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She's a beautiful, sturdy and grounding tree that has been at our house since we moved in over 26 years ago. We have seen her grow over the years, and she has allowed us to climb and investigate her but always treating her with kindness and love, for which she shares with us in return. This is my sit spot, my place at home where I find solace. She knows and holds a lot of my difficult moments but also the good ones too!

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"The swing tree" (continued.) Here's a pic of our grandbaby-swing-tree in the far corner!

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"The swing tree" in our backyard has offered shade, rest, breeze, renewed perspective and childhood memories over the last 20 years. It inspired a collection of favorite stories, poems and other secrets we discovered in our backyard.  It holds the hammock and swing and provides shade to our chickens."

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Last Week's In-Class Assignment (delete if you don't want it here...wasn't sure where to put it!)

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Last Week's In-Class Assignment (delete if you don't want it here...wasn't sure where to put it!)

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The Tree I See is Named "the swing tree"

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The Tree I See is Named "the swing tree"

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Arbor Day. Late 60's. Child #1 brings home elm. It is planted with great happiness, and thrives. Arbor Day, 5 years later. Child #2 brings home lovely pine tree. It too is planted with happiness. Arbor Days, 3 and 5 years later, and the twigs are "accidentally" mowed over with the lawnmower. Fast forward 45 years or so, and my macaw and I sit under the elm. I chat there with friends, and bemoan the stain on its trunk that has been there every summer for years. I love this tall tree for the coverage and sense of protection it provides. Tree #2, the pine that was named George by its planter, has not fared as well. Being close to the house made it a ladder for raccoons during the Great Raccoon Invasion of 1994, and it had some limbs cut back. Then again in 2006 when I moved back home into the house and wildlife had too easy a path to the roof (then the attic.) An over zealous ex-husband cut off all the branches at roof level to limit calls from the ex-wife that something got in the attic. Now those broken limbs are above my head.  Somehow, George survived this abuse and the birds still linger on the tree.  

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Arbor Day. Late 60's. Child #1 brings home elm. It is planted with great happiness, and thrives. Arbor Day, 5 years later. Child #2 brings home lovely pine tree. It too is planted with happiness. Arbor Days, 3 and 5 years later, and the twigs are "accidentally" mowed over with the lawnmower. Fast forward 45 years or so, and my macaw and I sit under the elm. I chat there with friends, and bemoan the stain on its trunk that has been there every summer for years. I love this tall tree for the coverage and sense of protection it provides. Tree #2, the pine that was named George by its planter, has not fared as well. Being close to the house made it a ladder for raccoons during the Great Raccoon Invasion of 1994, and it had some limbs cut back. Then again in 2006 when I moved back home into the house and wildlife had too easy a path to the roof (then the attic.) An over zealous ex-husband cut off all the branches at roof level to limit calls from the ex-wife that something got in the attic. Now those broken limbs are above my head.  Somehow, George survived this abuse and the birds still linger on the tree.  

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About 20 years ago my in-laws sent us a check for our wedding anniversary and we used it to buy 2 small cypress trees. We named them Betty and Joe, after my wonderful in-laws. This one is Joe (Betty is smaller, as she is in real life, and can be seen in the background on the right) and it's grown to be much taller than I'd ever dreamed. The are posted at 2 corners of our yard, defining the space. I think it's quite fitting, as our 4 parents (all in their 90's!) are the cornerstones of our family. The other reason I love this tree is, in the moonlight, it looks like the tree in Van Gogh's Starry Night. It's sort of looming and mysterious :)

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The tree I see has "banana leaves," according to my kids!  

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The tree I see has "banana leaves," according to my kids!  

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This tall, thin tree sits just a foot or two beyond the property line between my family's backyard and the rich, dense wetlands that abut it.  This summer, my kids and their neighborhood friends discovered the bunches of green things (a type of samara, maybe?) that hang from its branches and identified them as "banana leaves"!  These banana leaves have been picked, loaded into a makeshift wagon, and "sold" among the kids and to my husband and me in exchange for dandelions and other currency from nature.  They have also become a favorite ingredient in my son's recipe for "nature stew" - a daily mixture of dirt, grass, acorns, and hose water that warms in a bucket in the summer sun :-)

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This is a tree in a swamp next to my house.  I understand that it isn't necessarily one that I can observe up close.  In fact, I'll never be able to do so because access is impossible - perhaps that's the allure.  I always find the tree intriguing because it stands as a sentinel in the swamp, a lone tree in the middle of anonymous activity - birds, wasps, bees, muskrat.  Red winged blackbirds perch on the branches, sing for a bit, and then dive into the reeds.  The tree provides stability, shelter, and a reminder that some things can survive and thrive (and provide value) in their own small world of chaos.

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This tree is in my front yard.We planted it to fill in the space made empty when the towering pine that lived there was hit by lightning and had to be cut down. It's beautiful spring blossoms produce lots of delicious apples. Some years I make applesauce and some years the squirrels steal them all!

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This trees is a cherry tree that lives in our front yard. During Spring time it blooms beautiful pink flowers, it is our favorite tree for pictures during this time. Our backyard does not have trees, nut our front yard has 3 beautiful trees. I love this tree because it is small but its trunk is robust and shows some growing stretches or marks. Also, while I was looking at it made think about how every year looses its leaves to grow again stronger and more beautiful.  with everything happening at this moment, we should think this way. We will come back stronger and more alive than ever.

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This tree is in my backyard. Each year it blooms beautiful pink petals for a very short time. My youngest son always wants a picture with it in bloom. It has grown with us for the past 23 years. The bark is rough. New growth was seen. A bug is enjoying one of the leaves. I love how it has grown and changed like our family.

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This tree is one of two in my front yard. I love sitting under the tree listening to the birds in the shade relaxing after a long walk. As you can see it does have lichen which I thought was bad (before taking this class- lol). But now realize it just adds character & wisdom to my favorite tree.

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This tree is in the middle of my front lawn. My daughter used to climb it when she was younger. My son tapped it for maple sap last spring. This tree has grown a lot over the past 15 years, and so have my children...

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PETALS TIRED,
BROWN, WEATHERED
HOLDING ON TO BLOOM

SUCKERS
STRETCHING TO SKY
TAKING OVER
CHALLENGING

TIME TO TRIM

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PETALS TIRED,
BROWN, WEATHERED
HOLDING ON TO BLOOM

SUCKERS
STRETCHING TO SKY
TAKING OVER
CHALLENGING

TIME TO TRIM

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It is at the Mall in Newburyport. I love the pink glow of the canopy.
Jan

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This tree is right in my backyard. Sometimes my daughter hangs the hammock on it. I think it is the friendliest tree I've ever seen. It looks old and wrinkly, but very wise. It reminds me of my grandfather.