I want to write about a tree that grows in our neighborhood. This tree means a lot to me–for reasons I’ll explain–but to be honest, any normal person walking past it on the nearby path wouldn’t even notice it. And why should they?
It’s a dead tree, for one thing, at least it sure looks like it’s dead. It also is very far from being vertical. It kind of leans over like a person reaching to pick up something from the floor. You expect a proper tree to be vertical, don’t you, to stand up proudly facing the sky like a redwood, for example, or the magnificent blue spruce tree that stands tall near our front porch, guarding our house night and day.
By the time it finishes leaning over, this tree is pretty well horizontal. So what’s special about this tree? What makes it a bit magical, for me? Two things.
First, the tree is a perfect playground for children. I know this because I happened to notice, while out walking the other day, two adventurous kids I know frolicking on the tree with absolute abandon and delight.
The children, Max and Sam, are the sons of a neighbor, Scott, who was also present at this spectacle I was watching. The children were very creative in their pursuit of fun. Sometimes they would climb here and there, sometimes they would walk or perhaps run here and there, and sometimes of course they would find a suitable branch and hang from it. All in all they were playing with the tree and on the tree for at least 20 minutes.
But not only is this apparently dead tree happy to be a playground for any kid who wants a bit of fun climbing. The tree is not actually “dead” yet. It is still participating as best it can in the miracle we call Nature, in the miracle of life. The other day JoAnn and I inspected the tree more closely and discovered that here and there it is putting out small shoots, at the end of which are buds just waiting for spring to come–and the opportunity to bring a bit of new life into the planet.
I hope you enjoy this simple little story. Are there any stories from your own life, perhaps to do with Nature, perhaps not, that you’d like to share? Greetings and love to you. Take care.