Greetings

Well, sorry folks... that was a bust. For some unknown reason my laptop lost all my already-deleted-on-camera tree photos and now it's too late because I'm elsewhere. Sure, there are trees in this neighbourhood, but they're not quite so interesting although often lovely... like the prunus that are in full flower.

To tell the truth, I think those techy gremlins didn't like the idea of my next planned post, where I wanted to share with you how this one particular tree, as I walked by it on a hot day, invited me 'Come share my shade'. The words sounded in my mind so subtly, but nevertheless undeniable. And I was happy to do exactly that.

What I started thinking about (apart from trees!) as I walked around the block was how the neighbours and the gardeners and the construction workers greeted me. The usual form was 'hello'. 'Hi' seems to be out of favour right now, as does the spelling I like to use, which is 'hallo' with an 'a'. Without going to the dictionary to discover the etymology, I like to think that we're saying 'hail oh', especially as local vernacular in South Africa uses the word 'ou' for a person. In the UK, however, 'hi' has now added a syllable and the normal, colloquial greeting is 'hiya'.

That's it for now. Till next time, God be with you... i.e. 'goodbye'.

Trees I see

In summertime at home, as I ride my bike through neighbourhood streets, I mentally greet each tree I pass. And so now, on these winter days when I'm lucky enough to h've escaped the snow and ice and am able to walk warmly around a California block, I absorb the sight of plane trees, gums, palms and many more. This made me think I'd like to share something of what I see with you. Here's the first photo, one of an extraordinary old plane, the first of several that I meet:

That horizontal branch is at least a foot in diametre, and at least ten feet long. These several trees remind me of a painting by Van Gogh that I had the privilege to see about eighteen months ago, although his trunks stand more perpendicular.

Here's a second pic, taken from the other side.

It's amazing what presence a tree can have, isn't it?