With every step, I grow closer to seeing my friends. My friends are trees that I have grown to love during the miles of walks that my two dogs and I have taken.
To be outdoors, surrounded by nature, in the company of my dogs is what I love so. Let it rain. The wind can blow. The temperatures can drop. We walk. We have discovered magical secret places and mystery in the ordinary.
Had I known that I would fall for trees with bare branches and walk, even run to greet them, I would have laughed. Trees? Really? Yes. Trees. Until this year, I only liked trees bedecked with lush green foliage and my heart would plunge into despair as the last leaves drifted to the ground.
Last fall, something happened. It was a gift. My eyes were opened to the textures, colors, shapes, decorations, and outlines of bare branches against brilliant skies. From the ordinary cedar to the oak, to the sweet gum tree with its spiny fruit, to the many varieties of holly, to sycamores with pin cushion fruit, and magnificent evergreens of unexpected shapes – I love them all.
Our walks have taken us to arboretums, parks, and paths. My choice is to take the road less traveled. I smile when I reflect upon poem, “The Road Not Taken”
“…Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost
Walking with my sweet dogs at my side, with my ear pods secured by ear warmers, poetic music streaming through my iPhone, my mind wanders through stanzas and Sonnets. People who pass us must find me strange smiling at a tree.
“When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves,
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,
Then of thy beauty do I question make,” Shakespeare Sonnet XII
This season I experience something different and have tried to understand that difference. Simply focusing upon the shapes and movements of the grasses and tree limbs has transformed my dreary winter existence into flourishing friendships with unexpected flora!
There are trees and then there are TREES! All I had to do was see. I saw a whole world of bare trees of incredible grace. There are outlines of branches against the sky and shadows on the ground. I laughed out loud at trees in shapes that would have delighted Dr. Seuss and caught my breath at the majesty of enormous trunks and sturdy limbs. Trees form canopies above meandering paths, and dot bucolic landscapes of resting fields.
Exploring secluded horse trails or traversing paved paths, there is always something new to spy. “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl
Ending our walks take much discipline –
“…The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.” From “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost
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