The Entwives?

[Man-of-the-Wold]

My daughter and like to think that the reference to a tree-like giant in the Northfathering is a teaser for the existence there of the Ent-wives. Treebeard's rumination about their liking the Shire is just too much of a coincidence.

But it is a mystery Tolkien wanted to leave that way. But either the Ent-wives in small numbers are lying low in places near the Shire, or Yavanna transported them to her gardens before it is too late. To have Sauron wipe them out is too horrilbe to contemplate.

I would like to point out a few misunderstandings. First of all, I think if there were any Ents or Treeish Ents in the Old Forest, then I think Fangorn would have been suspected as much and have noted it talking with Merry & Pippen, and certainly Gandalf and Tom Bombadil would have known, and Gandalf's report to him at the end of LotR VI about the Ents would then be of much less significance. And that fact that Gandalf thought Tom would be interested at all shows that it would have been of great interest to him.

The Old Forest definitely has some Huorn types, but they are probably of the kind less common in Fangorn Forest of trees that have become more animated, or perhaps Ents that went treeish long before the Entwives even disappeared.

Also, to link the sighting in the North Moors to the Old Forest is not necessarily correct. Both places would have been quite separated by the Branduin and treeless areas.

The North Moors is really a very isolated area that might be perfect for the Entwives, as well as areas due south of the Shire, which might have only had a few "odd" villages of Dunlendish-like folk with propensities for ruffianness.

No, the North Moors are approaching Cirdan's realm as it bends west with the Ered Luin, and on the East the areas of Lake Evendim, which is likely inhabited only by the remnants of Northern Dunedain who were not ranging about, which was men's work.

Finally, the timing of the sighting is linked to the rise of evil, which the Entwives of the far Northwest would want at all cost to avoid encountering again, thus they are pushing ever more to the Western fringe.

Finally, I had thought that the war that had made the Brown Lands had been part of the Sauron's earlier wars and had significantly preceded the War of the Last Alliance.