The Giving Tree

Hello Lovelies!
Welcome to what is otherwise known as my backyard.

I wanted to share the image above with you—it is the trunk of what I call our Tulip Tree (click). The poor sort of sickly thing with its grayish trunk and brittle branches sits like this for most what feels like forever. No, I did not carve this heart into it, but "CD" if you're out there, I hope your mark is still working.

Every year it's like this—Winter seems to set up a basic routine for us. It's dark out, we wake. Sun is sort of out (though granted a little more in California), the short days fade back to dark again, and we go to bed until the next day. While we don't get snow or anything too exciting, the mundane sameness of our weather has it's own quiet rhythm. While I am outdoors every day, this deciduous tree really blends into a sort of Wintery Wallpaper, as it were. The grayish trunk and spiky branches just sit there while I completely forget about the very existence of Spring. And then February hits—the sun peeks out a bit more, and this Wintery Wallpaper explodes into the most beautiful little offerings I can imagine:


















Around town the cherry blossoms have started to pop open, but I feel like I've won the lottery every time I look out my window. And while I know there's a Groundhog out there which is supposed to tell us, this message from my tree is my favorite way of hearing that Winter is on its way out.