DAY 38
05.12.07
TREE 44My whole family and others were at Tygart Lake State Park near Grafton, WV for my sister’s first Mother’s Day, her birthday, and a celebration of her PhD in physics. I chose a tree right next to our lodge. My brother chose to watch and take some pictures, but he didn’t really know how to use my camera so I didn’t get much. But the climb was good. I got up high and the weather was, again, perfect. It was really nice to meet my new nephew for the first time, spend time with the family, and play some cards. And it was okay to get away from the Mary Anderson Center but I was really looking forward to doing art and having more time and freedom to chose the trees to climb.
5-12-08: With the high winds from yesterday’s storms a tree snapped and fell on my next door neighbor’s barn/shed thing. Having worked with the tree service I know that these accidents are considered “acts of god” and though the tree grows on my parents’ property we are not held liable. If our neighbors could prove that the tree was dead and we had neglected to take care of it, then we would be liable. But, as you will see in the pictures, this tulip poplar was alive with many green leaves. Maybe a little rotten on the inside…
So last night, after dinner with my mom, I headed out in the fading light to climb. It was cold and windy, and when I passed through the bushes to the grassy field I began to get very wet. Not from any rain since it was not falling but from the water dripping off the leaves. I looked up and saw a tree, perfect for climbing, that I had never noticed before. This happens to me often and makes me question my observation, but I guess there are just so many trees some may get overlooked. As I stepped through the tall grass my pants became soaked and my shoes heavy with cold water. I wrapped my hands around the first branch of the tree and it was soft and slimy. The bark had fungal growth covering it and when wet becomes like a lubricant. Because of this I had to use all of my body on many moves so as to not slip and fall. In doing so my clothes became patched with water and brown and green goo.
About half way up I experienced that aching pain in my hands from extreme cold. They were so wet and as I went higher the whipping wind hit them and began to freeze them. I paused many times to cover them in my sleeves and tighten them into fists to revive the warmth.
At the top I took some pictures and some bad video. I was happy to put away my camera. I was attempting to capture some of the large gusts of wind and how it was tossing me in this tree. But the wind somehow knew when the camera was recording and refused to blow. Once the camera was in my pocket the wind immediately picked up and I stood in the crook of these limbs and began to see this experience as a metaphor for life.
I saw this tree as the path I have chosen in life. The wind is the unforeseen forces that I can either lean against, have blow me down, or can ultimately tear down the very structure and routine I cling to. What makes the difference is the strength of that path I choose. What I felt as I thought of this was that I was actually doing none of those three things. I was holding on and enjoying the ride. I wasn’t leaning against the wind but accepting its powerful sway. And what does it mean that I did not carefully select this tree, but rather it called to me? Then the metaphor faded away because I felt I was looking too hard for it. Or I just got cold and my foot was tired and I need to climb down.
I don’t often look for or find metaphor in things. But I do often when I am in a tree. I am not sure what triggers that in my mind, but perhaps it comes from the feeling that my experience in the tree tops are significant to me and therefore must represent or mirror some idea I have of importance. I definitely see the correlation between viewing the world from up high, giving things perspective, having a large view of the world, and then applying that to which I cannot see, like my life.
