I Think I Found My Tree (Trees?)

I was recently inspired by the blog,  Loose And Leafy , to take up the idea of “following” a tree.  For the past couple of years, Lucy of Loose And Leafy has been frequently posting about a particular Sycamore tree with updated photos and new happening on and around the tree throughout the year. This year she has taken to following an Elder tree (Sambucas Nigra). I really love the idea of taking such an icon of stability and unchanging solidity, as the tree, and studying all of the various, changing details about it that would otherwise go unnoticed.

While filling up my water bottles at a natural spring in Barnstable, I spotted the tree(s) that I will be following.

So I have been looking  around at various trees and wondering Which one I would like to follow for a season. Many ideas and possibilities, but then, just the other day, while at one of my favorite natural springs filling up water bottles, I saw the one…or well…which one. OH I still can’t decide, but at least I’ve narrowed it down to two nominees.

The Horse Chestnut  ( Aesculus hippocastanum)

The Horse Chestnut tree, standing in it's craggy, winter bleakness, caught my attention at the spring.

I'm looking forward to finding out who lives here. This tree is certainly a habitat for someone.

Or the Red Maple ( Acer Rubra)

This deformed Red Maple also caught my eye from across the road. As you can see, it is, as of quite recently, missing much of it's top.

The red Maple tipped over a few months ago, Root plate and all, during a wind storm was leaning out into the road. The road crew came along and cut tree back to the edge of the road and there it has sat ever since.

Half of the root plate is still in the ground and it seems as if this tree will still be viable come growing season.

It will be interesting to see how this tree responds this year to suddenly having over half of it's root system lifted out of the earth.

Looking underneath the lifted roots of this tree and taking note of the amount of water, it is not hard to imagine why this tree tipped over as it did.

So which one should I focus my attention on? I don’t know, perhaps I will just end up following each of these trees since they are both growing in one of my favorite spots on the Cape.

One interesting note about the natural spring that I visit frequently, is that, in the midst of all the dead, brown, and dormant plant life, the earth directly around this spring has a year round crop of lush green.  Even in the coldest of winter months , I have never seen this spot not adorned with the brightest of flora.

The green that surrounds this spring, year round is a testimony to the life giving properties of this water.