PINE TREES AND THEIR CONES

I'm just flat out in awe this morning!  

A recent conversation reported that the pine trees have large clusters of pine cones at their tops, which is a sign of a harsh winter coming.  I'd never heard that before.

It popped into my head while I was doing my reading this morning, so I typed it into my browser and waited to select some articles that might give me the truth.

After referencing several articles, I found common agreement that the abundance of pine cones does not forecast a harsh winter.  I was actually disappointed.  I sort of hoped that it was true.

I did discover, however, that it takes a pine tree three years to mature a pine cone.  That surprised me!  

Then, I read the following:  [https://libanswers.nybg.org/faq/223484]

"Pine trees don’t produce the same amount of cones each year,... to throw off the insects that eat the cones. Trees do this as a way of avoiding these predators, because if they produce the cones on erratic, unpredictable cycles the insects can’t adjust to them.” 

I was flabbergasted!  I doubted the veracity of what I had read - until I found it verified in three subsequent articles.  

Now I realize that the horticulturists out there [and others who are well-trained in science] will likely have precise answers for this conundrum, but I found myself wondering: "Who gave these pine trees the ability to reason this out?"

For me [sorry horticulturalists], God is the One who gave them this ability!  Somehow the pine tree becomes aware that certain bugs are feeding on its fruit.  Rather than allow that to happen, which could ultimately threaten the life of the tree and future of the forest, the tree alters its production of pine cones from year to year which forces the bugs to find other trees to feed on.  Wow!  

I have loved the stories of  C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.  We shouldn't be surprised that they were each part of a literary discussion group that met on the campus of Oxford University from the 1930's through the 1940's.  Several articles report that they enjoyed a rich friendship and subtle rivalry!  Both portrayed trees as capable of talking and entering into collaborations with humans.  

In the years that I was able to backpack and hike, I thoroughly enjoyed attaining vistas that allowed me to see endless ranges of trees!  I stood for long times and marveled at the overwhelming number of trees!  Their beauty - whether green or in color or bare in winter - left me awestruck! 

...the most recent study, published in the Nature journal in 2015, used updated estimation techniques to conclude that there are approximately 3.04 trillion trees on Earth. This means that there are almost 422 trees for every living person on the planet.

 Let's review what we know from our high school study of science:

The unique chemical process that trees and plants use to turn light energy from the sun into oxygen is known as photosynthesis. "Photosynthesis" is a Greek word meaning "light" and "putting together." During this process, trees harness the sun's energy, using it to put carbon dioxide gas together with water to produce oxygen.  [https://sciencing.com/trees-turn-carbon-dioxide-oxygen-10034022.html]

Hmmmm...very simply put: we need oxygen to survive and trees need carbon dioxide to survive.  We breath oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide while trees turn carbon dioxide into oxygen!  How cool is THAT? 

All part of a Master plan!