INSPIRATION AND ASSIGNMENTS: TREES
I have a special affinity for trees and it doesn’t matter what species of tree I may be looking at. To me they are all special. I honestly think my love for trees started when I was a young boy. My parents planted a Scarlet Oak in the front yard before I was born. Scarlet Oak trees are pretty fast growers and by the time my younger sister and I were able to climb nearly to the top, it was already taller than our house. Granted, it was a ranch style house and we were still youngsters, it was still big to us! My sister and I spent many a day playing in the tree. Mom always knew where to find us. Oh, by the way, the tree still stands in the front yard of our childhood home. It’s at least 60 feet tall now. Maybe taller.
Now several (well, many) decades later my love for trees continues. Whether it is through photography, woodworking or just visual enjoyment. And lately I have been doing a little exploring around the community where I live. Looking at trees. The area is nestled in a wide valley, surrounded by small and a few not so small family run farms. This area has been farmed for hundreds of years and most of the farms have been handed down over many generations. Though sparsely populated, in town there are two gas stations, a grocery store, a couple of small eateries and a few small shops. And tree lined streets. Yup, there are two.
Back to the trees…
Dotted among the farmland and rolling hills carved out by glaciers centuries ago, are groves of trees that have been untouched for a couple of hundred years. And then…what I find puzzling…are the lone trees some farmers leave to grow in the middle of their fields.
Maybe they let them grow out there in the middle so some shade is provided for relief on a hot summer day. Or maybe, just maybe, the farmers leave the trees in the middle of their fields just because. I like that reason the best.
Ya know…I would think that farmers are pretty well-read. So the quote that follows may be familiar to them. Just because…
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a
green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some
scarce see Nature at all.
But to the eyes of the man with imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.”
William Blake
Letters
1799
David Heilman 
Awesome post! Truly inspirational for sure. Look forward to seeing what else you discover out in your neck of the woods. Every pun intended. And if I am not mistaken, and I heard this from an old-salt farmer way back in the day…the farmer would leave a tree in the middle of the field so he could sit under its shade to have his mid-day meal if he did not want to take the time to schlep back to the farmhouse, But I like your idea better as to why you often see a tree in the middle of a field.
Hey thanks for the great comment AAJ! I could remain occupied for a very long time snooping around these parts. It should be fun!
It is always a joy to spot a lonely tree.
Joyce Kilmer has a very beautiful poem called ‘Trees’.
How true Cornell ! And that is lovely poem.
I’ve always wondered about a tree that is left standing in a middle of a farmers field…
Glad I wasn’t the only one…now we both know the apparent or non-apparent reason lol.
I love seeing a tree standing alone, proudly growing, reaching for the skies. They are like snowflakes, no two are alike. Wonderful quote, thank you for sharing, I had to copy/paste that one to my ‘collection’!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one Donna! Ya know…maybe that’s another reason I so enjoy trees…no two are alike. Thank you for that one!!!