Growing Trees -

What's on your mind these days? Oh, on mine, you ask? Well -

Growing - that's on my mind, a lot, these days. Me, adult children, grandchildren, aging parents, nieces and nephews, and trees.


My trees are getting so big! When Scott and I first moved into our home we were mesmerized by the little saplings planted around our yard, and we wondered if they would ever grow, if they would ever be big enough to amount to anything, in our life time.

We wondered if we'd be able to give them the nourishment they'd need to grow. Wondered if we'd water them deep rather than shallow, wondered if they'd have strong roots and trunks, or if we'd need to stake them up. Wondered if they'd withstand wind and stand tall or bend in the wind, and never straighten. Some trees have grown pretty quickly, others have taken their time. And they've surprised us - sitting on the deck the other evening we were excited to see the tree we didn't think would ever amount to much giving us the shade we needed to peacefully enjoy the evening without the sun beating down on us.


We have had to cut down a few trees - have professionals cut them down - they grew so fast, shallow roots, runners popping up all over the yard. They were tall, but we were afraid one day a storm would come up, and they'd be laying across our yard and on our roof.

We have 3 trees that are the same, flowering pear, and they have a beautiful springtime blossom, and they stink like dirty diapers, and they bear tiny tiny fruit the birds like and our driveway doesn't. All of our other trees, more than a dozen, are different from each other - red bud, Japanese maple, white willow, Blue Spruce; we have a symphony of trees that blend their blossoms and leaf colors and leaf shapes into a beautiful song, yet hold their own.

Our trees allow us to see the leaves, the entire tree, to look through, up, and beyond. There is optimism in planting and growing a tree. I like that. 

Life - hey? Growth? Moving onward, forward, upward? 

 The beauty of taking this shot is I had to be on my back, in the warm green grass to take this photo. What a treat! I stayed for a bit.