two man saw by men on a platform so they could cut about 10 feet up. Around the tree was a carefully designed bag, made to hang exactly so it caught all the sawdust. The high part of the tree was carefully lowered down, so there wasn't damage. The sawdust from that cut would be ceremoniously burned at the bonfire that evening, at the party/feast that would be held. The bonfire was NOT the fragrant wood, it was too valuable to burn.
The bark was removed off the lower section, and I don't recall what it was used for. The next cuts down were carefully measured and would be made into bowls, the chips from the bowl making would be used for potpourri, and the sawdust from each cut down was carefully caught. The bowls were not only beautiful, but usable, and fragrant, and infused food with the flavor of the wood. The
local ice cream parlor used small ones, cut from higher up the tree, for their homemade ice creams, French Vanilla, Violet and
Apple tasted amazing when served in the bowls! I tasted all three of those flavors, there were others, but those are all I tasted.
When the main bowl cuts were done, and the stump was a low as could be cut, that sawdust was rushed to town, where it went straight into the freezer of a bakery to retain the flavor. A handful was added to each loaf of bread, which was then baked in a wood fired
oven (NOT fired by the fragrant wood, it was too rare to burn!) The flavored bread would be part of the feast that night, and it was not only for sale in town, it was shipped around the world as a very expensive delicacy.
From the top part every bit was used. The needle clumps were carefully removed and went to the people who made wreaths out of them. The small branches were carefully cut to make
spoons and wonderfully fragrant jewelry. Bigger branches made things like candlesticks, small boxes, carved
art, etc, and EVERY scrap was used. All of the sawdust from these cuts and from the woodworking would be caught and would be mixed with local beeswax to make wonderful smelling candles. The thinner bark from the high branches infused the local alcohol, and an extract for food flavoring was made from it too. All of these products were for sale in town, and shipped worldwide.
The entire occasion was respectful and fun with cheering and songs, EVERY scrap of the harvested tree was used, and people were educated about it all. The harvests were scheduled alternately with the planting parties, done equally impressively. There were baby trees for sale, but it was warned that the odds were VERY low they would grow anywhere else, as they needed the exact soil and climate, but there were some for sale, to keep people from digging up and stealing the planted baby trees. As far as they knew, none had ever survived more than a year. But people wanted to try.
I woke up from the dream on edge of tears. Now THAT is how to bring an endangered species back! It was awesome, respectful, fun, and educational. I'm SO GLAD I got to attend a harvest last night in my sleep, and I wish I could let you smell them. If you had never smelled cedar, you can't explain why it's so lovely, and I can't explain the scent of these trees either. Piney, fruity and creamy is the best I can do, and that's totally inadequate.
And OH MY! The flavor of that bread.....
:D
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