This is a Golden Leaved Black Locust tree that was planted on the grounds of the Research Station that my FIL worked at for his entire career. This agriculture research facility is home to over 500 species of ornamental trees and shrubs.
My FIL passed away on Thanksgiving day in 1994 and this tree was planted in his memory shortly after.
My husband now works at the same research facility and so this farm continues to hold a special place in our hearts. When my daughter was in grade 2 and my son was in grade 4 they brought home small tree seedlings from school. We had no room to plant these seedlings at home and so we headed over to the Farm.
This is a picture of my husband standing behind one of the seedlings that was planted 11 years ago. The location that the kids chose to plant their trees was very sheltered and shaded. The seedlings have to compete for sunshine with the other trees nearby so I am sure that is why this tree is still so small.
A few years ago, my husband rescued some abandoned feral kittens and brought them home for my daughter to foster. Unfortunately, the kittens were very sick and way too young to be separated from their mother and so we lost them. They were been buried at the foot of this tree.
We continued to drive along the base of the mountain--for the most part on a path of sorts that had been recently mowed. We came to the end of the beaten path and the terrain changed a great deal. You can see from this picture that the grass suddenly got very tall. Yes, that grass is really the height of the hood of our truck. Finally, my husband decided that he could no longer see where we were driving and so he turned back. Thank goodness!
Trees really can mark special times in our lives - how nice that you have these to remember in our family.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding all of us of the beauty and meaning of trees! They are the main reason I hesitate to ever move from this spot...where we have been 'planted' now for 28 years. A memory tree, given to us a gift, lies on our property line between our house and the neighbors of 20+years..my best friend and her 12 year old daughter, my 12 yr. old at the time's BF, died in a car accident 10 years ago. Not a day goes by that I don't look at that little tree a million times and think of them and their place in our hearts! Her husband and sons survived the crash and moved away, but the memories of raising our 3 children together and all the joys we shared as families are sybolized by that one tree now planted between our two houses.
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