We ❤ Our Members
February 14, 2023
Valentine’s Day is a whimsical holiday that for many stirs up memories, feelings, and gratitude. In the spirit of the holiday, let’s pause to consider our love for longleaf – our ‘WHY’ for dedicating resources and talents to move the needle.
Thank you for being a part of this dedicated longleaf community, a mighty force of nature comprised of comradery and positivity for change. Look how far we’ve come by working together!
Our Staff would like to share a couple of inspiring artistic works for your enjoyment, very on-theme for today, centered around the South’s Great Forest.
- Carol Denhof, President of The Longleaf Alliance
Beautiful Day
Having grown up under the longleaf pines in the North Carolina Sandhills, everywhere they grow feels like home. There’s something about this mystical landscape that ties its people and places together - and erases so many other boundaries between us.
- Abigail Dowd, member of The Longlef Alliance since 2019
Abigail's album “Beautiful Day” was released on April 23, 2021. Recorded live with a full band at the Fidelitorium, the album was produced by Grammy nominated engineer/mixer Jason Richmond.
Find Abigail's albums, including her longleaf-inspired works like Wiregrasser and Silent Pines, wherever you listen to music.
Longleaf-Lover’s Prayer
By Melda Boyd
I thank the Lord for the Longleaf Pine
And its golden wood, tight-grained, strong, and beautiful,
Its rugged brown bark, layered and rough,
Host to cockaded woodpecker friends
Who soar from tree to tree
And nest only here.
I thank the Lord for the Longleaf Pine
And all the wondrous life that flourishes beneath its branches
The birds and the tortoises
The pitcher plants and the sundews,
The bobwhite quail and the wild turkeys,
The berries, the white and yellow flowers, and the little pink orchids.
I thank the Lord for the glassy pond
That lives in the realm of the longleaf pine,
Invites water-loving plants to flower,
Calls dragonflies to feast,
Gives life to tree frogs, salamanders and snakes,
And hosts the visiting heron.
I thank the Lord for my husband, Gary
Who loves the Longleaf Forest as much as I do (some days, even more than I)
And for my grandparents, James and Helen,
Who took the long, hard road from Bohemia
and the Midwest 100 years ago,
To buy a piece of Alabama’s forest heaven;
From that time to this, our family land.
I thank the Lord for all who care,
The foresters and landowners, Longleaf Alliance and others,
All the people who know how to help the forest grow and bloom,
Who make the time to teach the rest of us
How to plant and spray and burn,
Helping us in our stewardship tasks.
I thank the Lord for the next generation,
For nephew Mason who’s always sought
The turtles and frogs,
Fearless in the face of the wild hogs
And the moccasins and copperheads who share the woods with him;
For his brother and sisters, who love the land, too, though maybe in a different way.
I thank the Lord for the song in my heart
That wells up whenever we’re on the land,
That makes me burst with joy and wonder,
And for the woods euphoria that fills our souls,
As we tramp in our snake boots and camo, deep in the forest,
Hidden in the green silence and the scents and the beauty.
I thank the Lord for the Longleaf Pine
And the mission it has given us,
Second life after first, now spent, career,
A mission to care for,
Preserve, improve, make whole again,
To bring the land and us back to our true selves.
The Longleaf Alliance hosted its 3rd annual “We Love Our Members Week” in conjunction with Valentine's Day.
We enjoyed the virtual celebrations which included member testimonials, longleaf trivia giveaways, merchandise promos, and longleaf-inspired Valentines.