"I Will Smile and You Will See
All Ten Toes Touch That Tree."
A poem written by me...
many, many moons ago about an Oak Tree and a Swing.
Several years ago, the menfolk here tied weights to 150' of rope & Hercules tossed it until it finally made it's destination...over the lowest branch on one of the two great Oak trees cornering my lot. They, then, cut the rope & went at it again.
A slat bottom swing was on her way in.
And it wasn't long before a tire swing took her side on a neighboring branch.
Dirty feet reaching for the sky
Kool-aid stained smiles spinning in circles
Midnight thrills & mid-day cool-downs
Gravity, centrifugal force, kicking & leaning
"Push Me Higher"
A thousand memories...
A week or so ago, I got a text from a friend 30 miles south
'Snowing Here'
We had had rain, sleet & wind...but no snow
I typed in the words "Here it is..."
and I went to my front window to evaluate the weather.
In an instant, a minute, a mere blur of a moment...KaBoom!
The wind was strong and the Oak was tired.
Her time had come to lay down & she did so with great force.
Tossing her head on my next doors neighbors house.
Miraculously they got out without a scratch.
And we were all immediately reminded that everything can change in just one moment.
Image of the progress being made...I counted 86 rings to the tree, Paul counted 90. Her time had definitely come & we definitely enjoyed the pleasure of her company. Since everyone is OK, we understand that she really did bless us all & soon she will be blessing the neighbors with a new roof, windows, and such...
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13 comments:
Ohgoodness!
I'm glad to hear everyone is okay.
Yaknow, himself frets about the tall tree standing across from the house and I just smile and nod.
I know he's right--but I'd miss the majestic tree.
It's our shade, our breeze and our tantrumming branches in the yard that I pick up after every storm that passes.
*sigh*
Not yet--I'm not ready....
Is that Georgia red clay on that root ball, or what? That tree is way to young to die... wonder why it decided to go? I thought perhaps it had been the sand... we have clay, here, but we also have sand... good old sand hills. Anyway, so glad it gave so many wonderful memories... "kool-aide stained smiles" ... that's a good one!... a lot of memory there, everywhere...
shimmerrings
I'm so glad everyone was okay!!! As for the tree, ah aren't they wonderful? Especially with their swings. :)
Oh, wow. That is a mighty big ass tree!
Seeing this thru the magnifying glass now, couldn't wait 'til tomorrow...reminds me of that Pink Folyd tune that singsongs...'time to go...time to go.." ;)
I am so glad that you and everyone else is OK. Let's know what's really important. I know how important trees are too, I won't argue that issue, I'm just counting my blessings here.
p&l,
Monty
((Mel))...I understand completely! Years ago, previous owner had offered to split the bill of takin' her down. One day when discussing this with current home owner, he told me he was glad we didn't...
There is something very soothing about this great old trees...
Shimmerings...:)
Yes, honey, that would be Georgia clay. Hard, compacted Georgia clay...no sand, which this particular type of Oak may have enjoyed. She actually lived a bit longer than average expectancy of 75 years (although some have lived well over 100) and I believe what did her in was our drought of the past three years coupled with city's shoddy trimming for the power lines. First image is of the Oak which stands on my other corner and in it, you can tell that one side(the side I stood on to take shot)has been completely stripped of all branches :( This makes the roots grow differently, the branches grow differently & overall...makes the tree heavy on one side...add to that a drought & she just fell over. In some of the pics I have, you can see this was actually a very healthy tree.
Karma... Yes! Having had an arborist out several years ago & having seen many of the great oldies in the neighborhood come down, we all knew it was just a matter of time.
Orhan...Lol, yes! Pics don't do the size justice. Root ball was about a foot taller than me. The two of us, joining hands could not have wrapped ourselves around the base of this baby.
Dee...
Bless your heart honey! I am trying to place the background music in my head...Much Love...
The CEO...
You are not kidding! I bolted, calling out my neighbors name, feeling somewhat frantic until they called back that they were okay. In our state of shock, we found ourselves, repeatedly through out the day, in tears of relief. It's just hard to imagine how no one got hurt...
Gotta have faith, gotta believe...
Much peace & love...
I've heard it said that trees are elder spirits, guiding us with their silent wisdom, strength, and patience . . .
If only we are silent enough to hear . . .
"The wind was strong and the Oak was tired.
Her time had come to lay down & she did so with great force.
Tossing her head on my next doors neighbors house."
So well said, skinny . . . a wordsmith you are . . .
P&L&FLK
Oceans...have heard the same about trees. Our neighborhood is old & many here believe it is rich in spirits. Neighbor had said she wondered how the spirits would take to the new front end to come to her house, adding that spirits don't usually like new stuff. All things considered, I told her I thought that those spirits helped Mother Nature to push that tree down. For whatever reason, it was time...P&L.
I'm glad you're all okay. Ah, such is life. I'm sure that will be a fine place for flowers or a patch of fruits or vegetables.
Anne....
:) yes, it is all going to work out just as it is meant to be...
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