When we moved in, the back yard was empty except for newly laid lawn and an old gum tree in the back right hand corner. Stripped bark circled the base of the tree like discarded snake skins.
Holidays at Budgewoi. I always woke first and walked along the lake, in and out through the paperbark trees, their upper branches filled with morning sky and magpie songs.
First grade. On my way to the bus stop I’d walk under the jacaranda trees on a carpet of discarded purple flowers, they looked like a trail of delicate, miniature trumpets.
I got stuck stuck halfway up while climbing the fig tree, and sat there calling for my dad to help me down.
In the rainforest at Cedar Creek, the water is icy cold and I’m letting eels slide through my fingers while dad takes photos for painting. We arrive home during a wild storm. The next day the whole city was underwater.
At school assembly the Principal informed us that a fellow student had been playing in the school on the weekend and had fallen from the tree at the edge of the playground, onto the asphalt. He was in a coma.
Funeral. Walking back to class from church. Looking at the tree, trying not to look at the tree.
Every year. First day of school. My mum takes a photo of me and my brothers in front of the maple tree in our front yard.
Most weekends there was a barbecue, swimming in the pool (a thousand bloody kids!), backyard cricket games under the myrtle tree.
The sky was blue and bright and burning. We climbed up into the plum tree. We ate plums in the shade.
Canoe trip on the Murrimbidgee river. After a hard day of paddling the first night is freezing and we drag the base of a giant fallen tree over to the fire, we barely got it on there, thick roots flew out in all directions like tentacles. We named it ‘The octopus fire’.
Parked by the norfolk pines at Manly beach. Checking out the Winter surf from the car while listening to Midnight Oil.
The only thing I liked about this house was the bathroom window. Every time I took a shower I could look into the upper branches of the tree outside the window, and imagine I was somewhere else.
Old friends: Three turpentine trees beside the creek along the valley track at the back of my house. The angophoras guarding the top of the track just before our yard. The ‘reading tree’ in the garden with leaves that reached all the way down to the ground.
Aboriginal meeting place, Mt Wilson. The trees curved up from the ground, spaced apart, they looked like dancers waiting for their cue. I rested by a small creek. A rotting log had jammed in there and been hollowed out by the force of the water, now the creek flowed through it. Blue dragonflies hovered.
Arriving at the Social Ecology retreat, we walked down the track through fine rain. The trunks of the yellow gums were wet and shining.
Flying into Seattle. Everything is green.
The whole crowd moved from point to point in the garden. There were poems. Friends sang from the balcony. For our wedding vows we stood in a circle of birch trees.
My son running for the first time, through the apple trees, chasing his cousins.
When we visit the zoo, I always fill my pockets with eucalyptus leaves from the ‘Australasia’ section.
Conducting my first labyrinth workshop surrounded by cedar trees and madronas. We do our final walk singing, our voices trail off, one by one, as we leave the labyrinth. You could hear the waves falling on the beach below.
Beautiful history, very poignant and real.
I love the sliding rule look to your tree image. Like a patchwork of thememories you’ve shared about trees.
Isn’t it amazing how trees can become such important landmarks in our lives?
Amazing insights to life ~ great post ~ (A Creative Harbor)
Thanks for your comments!
@ Runningwave, yes, that is amazing, I was surprised at the amount of memories this exercise brought up for me.
Beautifully done, Dave. Being a native Washingtonian myself, I have a great appreciation for trees!
Thanks Bobbi,
This sure is a beautiful part of the world if you’re into trees!
Dave,
I grew up with a state forest bordering in my back yard, so I have a soft spot for nature and trees as well.
Also, I am impressed with (and possibly slightly envious of) your ability to paint vivid pictures with your writing. A very vivid read.
Hi Gary, I used to live with a state forest bordering my property, too, back in Australia. Best living situation ever! Thanks for visiting and for your kind words.
I LOVE this post. What a cool thing to take something and then write out all your memories or thoughts. I LOVE this. It’s poetry.
Thanks Lori, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
What an interesting way to capture moments of your life through the eyes of trees! How lovely. Thank you!
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for reading, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
What a beautiful picture you painted with words. I have never been in that area yet walked through it with your post. Thanks.
Thank you, Jane!
This is an innovative post! I would have loved to be a fly on the wall inside your brain when you conceptualized it.
Why do trees have such a powerful pull and history for you Dave? Is it something you can sum up concisely? Perhaps that’s too big of a question and better left for a future post.
Hi Joel,
Trees do have a powerful pull and history for me, but there’s another side of the story, that I think I will talk about in another post. so I might hold off answering more fully for now. Thanks for the great question, (and the idea for another post!) it really got me thinking.
What beautiful observations, images and memories, Dave.
I love the way you write, as if describing a brief but vivid mental slide show. No extra details, just the fleeting image and the emotion(s) it evokes.
Your writing reminds me of the style used by the very best authors whose books I buy the week they’re released.
I’m so glad I paused for a moment under your trees.
Thanks for the kind words, Jim, I’m really glad that you came to hang out with the trees!
I loved this story.
As an Aussie baby boomer, much of my childhood was spent climbing trees, building cubby houses in them, eating the fruit from mulberry, plum or peach trees, hiking through the bush or exploring the rain forest. In my childhood trees were always a great source of pleasure and entertainment.
No wonder that I still live in a home surrounded by decks for outdoor living so that I can enjoy the forest and feel connected with trees, birds and nature.
Hi Priska,
Thanks for your thoughts on this–it’s been nearly 8 years since I’ve been home, I really miss the Australian bush. There’s nothing like it. Enjoy that deck and the beautiful forest!
I don’t know why, but I have a hard time understanding this kind of writing (e.g. I almost failed the section of my literature classes where we focused on poems).
But it seems from the other comments I’m alone in my inability to understand and appreciate metaphoric writing, so that’s good
Hi Amit,
I get what you’re saying, and I’m confident it’s not due to any ‘inability’ on your part. It’s like the different learning styles they talk about in Adult Education, we all have different preferences in how we receive information. Thanks for reading through anyway, I really appreciate your thoughts.