Ohio Area Pantheists

The Three Sisters (above) are three majestic 550-year-old oak trees growing near Dayton, Ohio. Their lower branches are larger than most of the trees in the surrounding woods. Their growth patterns, limbs nearly straight out from the massive trunks, suggest that sometime in their formative past this spot stood in the open where the sisters could spread their arms fully to the sun.

They stand apart, but the tips of their limbs touch far above the ground, as do their roots below. They are truly sisters. Until recently, one could walk from one to another, touch them, and see how trivial a portion of their girth could be encompassed with outstretched arms. They surround a cleared area where friends could sit around a fire.

But the ground became compacted by foot traffic. The Three Sisters began to suffer. Good stewards of the land built a boardwalk to their midst and restricted traffic to the boardwalk. No longer can one walk between them and touch them: a fair price to pay for their health, but not an insignificant one.