THE TREES HAVE IT

I DIVORCED MY WIFE AND RAN AWAY WITH A TREE. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I did get your attention though.
I love trees and they love me. I want to think that they return my love. Do I hear them talking with each other as their boughs sway in the wind? Listen closely and you might hear them too.

I am far removed from being an arborist. I know next to nothing about trees but I do know the kind of trees I favor, those that surround my modest home. Trees that are straight and tall and true searching for the clouds, aged with expansive girths, their sturdy boughs reaching out to me, inviting me into their leafy embrace.

I don't really know their names. It's not important to me. My guess is that some of them might be oaks, redwoods, cedars, and maybe an eucalyptus or two thrown in for their distinctive scent. But each and every tree is a true friend. We're going steady. To those giant trees firmly embedded, I am truly wedded.

Now listen in to Joyce Kilmore.1886-1918, who wrote an exceptional poem about trees, one known throughout the world,

TREES
I THINK THAT I SHALL NEVER SEE
A POEM LOVELY AS A TREE.
A TREE WHOSE HUNGRY MOUTH IS PRESSED
AGAINST THE SWEET EARTH'S BREAST;

A TREE THAT LOOKS AT GOD ALL DAY,
AND LIFTS HER LEAFY ARMS TO PRAY;
A TREE THAT MAY IN SUMMER WEAR
A BEST OF ROBINS IN HER HAIR;

UPON WHOSE BOSOM SNOW HAS LAIN;
WHO INTIMATELY LIVES WITH RAIN.
POEMS ARE MADE BY FOOLS LIKE ME,
BUT ONLY GOD CAN MAKE A TREE.

A note of contention dear Joyce.
Only nature makes a tree.

Harry Behn is the author of another
TREE poem I rather enjoyed reading.
A simple poem, a poetic dimple.

Also entitled TREES

Trees are the kindest things I know
They do no harm, they simply grow
and spread a shade for sleepy cows
and gather birds among their bows

They give us fruit in leaves above,
and wood to make our houses of,
and leaves to burn on Halloween
and in the spring new buds of green.

They are first when day's begun
to touch the beams of morning sun.
They are the last to hold the light
When evening changes into night.

And when a moon floats on the sky
they hum a drowsy lullaby
of sleepy children long ago ..
Trees are the kindest things I know.

Harry Behn I salute you.

Now for an uninspiring definition of a tree.

A tree can be defined as a large, perennial,
woody plant with secondary branches
supported by a primary stem (compare with a shrub).
There is no set definition regarding minimum size,
though most authors cite a tree species as being one
which regularly reaches 6M (20 ft) tall.

Now for some big words to help us understand
the practical benefits of trees.

Plants (trees) absorb carbon dioxide and release
oxygen as part of the photosynthetic process helping
us to breathe cleaner air. Researchers have found
that many common houseplants also absorb benzene,
formaldehyde and (hold on) trichloroethylene, as well.
Google your way into finding which houseplants and
blooming potted plants perform best in fighting pollution
indoors as well.

Symptoms of indoor air pollution. They may include
headache; dizziness, cough, irritation of the eyes, nose,
and/or throat, runny nose,difficulty in breathing, chest
and/or abdominal pain, nausea, difficulty sleeping,
diarrhia, and rashes. Since most of us come down with
one or more of these symptoms, it's best to consult a
physician before running out to the plant store.

If you are interested in some trees that are distinctly
different in various ways, I give you three that will
intrigue you. Let Google introduce you to:
the BAOBAB tree, and .the WELWITSCHIA tree.
One more? The world's tallest tree,
is the MENDOCIA tree, a coast Redwood
growing in Montgomery Woods State Resort near
Ukiah. This tree will strain your neck as you
continue to look up, and up and up to reach the
end of this giant standing some 367'6"tall.

Are you still with me? Excellent -- you are
true tree lovers and I thank you for listening.
Now go find a tree to hug.