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El Nautilus
3 months since my last visit. I had an accident, but as soon as I could I went to see El Nautilus, a Phytolacca dioica, a huge evergreen tree also called Ombú or Umbu, which in my native language would be Buena Persona.
Its majestic, bellaombra presence made me think it would always be there, but today its corolla and trunk are missing, only the roots remain, and it seems decapitated. The most robust tree was cut down.
Ombú trees were introduced to Barcelona in 1929.
El Nautilus was old, reassuring, and extremely beautiful.
I visited it quite often. The light filtering through its corolla caressed my face, my shadow was projected on its trunk while reading. It was a solitary tree occupying a huge space at the entrance to a park. Its robust roots had nowhere else to go, a space too small for him, but still strong there, near the metro station and the road. Children climbed its roots every day and for readers it had special places to sit.
In recent years, since the pandemic, I have seen it abandoned several times and covered in dog urine, although dogs are not allowed in the park and no stray dogs walk the streets of this town. I have no idea why it was cut down and I have not seen any news about it, although Nautilus was probably one of the longest-lived inhabitants of the neighborhood. The park and the subway seem built on top of it. A giant used for decoration, much more imposing than the architecture or technology that surrounds it.
The drought spoils the life of the trees, which are at the mercy of possible occasional rain, even in a big city. In 3 months, more than 10 large trees have fallen, just in the vicinity and the hills are becoming bald because neither the pines nor the cedars can withstand the summer heat without help.
Maintaining green spaces and trees is a great pleasure for city dwellers: fresh air and shade are pure gold in a cemented urban area.
How many years will it take to rebuild something that was so easily and senselessly destroyed?
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By Cap de Meteorit3 months since my last visit. I had an accident, but as soon as I could I went to see El Nautilus, a Phytolacca dioica, a huge evergreen tree also called Ombú or Umbu, which in my native language would be Buena Persona.
Its majestic, bellaombra presence made me think it would always be there, but today its corolla and trunk are missing, only the roots remain, and it seems decapitated. The most robust tree was cut down.
Ombú trees were introduced to Barcelona in 1929.
El Nautilus was old, reassuring, and extremely beautiful.
I visited it quite often. The light filtering through its corolla caressed my face, my shadow was projected on its trunk while reading. It was a solitary tree occupying a huge space at the entrance to a park. Its robust roots had nowhere else to go, a space too small for him, but still strong there, near the metro station and the road. Children climbed its roots every day and for readers it had special places to sit.
In recent years, since the pandemic, I have seen it abandoned several times and covered in dog urine, although dogs are not allowed in the park and no stray dogs walk the streets of this town. I have no idea why it was cut down and I have not seen any news about it, although Nautilus was probably one of the longest-lived inhabitants of the neighborhood. The park and the subway seem built on top of it. A giant used for decoration, much more imposing than the architecture or technology that surrounds it.
The drought spoils the life of the trees, which are at the mercy of possible occasional rain, even in a big city. In 3 months, more than 10 large trees have fallen, just in the vicinity and the hills are becoming bald because neither the pines nor the cedars can withstand the summer heat without help.
Maintaining green spaces and trees is a great pleasure for city dwellers: fresh air and shade are pure gold in a cemented urban area.
How many years will it take to rebuild something that was so easily and senselessly destroyed?