Eric bought a really fancy new camera, and once he stops throwing up, I'll have him take some new pics of me and the girls (you know, because the blog needs an update) and of the Chanin dress, which is pretty much finished.

In the meanwhile, I want to talk trees. How I love them, almost to the point of ridiculousness. Tree hugging and all that. Life-giving force and all that.

When my gram was sending down all those boxes of stuff last year, this little book was in one of them:

It's leather bound, and was published in 1920.  I got it out because I wanted to try to identify this magnificent beast, which presides over our backyard:

Sadly, Julia's book was of no help to me.  My best guess is elm, but I can't be sure (when M. is back in town, I bet she'll know).  But I was "leafing" through it anyway (ha!) and loved this little passage at the beginning:

Every one of us loves the sight of green things growing.  It is natural that trees, which are greatest in all the plant kingdom, should inspire in us the highest admiration.  Their terms of life so far outrun the puny human span!  They stand so high, and spread so far their sheltering arms!  We bless them for the gifts they bring to supply our bodily needs, and for their beauty, which feeds our souls!

I love that earnestness, and all those exclamation marks.  And, though her book isn't so helpful to my 2010 eyes, her sentiment remains right on, in my book.  When we first moved to this house, I just couldn't believe how lucky we were to have these great green beasts in our very own backyard.  I still can't.