I’m going to guess that some of you, during the pandemic, have had more time than usual to look around and appreciate your immediate environment — from the living room to the backyard to neighborhood streets. It’s possible you’ve taken walks on roads and avenues you previously only traversed by motor vehicle. I’m wondering if, during your circumscribed travels in this shutdown/slowdown, you’ve noticed a particular tree. I wonder if, by now, you could point to a favorite. Or maybe you already had one. Maybe it’s a tree in your yard or along a city street or country road. Maybe it’s one you just discovered along a river or in a state park.
One day back in the 1990s, in my column in The Baltimore Sun, I asked readers to tell me about their favorite trees — location, description and the trees’ effects on hearts and souls. The response was great. Many people, it seemed, could instantly name a favorite tree, or one they considered great. I distinctly remember deejay Steve Rouse, then of the popular 105.7 morning team in Baltimore, pointing to a huge and magnificent maple tree he saw on his daily commutes, in Fallston, Maryland, along Mountain Road.
Feel free to share your personal favorite here, or visit this Facebook page, Finding Your Spirit-Home, and look for the post about favorite trees there.
Dan Rodricks 