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| The street to the Colonial Governors House in Williamsburg Viginia |
The trees lining the street on the right hand side are Catalpa Trees, causing an emotional flashback to my childhood. My grandparent lived around the corner from us just down the hill on Gravel Creek Road. The road was lined with Catalpa trees down the hill to their driveway, and their driveway was lined with the Catalpa trees. The trees have a large heart shaped leaf, bloom in the spring, and develop a seed pod about as big around as garden snake and about a foot long. The leafs have a mildly fizzy back side, and are leathery on the top side. They purchased the farm during World War II, and the trees had been planted by the previous farmer. I remember a tree being struck by lightning one night in a massive thunderstorm, it was split all the way to the ground, and caught fire, that the thunderstorm put out.
The trees remind me of riding my bike around the corner and up their driveway. Fond memories. I occasionally see a single tree here in northern Virginia, this was the first time I had seen a street or drive lined with them.
My mood on seeing this was nostalgia, fond memories of the past. A sense of calm, and the constants that endure the passage of time. Much of the world we live in, the things that dominate our attention are temporary, the trees will outlive and outlast most of what distracts us from enjoying today. Be like the trees.
It's why I keep holiday traditions and other family things alive. The nostalgia and feeling and memories they stir are often comforting.
ReplyDeleteI made my fruitcakes over the weekend.
DeleteI grew up in East Tennessee. My uncle was a dairy farmer, and there was a huge catalpa tree, one of the biggest I ever saw, growing just outside the fence around his house. He called it a tobacco tree, I guess because of the huge fuzzy leaves. It was big enough to cast shade on the lawn, and that's where everybody would set their chairs when we had family reunions at the farm.
ReplyDeleteThe leaves are very like dried tobacco.
DeleteBe like the trees? I am already developing a rough outer bark and a small woodpecker is nesting in my belly button. Furthermore, I am learning how to sway in the wind.
ReplyDeleteAnd you have lived long enough to outlast many ups and downs around you.
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DeleteA witty and astute reply Mr. Pudding.
DeleteIt's funny the things you see that take you back to a specific place and time; I love those surprise memories.
ReplyDeleteFlashbacks can be fun.
DeleteWhat a lovely post!
ReplyDeleteThank you, it was a great little adventure..
DeleteSuch a great post. I enjoy it when the scene before me takes me back in time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, it was a fun trip filled with moments. My first time at Williamsburg was in the late 1970s driving my grandmother on her way to winter in Florida.
DeleteI read "The HIdden Life of Trees: illustrated version" and found it so fascinating. I think you might find it interesting. It's nice when places bring back old memories.
ReplyDeleteI will look for that one in the library. The last book I finished was just plain weird.
DeleteOK. I want to develop something about as big around as a garden snake and about a foot long.
ReplyDeleteSure a pretty tree.
ReplyDeleteA tree is a good mentor.
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