This is the time of year that I traditionally sit down and make a list of New Year’s Resolutions. I know most people try to have these ready by New Year’s Day, but sometimes I just don’t get around to doing that. A few years ago, Newsweek magazine had a chart that showed 89% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but only 46% are successful in achieving their resolution in the following 6 months. Actually, I think that’s a pretty good ratio. Typical on most lists are things like losing weight, eating better, exercising more, or reducing spending.
I will admit, at one time or another, all those things have been on my list of resolutions. However, over the years I have learned that such lofty goals are just not going to make it past the third week in January. So I try to pick a few resolutions that are more practical or at least more possible to achieve. The Newsweek article pointed out that setting “process goals” may work better that specifying a target. For example, setting aside 30 minutes each day to write a book is easier to accomplish than resolving to write the great American novel. It seems a lot of tiny goals work better than one huge one. Exercising for 15 minutes one day and 20 minutes the next is easier not to procrastinate on than resolving to exercise for an hour a day.
Some resolutions, admittedly, are easier than others to stick to. When I say “I resolve to spend more time in the garden” I usually have no trouble. Other resolutions are a little tougher, like “I resolve to take out all the field bindweed from the flower beds in 2025,” I know that’s not only impractical, it’s not possible!
I did have a resolution I had a lot of success with a few years ago. I resolved to learn the coniferous trees in Oregon and how to identify them in the woods. It was not as easy as it seemed at the time. Oregon has lots and lots of native trees in the forests, and sometimes a non-native will sneak in. For example, on the way to Portland on Route 6, there is a Nootka Alaskan cedar that can be seen along the highway at about mile marker 17. These are pretty distinctive trees, tall and thin with boughs that weep, and a top that bends almost in half. But it took me a while to pinpoint exactly what that unusual looking tree was as we went driving by.
Doing something we enjoy is also easier to stick to than something we dread. I did enjoy the challenge of learning something new. And now on that same road to Portland, I can distinguish the hemlocks from the Doug firs and the spruces. There were some very handy guides that helped me learn. One was a pocket guide called The Ecopress Complete Guide to Native Conifers of the Pacific Northwest that broke the trees down into what type of needles and cones they had as well as their general shape. It also has a handy ruler down the side to measure needles and cones. It is laminated (nice in the rain) and folds to fit in a jacket pocket. The price was only $4.95 and although I bought it at a Portland bookstore, Ecopress has a website, too. Find it at www.ecopressbooks.com.
My resolution for 2025 is going to be a bit more of a challenge than learning the coniferous trees of Oregon: I am going to learn the native deciduous trees this year. This will be harder because I won’t have the luxury of year-round foliage, so I will have to learn the bark as well as the leaf shapes and the general tree growth habits. It will be well worth it, though. If I revise that lofty goal and put it into a process goal, say, learning a tree each month, it should be easier to accomplish, too. That would give me 12 trees. Not all the deciduous trees in Oregon, I know, but a good start. Especially if I can learn them by bark and leaf shape. Who knows how many ways that will come in handy?
I just need to find another guide that will make this resolution possible to keep.
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