Chicken Tree

I love trees - I like the the story they tell; moving through the seasons.  Spring; the tight buds appearing and the clean, bright, light green leaves.  Blossoms and delicate petals, ready to grow into fruit or seeds to scatter later in the trees life.  Summer;  the fullness, the privacy and shade or shelter that trees give to us during light rain showers or blazing sunshine.  The time to rub the bark and spread your arms around the trunk, wondering if the past Kings of England had touched this very same tree!  Autumn; the colour - the amazing colours; reds, oranges, yellows and rusty browns.  The crispness as those leaves drop off onto the ground and then the child like activity of kicking up and through all those fallen leaves.   Collecting fruit, chestnuts, walnuts and conkers - to polish within our mitten hands.  And then winter, the trees showing their bare branches in all their glory, beautiful silky spiders webs made expertiersly between little twigs or the spookyness in the dark with owls moving quitetly from tree to tree, watching mice scurrying between the roots, looking for acorns and fallen berries.  While I am trying to find the last of the pine cones ready to dress the fire mantel for Yule time.

Then there is the trees’ after life - the felling, the chopping ready for the timber yard.  All those age rings and knots giving  the timber its personality. Being bought to be made into - what?  Boats, houses, furniture, paper and so much more.  The smell of the wood, wood shavings and off cuts for burning in the log burner with any fallen and chopped up branches.

My favorite tree is the majestic and at the same time witchy tree; The Beech Tree.  The smooth bark, how beech trees were grown in circles on hills.  The pink of the seasoned timber, so smooth when plained and lightly waxed - beautiful.

Sadly we have had to cut down two trees in our garden this year - they had grown far to big for our little garden and for the houses around.  However, as the garden slowly gets reinvented - we will be planting new smaller trees - for their additional height over other plants, their beautiful colour and privacy.

In our village; either on the way out or as we are coming home - we have an amazing tree.  I can honestly say, practically the whole village loves this tree.  How the wind; up and down the hilly fields have shaped this tree ....  please let me have the honour of introducing our ‘Chicken Tree’ ....

Beautiful isn’t she?  Do you have a special tree in your life?  Take care, till we meet again. xx