T-13, 1.16 13 Things About Trees

Trees

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
– Joyce Kilmer

1.) Shade–Spring and Summer only for deciduous

2.) Raking leaves… or not (if you’re lucky, your neighbor will rake your leaves. *heh*)

3.) Mimosas are pest trees and should be (ex)terminated with extreme prejudice

4.) They are also extremely hard to kill off (#$^%&!)

5.) Oaks love to throw their acrons at metal roofs. No, really.

6.) Growing your own walnuts, pecans, etc., from “seed” is so easy squirrels do it.

7.) The Boys don’t seem to be able to learn this simple fact: trees do NOT bark; bark grows on trees. (Yeh, it’s a theme this week: the link’s to a post discussing how my son’s dogs behave when inside. Theme? It ties to border control.)

8.) Trees moderate more than their immediate environment, but oh! how I appreciate the way they moderate their immediate environment with shade (even in winter–the spindly shade offered by bare limbs is visually appealing), cleansing of the air and expiration of cooling moisture in the summer.

9.) Who doesn’t enjoy the sound of lkeaves whispering in a breeze?

10.) Or feel a pang of aprehension when large limbs overhanging–or near–the house begin to creak and pop in high winds?

11.) Ever heard the sounds of multiple tree limbs and branches cracking or even exploding in sudden deep freezing weather? It can sound like semi-auto gunfire when a forested area begins to go.

12.) And limbs brought down by severe weather? Do you know how heavy a mere 20′ limb with a 12′ base cross section is? Do NOT try to move the thing without cutting it down to manageable size… and maybe even then use a tow vehicle for some… (Yes, that’s a note to self :-))

13.) Sawing “lumber” can lead to extensive and deeply sawn “ZZZzzzzs”. Especially for sit-on-one’s-can compgeeky dudes.

So, not “about trees” so much as “a non-exhaustive, random list about how I view trees”. 🙂

Trackposted at the Thursday Thirteen Hub