The Company of Trees

If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees. 

~Hal Borland

I ended my last post with a photo of a tree. That's as good a segue as any to present you with some more images of these majestic beings in whole or in part.

A tree is an incomprehensible mystery. ~ Jim Woodring

I tricked myself with this image. When I first viewed it after uploading, I could not remember snapping the shot. I thought by the background, that it was situated along the lakeshore (Lake Ontario) on an overcast day. I did not recall having been there recently.

On pavements and the bark of trees I have found whole worlds. ~Mark Tobey

On second glance, or rather, upon seeing this photo, I realized that the tree was much closer to home. It sits on the boulevard just in front of my neighbour's home. I was enjoying how the sun cast its glow upon the bark.

A stricken tree, a living thing, so beautiful, so dignified, so admirable in its potential longevity, is, next to man, perhaps the most touching of wounded objects. ~Edna Ferber

This one illustrated the indomitable spirit and strength of nature. I'll spare you the view of the rest of this maple tree. The parks people determined that in its half dead state, it was a good idea to remove its limbs lest they fall upon folks enjoying a walk on the nearby path. There's a large orange X on the side of its bark, presumably to mark it as a victim of the next round of felling. I hope they've done all they have wanted to do and will leave the trunk intact. This tree plays host to insects, birds and squirrels and it's one of the spots where I occasionally leave peanuts in winter. Despite the extreme cutting, this "dead" tree still spouted a new sprig of leaves this spring. Gotta love that.

Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree does. ~George Bernard Shaw

These trees line the lovely property which belongs to one of Frank's brothers. We were there at the end of May for a family celebration.

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. ~Martin Luther

Red maple keys glowing in the hazy sunshine of early morning.

Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit. ~Khalil Gibran

Here's a closer look at them. They could almost be flowers.

All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man... the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. ~Chief Seattle

Late day sunshine, glittering through the maple leaves.

I think that I shall never see a billboard lovely as a tree. 
Perhaps, unless the billboards fall, I'll never see a tree at all. ~Ogden Nash

A lovely sunset seen high above the tree tops.

I looked up my family tree and found out I was the sap. ~Rodney Dangerfield

This beauty stands near the pond in my park. Behind it is a busy parkway but it appears so peaceful in the quiet of the night.

 Thanks for joining me. There'll be more to see in a few days.

Eye Catchers

Almost anywhere I wander, I'm lucky enough to be surrounded with wonderful things which catch my eye. Scroll down and I'll share a few of them with you.



After a rainfall on a windy day, this simple oak leaf, with all of its water droplets, looked so pretty to me.




Once the rain ended, the sky slowly cleared. This was how the sun looked when it found a hazy break in the clouds above. I thought it looked a bit like a full moon but it was early afternoon. And I wasn't drinking.




While walking one evening, I glanced down to see these green leaves and an older rusty leaf laying in such a way that reminded me of a cartoon carrot. This time, I'd only had a bit to drink. Can you see it?




All around my pond, the wild chicory is in bloom. It's such a simple, yet lovely flower.




Earlier in July, we had a few rainy days followed by some lush vegetation growth - including these mushrooms.




The early morning sunlight creates long shadows when it dances on this row of trees standing tall like sentinels to the pond below.




On a hot, humid day, there's nothing like a bit of ice to cool you down.




Like looking into a crystal ball, you can see much of my surroundings in this bubble. It only lasted a few seconds before Benny jumped and took a bite out of it.




Late day sunlight illuminated this otherwise darkened berry branch. Gotta love the colours of summer.

Thanks for joining me. I hope my eye-catchers were pleasing to you too.

This was a scheduled post. If all goes according to plans, we're probably back up at the cottage for a few days. I'll be around to read comments and catch up with your blog posts shortly after I return.