My Giving Tree

I referenced this tree in an earlier post (with regards to the hope it will NOT have to be dug up when our basement is redone) and I have since decided it needs its own post. We have two trees in our front yard (one on each side of our driveway) and they both merit attention. The above picture was taken in a rainstorm - one of my most favorite weather occurrences but that's for another blog post some other time.

It's not that anyone would call me a tree hugger. I love nature as much as the next guy, but you won't see me walking around in socks and birkenstocks, braiding a hemp necklace and asking people how long they shower. In fact, I'm not sure I ever stopped to admire a random tree before (except for those really cool ones that are in the middle of a field all by their lonesome and it sort of looks like you've stepped into Shawshank Redemption, or maybe someone else's special place and that if that tree could talk it would have the most fascinating stories to tell).

But when you move into a neighborhood that is less than five years old, you start to notice the differences between your own streets and the luscious, overgrown streets downtown, where homes have sat for nearly a century. I didn't think our neighborhood would ever look like that - and it probably won't - at least not for another 100 years. But we're now slowly edging to the 10 year old neighborhood mark and some trees are starting to look more like actual trees and less like cast offs from a Charlie Brown Christmas special.

So not to brag (who am I kidding, that is EXACTLY what I am doing) our two trees are hands down the best on the block. I'm not sure I can take credit for this. It's not like I go out and do a magic tree-growing dance every full moon. I really don't do anything but admire them. Maybe they've felt the love. But given the fact that we (along with the neighbors on either side) are sitting on the shiftiest soil in the development, I feel it only fair that we come away with some killer trees.

And so I would like to pay homage to the beautiful tree that could. It started out a sad little stick and has grown into a shade giver and ... almost but not quite... a climbing tree. Give it a few more years. Its blossoms are beautiful in the spring, its leaves are luscious and full in the summer, it turns a beautiful golden amber in the fall and in the winter it holds multiple strings of lights to keep our home festive.

Sure its just a tree, but it makes me happy. And these days you've got to find the happy wherever you can.