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Laurie
Trees get my attention. I love trees! As so eloquently spoken by The Trees of Endor in J.R.R. Tolkien's book, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, "Trees purify the air; they also purify the mind . . . if you want to save your world, you must save the trees."
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November 2009 
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Lovely, lovely, lovely…J.R.R.Tolkien has always been a “favored” favorite of mine. Once I had read the Simarilian(?), I was totally hooked and still drag out a dusty volume now and again. That is the essential truth, ” if you want to save your world, you must save the trees.” Wow, I don't need to get started, I've got okra to save at the present, I'm like you were Monday, Came in for a drink, sat down for a minute and now I'm Posting of all things. I'm digging up baby pecan trees in my yard ( lots! ) to plant in gallon containers. The squirrels were busy last fall, making sure I had enough to do!
I love trees, too. I have about 20 in the acre of land behind my property, some of them towering over 100 feet. When I took environment science in graduate school, I was especially mesmerized by the fact that they inhale our CO2 all day long and exhale oxygen all night long.
Barbara -
I recently wrote an article called, “Dancing with Trees.” In it I detailed just exactly what you are talking about. Here's a small snippet:
“Junior high school is where most of us learn about the alchemy of photosynthesis; that plants use solar energy to create complex sugars from the simple building blocks, carbon dioxide and water. Just as people breathe and perspire, trees play give-and-take with the air. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor are released from tree leaf pores to the atmosphere. CO2 is drawn from the air through the leaf pores for photosynthesis, the process by which trees use the energy of sunlight to convert carbon to food and fiber. Each one of us–individually and collectively–relies on the food-manufacturing skills of trees and plants for sustenance.
We have all heard the adage, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” Unfortunately, many of us turn a blind eye when we need a parking lot for a strip mall, or we raze an orchard to accommodate a new development. We casually look the other way when we pulverize forests in exchange for something that is more profitable. History has shown us time and time again that gain at the expense of someone or something else always has a large price tag associated with it–always.”
Ohhhhhh, don't get me started! (a little too late for that). But you get the idea …
Sandi -
Yes - Gaia has an addictive quality to it - a lure - a draw. I find myself playing incentive/reward games like this …
“When I finish unloading the dishwasher, I can have 5-minutes on Gaia.” “When I finish sweeping the front and back porches, I can have 5-minutes on Gaia.”
What are you going to do with the baby pecan trees that you have transferred to the gallon containers? Are they something that you can sell at the Farmer's Market?
Hi, Laurie, yes, I'm thinking about raising them until the fall to get a little size on them and send them to a good home. I've got 10 on my property but can only get to 5 to harvest. Boy, I sure know what you mean.. when I go out in the morning I try to make a point of not going back in til lunch. Sure enough I'll leave something or need a glass of tea and before I know it it's an hour later and the temps. gone up 10 degrees.
Laurie … I love your “don't get me started” … I've seen little bits and pieces of your thoughts about trees show up in other blog posts, so I wasn't surprised to see that TREES would be the thing that would get your attention. In fact, I was already headed to your blog anyway to link you to this story on rudyan's blog, and here you are, talking about trees again!
All this talk of trees reminds me of a time when my (now ex) husband got very frustrated with me. I was crying because I was unable to convince my husband not to take down a tree that was in our front yard. His argument was that it was interfering with the plumbing and should never have been planted in the front yard to begin with, and “besides that, there's two more just like it in the back yard”. My argument was that the tree was there long before the house was built, and maybe it was the house that was in the wrong place, not the tree. and maybe out of respect for the tree, we should spend the money to re-route the plumbing. He didn't agree, and couldn't understand why I wouldn't just go along with his plan.
He waited until I was out of town at a friend's funeral. When I came home, the tree was gone. I don't live in that house now, but I still drive by sometimes, and can't help visualizing the majesty of the huge tree that dominated the front yard. I loved that tree. Now maybe it's only a memory, but believe me, it still lives in my heart.
Sorry, didn't mean to head off in another direction. I really just came by to say that I love it that you adore trees, and to share the link to the story and photos on rudyan's blog. I also love the photo that you posted above. I could sit under that tree forever.
Nancy -
Thank you for the link to Rudyan's wonderful blog post. I thoroughly enjoyed the read this morning!
I'm sorry about the tree that you lost in your previous front yard. That was hard, very hard.
couple of days late, but hey… trees do get my attention… at that photo is beautiful! One of yours or stock?
When I lived at Easton Mountain Retreat center, there where two very old trees, that had not been harvested or clear cut in the generations that proceeded… Grandfather Oak, and Grandmother Birch. These trees are rich in sound and energy, full of love to offer… I use the image of Grandmother Birch to take my on my journeys downward, in the realms of journeying…
And I loved the tree part of Lord of the Rings in the books, I was just amazed by the insight … Thank you for reminding us..
Jeff -
I very much enjoyed the remembrance you shared about Grandfather Oak and Grandmother Birch.
The picture of my God Tree was taken many years ago. It lives just outside of the Elfin Forest in the San Diego area. Oddly, I took it with my little (and I do mean little) Canon Elf camera. To this day, the God Tree remains the place that I return to in my mind's eye on a daily basis.