On a recent walk, Pooch and I visited with the ancients of the forest. We paid our respects to a once lumbering giant snapped in two by an unrelenting storm. I followed Pooch’s lead and climbed up into the dying treetop to sit and reflect on the season of promise and renewal.
An ethereal glint from the sun drew my eyes to the ancient’s splintered trunk and outstretched arms.
And to a face with a mouth drawn up like a bowl … as if the ancient was singing praises for its life renewed.
“It is not what you look at, but what you see.” – Henry Thoreau.
Renewal: Moss living on a decaying fence post.
Promise fulfilled: This lilac bush bloomed for the first time since it was planted years ago. Its fragrance reminds me of my grandmother’s sweet perfume.
This old crabapple promises an abundance of fruit in the fall to sustain the wildlife.
Redbud Forest: Blushing beauties as far as the eye can see.
The Redbud’s promise: “You might know this tree by other names. Some call it the Eastern Rosebud. Others call it the Canadian Rosebud,” says writer RGraf at hubpages.com. “But the most infamous name is the Judas-Tree. Tradition holds that it was the Redbud that Judas Iscariot in the Bible hung himself after betraying Jesus. The tree was so embarrassed by the part that it played in the story that it forever blushes and grows in a such a twisted manner that it could never be used like that again. Thus, we have the blushing tree known as the Redbud with its twisted and strange looking limbs.”
Sheila T Illustrated© 
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