Thursday, January 31, 2008

Tree Skeletons

I love to look at deciduous trees in winter and try to follow each large branch out to the tips. Some recurve towards the trunk, others reach out sideways for a long time and then flip up or droop. The color and texture of the bark as well as the pattern with which the branches pop out from the trunk vary with the type of tree. My village is probably one of the last places in the US with a lot of elm trees, especially along the road next to the big park in the middle of town. The grace of the branches of those elms is moving to me, and I often choose that street to drive down. I think that if it weren’t for elm blight, every main street in the Eastern part of the US would have this same beautiful pattern lacing the sky. My daughter hates the leaf-drop, and would love it if our village only planted non-deciduous trees. But to me, the lovely bones of the trees, especially silhouetted against sky, are a welcome sight.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also love deciduous trees, partly because they remind me of growing up in the Midwest and the winters there. Also the whole death & rebirth thing. I have several bare trees in my yard now, my favorites are the pecan, walnuts and fig. --Kathryn

Lorelei said...

It's startling how different the branches look when you compare different types of trees. My vision is bad enough that they're more or less green blobs in summer. But in winter, different colors and roughnesses of bark and the arrangements of branches are diverse and fascinating.