Obsession

In honor of Earth Day today I'm going to tell you about an obsession that I have. I don't know if anyone even knows about this obsession. I can't ever remember talking out loud about this. I have not intentionally kept this to myself. Most obsessions are issues that people wish they could stop but I thoroughly enjoy doing this and I'm assuming that I will never stop.

I absolutely love big, huge, majestic, old trees. Whenever I am driving I am constantly looking for that new tree to give me a thrill. All the country roads that I drive each have trees that I admire. My favorites are usually trees that are standing alone in the middle of a field. I always wonder how that tree managed to survive all those years right in the middle of a farmers field.

I also love country roads that are lined with trees that hang over the roads like a canopy. Territorial in Van Buren county is like that. I imagine that those trees where planted to shade the horse and carts that drove on those roads so many years ago.

Pucker Street in Eau Claire is the home to one of my favorite trees. This particular tree is gigantic, standing alone on the edge of the road. The road takes a sharp turn right where this tree stands. I like to think that the road was intentionally made to turn at this particular spot just to save that tree from having to be cut down. It's absolutely beautiful.

Some trees that I admire have particular shapes that remind me of something. One particular tree has a few limbs that to me look like a dinosaur head with it's mouth huge open.

When we visited the Biltmore in Asheville a few years ago I loved the gardens and their trees as much as the house. I couldn't believe that a Jap. Maple tree could grow taller than your knees like we know in Michigan. I took this picture of one that was 15 feet tall at least.

I can remember a time when I was a child and we were on a family vacation. My parents took us to the childhood home of Abraham Lincoln in Illinois. There was a tree there with a sign that told the story of this particular tree being there in the time of Lincoln's childhood. Even as small as I was I can remember being in awe at the thought that I was looking at a tree that Lincoln played under.

I always say a prayer of thanks when I see a tree that is deserving of my admiration. It's like God put that tree there just for me.

So if you are planting a tree in honor of Earth Day, someone 200 years from now may say a prayer of thanks for that tree and for the person that planted that tree.

One more thought.....I didn't discover this children's book until I had children of my own but it quickly became one of my favorites to read to Caleb and Jordan...... The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. It's the story of a tree that loves a little boy and how the tree gave and gave to the boy until it was only a stump. It's a metaphor of what parents do for their children. In the end the boy returns to the tree and the tree is happy again. The story always reminded me of the parable of the Prodigal Son. It's an absolute must book to have for your children. I will be reading this book to my grandkids someday.