Category Archives: flourishing tree

The wearin’ of the green

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I didn’t want to wait until my usual Wednesday post to share these photos of my city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. It’s one of the few parades in the city that doesn’t require an entry fee, and so it brings out an interesting cast of characters, along with the ones you’d expect to find in a St. Patrick’s Day parade.

This parade is always special to me. I used to march in it when I was an Irish dancer, and one year, I ran into a guy I knew from church right after the parade ended and realized I really liked him. He asked me out the next day, and we’ve been together ever since!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these pictures, and wherever you are today, may you be blessed, and go n-eírí an bóthar leat. (May the road rise to meet you.)

Dancers, drums and pipes

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Dancing for the crowd

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A tourist’s impression of trees

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My husband and I headed to Kentucky this weekend to run a race – a 10K road race for me and a 60K (!) trail race for him. This was my first visit to Kentucky and my husband’s first stay there when he wasn’t just driving through from one state to another.

We ran in a beautiful National Recreation Area called Land Between the Lakes, and I was struck by how much beauty and grace trees lend to a landscape. Maybe I was thinking of the trees so much because I had a long wait for my husband to come through a path among the trees before he could head to the finish line.

I’d had enough time after my race to drive back to our hotel, shower, change and check out before heading back out to watch him finish. I waited at this final trail crossing/aid station for over an hour, grateful for having finished my race but also grateful for such a beautiful place to run. I was also happy to see little signs that spring was coming, the hint of color rising on the trees, a bit of green peeking through here and there. I also didn’t mind the wait because it’s always fun to see how different runners react when heading in to another loop or turning toward the finish.

I wasn't the only one waiting for a runner to come out of these woods.

I wasn’t the only one waiting for a runner to come out of these woods.

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A little green vine by the runners’ trail promised of spring coming soon.

When we drove through Land Between the Lakes the day before, we stopped at one of the visitor centers to walk around a bit. While there, we walked through a historical exhibit that spoke of the sacrifices of turning this area into a National Recreation Area. The Tennessee Valley Authority displaced whole communities to create this area, and though I’m glad for the beauty of the place, I know it didn’t come without great economic and emotional cost for those who lived here before.

From trail to traffic
After my husband finished his race, we headed for Nashville. Talk about a transition! We went from serene, quiet, tree-filled trails and small towns to really, really terrible traffic and the constant wail of car horns and sirens. We headed to the Ryman for a concert Saturday night, and the traffic on the way from our hotel left me saying, “I would not ever want to live here.”  Continue reading →

On cutting down trees, again

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Back in January, I wrote a post about some tree cutting that happened nearby to put up a needless sidewalk. Then, a few weekends ago, the tree men came to my own neighborhood to cut down one of the grand old oaks that has graced us for many decades.

It’s not the only tree to die because of the construction craze in the neighborhood (the neighborhood is experiencing a “tear-down” renaissance where new, large homes replace older, smaller ones), but it was a beautiful tree that I hoped might just survive its mistreatment.

The tree had declined after stresses piled on to it one after another: back-to-back summers of heat and drought coupled with a construction crew that didn’t understand – or didn’t care – what day after day of painting materials washed out at the base of the tree would do to it. Of course, the new owners had no idea about the paint, and they consulted tree experts to try to save the tree. But after holding off for a couple of years to try to help the tree survive, they decided it was time to take it down.

So a few Saturdays ago, with snow falling (a rarity around here), I was getting my house ready to entertain guests later that evening. I realized I was hearing the steady drone of a chainsaw and looked out to see across the roof of the house behind ours, a man up in the tree:

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When I saw what was happening, I stopped cleaning to grab my camera, and over the next few hours (with some dusting and laundry and food prep in between), documented as the tree came down, limb by limb.

I’m scared of heights, and though I love trees, I don’t enjoy climbing them at all. So this sight awed me, this man connected to the tree by ropes and also connected to his chainsaw by a rope that swung at his side.  TreeCutting2013_3 Continue reading →

Do bloggers get sick days?

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Here it is Wednesday, the day of the week I usually post something, and yet, I don’t feel much like sitting at my computer. For several days, I’ve been fighting a cold, and yesterday, the cold started fighting back even harder by moving into my lungs, firing up a fever and making everything generally pretty achy. So if you don’t mind, I’m going to take today off.

But I’ll share with you one of my favorite Irish blessings, so very true for me this week, as I’ve found myself grateful for a warm, dry house during days of rain, wind and cold, and also thankful for warm cups of tea:

May you always be blessed
With walls for the wind.
A roof for the rain.
A warm cup of tea by the fire.
Laughter to cheer you.
Those you love near you.
And all that your
Heart might desire.

My heart desires a good night’s sleep and clear lungs. Maybe your heart desires spring to come quickly? There are a few signs in my garden that spring is on its way. Look for pictures in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a little indoor cheer and a hope that the only fever you have is spring fever:

A paperwhite in bloom brings springtime inside, even in winter.

A paperwhite in bloom brings springtime inside, even in winter.

Fun for a rainy day

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I can think of nothing I’d rather do on a cold, rainy Saturday morning than curl up under a warm blanket with a hot cup of tea nearby and while away the time reading. From the weather forecast, it sounds like a lot of us may be spending the day inside, and so I thought I’d share some of my favorite blog reads with you as a bonus post this week.

Earlier this week, I was honored with a blog award by a fellow blogger (the best kind of award comes from our compatriots, right?), and though I don’t usually play along with blog awards because they remind me a bit too much of chain letters and ask me to answer questions that might show up as the security questions for my online commerce sites, getting an award always makes me feel a little happier, like someone has taken time to give me a little pat on the back. So I thought I would take some time today to pass along some blog love.

After all, it gives me a chance to say thanks to the bloggers who entertain me, encourage me, make me think, make me workout harder or smarter, and make me laugh, too. Who knows, you may find a new favorite among the list.

So with no strings attached, here’s a list of blogs I enjoy that you might, too.

First, a big thanks to Julia, who nominated me for the award. She’s 17 (!) and a self-described budding author. I’m all about encouraging the next generation of writers. So be sure to check out her blog. Continue reading →