Trees are Life

My favorite part of the natural world has got to be trees.  I live on a mountain full of them, from every view out of the windows of our home their leaves reflect the sun in the summer.  In fall they drop colourful leaves in the heavy rains and in winter their strong branches bare the weight of occasional snow fall.  Spring brings buds and flowers on some varietals and birds sing of the wheel's turning.

The concept of the World Tree, Tree of Life as axis mundi or the connector of the sky, earth and underworld is one that resonates deep inside me.  In my trance work a large smooth tree with wide branches and curling roots acts as my entrance point to my sacred space.  Sometimes the tree is full of leaves, sometimes its branches are bare.  Always I feel secure as soon as I see it, its energy being familiar and grounding.

The scientific magic of trees is still being studied but I have been reading small snippets of articles that talk about the ability trees have to communicate with each other.  They clean the air, keep soil from eroding and provide shelter to countless other beings (us included).  Check out this video relating the connections trees have through their root systems.

I tend to shift which tree to focus on depending on the seasons.  In spring cherry, plum and apple blossoms herald new beginnings and maple trees share their sweet sap.  In summer I love willow, oak and birch trees; all the leaves in their shapes and textures and how the sun shines through them.   When fall arrives I tend to notice the trees laden with fruit and nuts and which ones turn colour first to signal autumn.  And as Yule comes the conifers whisper quiet words of reassurance and lend their evergreen to the starker landscape of cold, wet days.

Here are some books on my future reading list if you are just as passionate as I.  Don't forget to hug a tree today or stand in Tree pose and just be.


Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest by Diana Beresford-Kroeger

Arboretum Borealis: A Lifeline of the Planet by Diana Beresford-Kroeger

Remarkable Trees of the World by Thomas Pakenham

Mythic Woods: The World's Most Remarkable Forests by Jonathan Roberts

How to Plant a Tree: A Simple Celebration of Trees and Tree-Planting Ceremonies by Daniel Butler

like the colour when the spring is born...

just a little green.

It finally feels like spring here.  I'm digging the vibrant green all around me.

My Birch Tree

A few years ago birch trees started to call to me.  They sent me messages that struck at my soul.  They compelled me to look closer at them, to meditate on who and what they are. 

I did research and found that the birch is a tree of beginnings, a tree of new perspectives and protection.  Birch trees are about everyday work, the tasks that are demanded for survival. 

I took it as an omen of good that there was a birch tree in the garden in front of our home when we moved in.  And the tree is the anchor on which the garden was built.  It touches the front of our home in places and I delight in its changes throughout the seasons.  In winter the raindrops glisten on the branches, in summer the leaves rustle in the wind.  For a long while I collected all the branches it discarded and made several things out of them.

I believe this one is a white birch although I'm no expert in identifying trees (yet).  The shade of a birch is dappled.  The small leaves make wonderful patterns of light.

I'm going to miss this tree.  I feel like its champion since my neighbour complained about it most of the time.

This is the first time that I've felt such a kinship with a particular tree.  I hope she lives long and brings delight to whoever the next family is to live here.