I love to take pictures, especially of trees.

This morning while I was starting Biggie on his walk this beautiful tree caught my eye and I tried to capture a couple good shots of it (mind you with a cell phone camera) while Biggie sniffed around. In the second picture you can see a few rays from the sun.

I don’t know what it is about trees that take my breath away. Maybe it’s a memory I hold onto from when I was a kid and our family had gone to Irvine park for a barbecue. I don’t remember how old I was, maybe 12, or very much of that day except for this one vivid image in my mind. I was tired of the different activities we’d been playing and I was ready to daydream (I did this a lot as a kid) and I walked to the table where my mom and aunt were sitting and laid face up on the bench. I remember there was a nice breeze and when I looked up I saw thousands of leaves blowing softly to the rhythm of the wind and the rays from the sun made them sparkle like diamonds. I remember saying out loud “what a beautiful picture this would be” and held my hands up as if I had a camera. And then I just sat there and daydreamed for a few minutes. I often wonder what was going through my mind at that time.

I wonder too what happened after that day that made me forget my love of trees because for a very long time I never really took notice of them. It feels like just recently, maybe within the last 4 years, that I awakened that feeling again and I find myself admiring trees wherever I go. I think it’s because I no longer let the rush of the day absorb all my focus and I have become more mindful of enjoying the beauty around me.