Seeking the Power of the Universe

I have a vivid memory from the year I moved to Nashville, of going for a Fall walk at Radnor Lake and being among the trees.  They were vastly different than the pine forests I saw on my childhood visits to the Sierra Nevada mountains, but, like those trees, their greatness was a comfort I hadn’t realized I needed.  They brought me peace and a sense of the universe beyond me and my temporal concerns.  From then on, I have seen the woods and tall trees as my place to seek peace;  to offer gratitude to the universe; and to fill my thirsty soul.    

This past Summer, when things were at their hardest, I shared this story with JT and encouraged him to seek that power and peace for himself.  The trees helped me through those days and I hoped that they would also help him.  In November, after my partner and I went our separate ways, walks in the woods were my comfort and solace when things felt their most difficult.   

For my birthday I received a tiny silver charm with a tree.  It was part of a surprise gift box I bought myself and that I received a tree charm felt like the universe was looking out for me.  I’ve been wearing the charm of late, a talisman of the trees, as I find my way forward in my reorganized life.    

JT and I head home to New Jersey tomorrow.  With plenty of time off still on the horizon for me, I’m looking forward to a daily walk in the woods for the rest of the Winter Break holidays.  Among the trees I will soak in the power of the universe and turn my face toward the sun.  

That’s happy.

Maple Tree

This tall maple tree grows in a yard just around the block from my house.  When the time for seasonal changes approaches, it’s one of the first trees to change.  The Fall leaves are splendid.  

I am the sort of person who has favorite trees everywhere she goes.  This stately maple is one of them; a treat I see on my daily drive.  In my mind, there’s magic to be found when I spot an especially noble tree.   That’s happy!

In the Land of the Big, Big Trees

A few summer’s ago, T and I made a visit to Seneca Falls, New York, the birthplace of the women’s rights movement in 1848.  While there, we visited the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  The National Park Service ranger at the site referred to a large tree in the front yard of Stanton’s home as a “witness tree” meaning that the tree had been present when the 1848 convention was being conceived in Stanton’s home; the tree had witnessed history.  I loved the idea of “witness trees” and it came to mind when we visited the Sequoia trees at King’s Canyon National park on Wednesday.

These trees have witnessed years and years and stand tall in a forest of incredible magnitude.

They are beautiful in a way that is awe-inspiring.  Some of my best childhood memories happened in the California national parks.  

These forests are among the most beautiful places in the world, something all the generations of my family can all agree upon.

Winter's Secrets

I always worry that once the leaves come off the trees, I will miss the lush green abundance of fully bloomed nature.  But once the colors are gone, I can see that there is a different kind of beauty hidden in nature’s stark Winter appearance.  Some of the tall trees in my backyard are a case in point.  The thick green leaves of these trees provide shade and privacy in our summer backyard.  Once those leaves were gone last week, it was clear that they hid large nests in their upper branches.  I can see them clearly now.

I suspect they are the creation of the squirrels who share in my garden’s bounty.  I have a soft spot for those squirrels.

We’ve already had our first snowy nor’easter storm.  Winter’s cold has rather taken hold of us.  Soon, I’ll set out the greenery and Christmas lights to join the stark beauty that Mother Nature displays in the Winter.   I’ll be reminded anew that every season offers its own sort of quiet lovely to admire and appreciate.

Sycamores

There are several tall sycamore trees on my street.  Though none grow in my yard, the large leaves and strips of bark will make up several of the bags of leaves I’ll eventually rake up and set on the curb.  I don’t mind the chore because the stately trees shade our street all summer long.  I figure a little raking is fair payment for the pleasure they bring me.

January 1, 2014: Dogwood Tree

 I am the sort of woman who has a bucket list of the trees I'd like to grow someday.  It's a long list and I will need acres of land to eventually fulfill this goal.  Until then, I enjoy all the trees in my care.  There's the enormous oak in my back yard, known to us as old man tree.  It’s the king of the backyard, because of its sheer size and majesty.

There are my dwarf fruit trees: two apples, a pear tree.

Last year, I added tiny peach tree to my collection.

There is a maple hidden in the darkest corner of the yard.

And there is my dogwood tree.

I see this dogwood every morning as it is directly outside the windows in both the kitchen pantry and the downstairs powder room.  The very first winter I lived in this house I made a picture of the dogwood in the winter snow; it remains one of my favorites pictures.

The tree has grown much taller over the years.  Because I see it every morning and I am the sort of woman to stop and admire her trees, the dogwood is my marker for the changing seasons.  From the dogwood, I will get my first evidence of spring and then fall, two seasons that I always eagerly anticipate.   Right now, on a cold January 1st, the dogwood is at rest for the winter.  I admire its graceful limbs and it's steady presence in the yard and I look forward to its changes in the seasons ahead, which I will share on the first of the month for 2014.

Old Man Tree

To look at my backyard, you'd think that the fall leaves are about finished with their work.

But old man tree is so huge that he's nowhere near done with his seasonal responsibilities.

The smaller backyard dogwood has yet to really get in on the action.

Good thing I have a big stack of leaf bags at the ready.  

Delayed Gratification: August 1st

On the 1st of each month, I take a picture of the big tree in my backyard. I was away from home on the 1st, so I couldn't take a picture of my tree. I selected an alternate tree, but am just getting that posting up today because free wireless....not so much in California. And, yes, I see the layers of irony implicit in that reality.

But this posting is about a tree.

I took a picture of the lime tree in my father's backyard. His California garden has a lot of things that don't grow in my New Jersey garden (in addition to the lime, he grows tangerines, lemons, and oranges). He has some amazing tomato plants that have grown to be taller than I am. Those things don't happen in New Jersey.

But the lime tree is by far my favorite among the offerings. For one thing, it's lushly green. For another, it seems so exotic. I've just finished a book in which lime trees grow in the family garden. Though I grew up here, it's been nearly 20 years since I was a full-time California resident and I can't envision what it would be like to walk into my backyard and collect some fresh limes. So I like that that a tree I would once have taken for granted has become exotic to me.

Update: Finally, a photo. And I wanted to confirm that just as JBro suspects, the Sassafras Parents are big time into the Coronas with lime. That Corona ad you see on TV? Totally my parents' backyard. No wonder I like to visit.