"The Replanting Blues"
by Brianne Hudson 

 

For those of you who don’t know, there are so many things a person can do wrong when planting a tree.  Trees cannot be planted too deep, too shallow, too close together, nor too far apart.  The plug (the part that goes in the ground) needs to be straight up and down, as does the tree itself.  Sometimes trees have to be planted on “high spots” (keeps them warmer, or out of the swamp) or next to “obstacles” (so they don’t get trampled by cows).  Most of the time, trees should be planted in mineral soil, and in some contracts, you have to kick away the grass (even if it’s four feet tall) to expose the mineral soil before you plant the tree (this is called “screefing”).  In other contracts, you’re allowed to plant in “duff” (a general term for a layer that covers mineral soil which is usually quite dry), and sometimes even in “red rot” (partly decayed logs).

It can take awhile to learn how to plant good trees consistently.  Every contract is different, so you constantly have to be able to adjust your planting to meet new specs.  Most of us get pretty good at this after a season or two, but I think many of us still screw up every so often, even after 5+ seasons out in the bush.

I wrote The Replanting Blues during a long day of replanting in the spring of 2000.  It was my second season of planting, and I was working for Silvaram, somewhere in northern BC. It was one of those classic situations when the crew plants a big block for two or three days before finding out that the quality is not meeting the checker’s expectations.  Most, if not everyone, on our crew had to fix their trees.  I always felt really guilty when I had to replant and would drive myself insane perfecting a piece if I had been sent back.  On that particular day, I knew it would take me a long time to replant all my trees so I decided to make the best of it, and write a little tune. (I believe it took me nearly two days to replant that piece.)

Up until this year, The Replanting Blues has always been a simple, bluesy melody that I would sing to fellow planters in camp and on the block.  Few, if any, of my friends or family ever heard the song – it seemed irrelevant to their world.  This summer though, with the help of Jay Walbaum and Diane Ellery, this song has matured incredibly, and has now become something that I think holds something for everyone – not just treeplanters.  Many, many thanks to Jay and Diane, and to all listeners, enjoy.

 

 

Credits:

Written by: Brianne Hudson, Jay Walbaum & Diane Ellery
Performed by: Brianne Hudson & Jay Walbaum