Arbor Day
From the earth’s loosened mould
The sapling draws its sustenance and thrives;
Though stricken to the heart with winter’s cold,
The drooping tree revives. From An April Day by Longfellow
Arbor Day, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014 by lifeonthecutoff
19 Responses
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Happy Arbor Day to you!
From Lincoln, Nebraska 🙂
Peace and luvz, Uncle Tree ▲
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. . . and to you as well, Uncle Tree. We’ve a glorious day full of sunshine and warmth, a welcome gift after this hard, hard winter, which I’m sure you, too, had in Nebraska. Thanks for stopping by.
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Beautiful words and a great photo! I plan to spend a bit of my Arbor Day saying “hi” to my favorite tree at the Morton Arboretum. I hope you enjoy the day too Penny!
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Thanks, Janet. A perfect place to spend Arbor Day. What’s your favorite tree there? Mine is the huge Copper Beech, off to the right of the Visitor Center, in the shade garden.
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Nice poem and photo. You are celebrating Arbor Day and for us it’s just been Anzac Day. You are with new life and we are thinking about the dead. Soon it will be our Halloween.
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That’s right; we celebrate our “A” days in April about the same time and on different ends of the world. It seems that the time, and the posts, between the years seems to go faster and faster. I’ll look forward to your Halloween posts soon.
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Spring is the season of hope and that poem — and your picture — are perfect for Spring and Arbor Day.
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Thank you, Sallie. It was such a glorious day yesterday. Hope yours was as well.
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I’m glad it’s still early evening here, Penny, because I am sad to admit that I didn’t even know it was Arbor Day! The day passed with me totally unaware. I never want to take any trees for granted. What a lovely Longfellow poem, and I’m so happy to know that you are finally really experiencing spring. I do hope the weekend is lovely, warm and full of outdoor pleasure, my friend. 🙂
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I might have forgotten myself, Debra, had I not received an early morning email from The Writer’s Almanac that noted the observance. It is rewarding, isn’t it, to take a day to remember our trees and all they do for us. You might enjoy the entire poem, which was new to me (or long forgotten). Yesterday was a fantastic day for a walk in the woods, then some serious yard work. We are still hauling leaves from last Fall out of the flower beds.
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I, too, have to admit I didn’t know it was Arbor Day, nor was I familiar with the poetry you chose to share. Whenever I think of poetry about trees, Joyce Kilmer immediately comes to mind, thanks I believe to an English teacher I had over 50 years ago.
You’ve probably discerned by now that I love to “Google” and doing that tonight yielded this: http://spiritoftrees.org/poetry/advice-from-a-tree I can envision such advice coming from a tree that I love and used to visit periodically, the Angel Oak near Charleston: http://spiritoftrees.org/poetry/advice-from-a-tree I’m sure it could tell wonderful tales infused with hundreds of years of history, and give sage counsel based on all that it has surveyed. You should add it to your list of things to see when you visit Charleston. 🙂
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I had such an English teacher, Karen, and that poem is as iconic to trees as any. I did not know this Longfellow poem, sorry-to-say, until I googled around a bit, looking for a tree poem that would “sorta” work with the photo.
I love to “Google” as well. Thanks for the links, which I will visit post haste, and now I am longing to see the Angel Oak you love to visit. Should I ever get to Charleston (and visit you-know-who), that will be tops on my list.
I truly enjoy when you all tell me of your favorite spots and trees and I’m surprised at how many of us claim trees. As I mentioned to Janet above and who visits the Morton Arboretum even more than I do, my favorite tree there is a Copper Beech which is as hug-worthy as any tree I know.
Enjoy this spring. Sunny and warming here.
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I just hit the links and I know Advice from a Tree. Wish I had thought of that. It appears in the form of posters, cards, and even a little book at the gift shop in the Morton Arboretum. Thanks for this great poem and reminder, Karen.
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I compared my dad to a tree today. I hope that was a worthy Arbor Day salute.
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Ha! Indeed, it was most certainly Arbor Day worthy, Andra. An oak?
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Actually, it was part of a very emotional metaphor for me in some offline writing. Writing about the inevitability of the death of one’s parents is a hard business, but I hope it will speak to many.
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I’m sure it will speak to many , Andra. Hard subject, for sure. Hope to read it at some point. Hope all is well with you.
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I’m afraid I had to google Arbor Day, Penny, as I’d never heard of it. Such a lovely idea and It’s interesting to see how far back it dates. In the UK, the equivalent is National Tree Week. According to Wikipedia “First mounted in 1975, National Tree Week is a celebration of the start of the winter tree planting season. Around a million trees are planted each year by schools, community organizations and local authorities.
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I should have included a link, Perpetua. Glad you googled it and learned a bit about our Arbor Day and that we share similar times of dedication to trees. The 1970’s were really a time of great movement for environmental issues that have held strong all this time. Hope your weather is “holding”.
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