"Witch's Broom" tree

At Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, a vast landscape of lava from eruptions over thousands of years, there's an area called the "Devil's Orchard." Evergreens in this area often have a parasite--mistletoe--which causes their branches to multiply grotesquely and super-abundantly into shapes that look like witch's brooms.

In the past, park managers saw these strange trees and decided: "These trees are abnormal and sick; they must be destroyed so the problem won't spread." But they now know that the evergreen-parasite relationship has been there for thousands of years, and is a natural part of local ecological balance.

How easy it is to look at one another and think "He's not normal" or "She comes from a dysfunctional family" or "The world would be better off without them." The "witch's broom" tree reminds me of Jesus' call to "Judge not," and that "there is no place where God is not."
Photo taken June 7, 2006
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