Look closely at a tree with the concentration of an ardent admirer and you will be welcomed to a wonderful world of life and purpose. The quiet tree stands undisturbed by the hustle and bustle of life, and when a restless wind blows in its branches, its response is a softly spoken “hush! The loudest noise a tree makes is when a branch is broken or its trunk is felled. Then the sound of a crack or a thud manifests the pain of its loss of life.

We go to trees for shade, to look at trunk and leaf, to watch beautiful birds frolic on its branches, to remind ourselves that life has purpose although fulfillment of that purpose may take generations. So it is that when children, grand children, and generations to come see a tree that an ancestor has planted, it reminds them of the links between generations and the legacy of family traditions that enrich their lives in the present. How grateful we should be for trees, majestic and otherwise, for they have in their being much from which we can learn. –Grandpa Wal