I noticed the other day, we have tree images in every room in our house. We never planned it that way.
This canvas print of the Sycamore Gap tree, that was felled by vandals last year in Scotland, hangs in our foyer.
I do love trees. And I do love nature.
A water color by local artist Kathy Miller…of trails on St. Olaf campus. This painting hangs in our dining room.
I love birds and critters, sky and clouds, flowers and trees, sunrises and sunsets.
My own artwork, while creating art with my granddaughter. I hung it on the refrigerator! đ
I try to be out in nature whenever possible, and I try to bring some of it indoors.Â
These three metal trees hang in our sunroom.
I took photos of my tree images to share. They are as varied as live trees themselves.
Another metal sculpture that hangs in our living room area.
Also in our living room – an old piece of folk art – a jewel tree made by my late Auntie Doll.
And I am reminded of the âtree poemâ by Ilan Shamir that “gives advice from a tree.” The poem is often abbreviated, and seen on bookmarks or plaques.
And this photo of the Lake Superior shoreline hangs in our bathroom.
This metal piece is in our bathroom.
Advice from a Tree
Stand tall and proud. Go out on a limb. Remember your roots. Drink plenty of water. Be content with your natural beauty. Enjoy the view.
The entire, beautiful Advice from a Tree poem gives even more advice. You can read it here.
This back-lit tree plaque hangs above the fireplace during winter months.
A print of an illustration from a children’s book, hanging in our bedroom.
Truthfully, there are even more tree images (and flowers and birds and…) around our house. We were surprised when we realize how many we had hanging around, or should I say, standing tall.
One of the attractions in Charleston, South Carolina is an old, oak tree named the Angel Oak Tree. I’m not sure how it got its name…maybe because of its huge canopy of overarching branches offering protection. It is a Southern live oak, which is different than your âordinary oakâ tree.
Photo of a promotional video from the breakfast room.
“The Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana), also known simply as the live oak, gets its name from the fact that, unlike other oaks, it doesn’t lose its leaves in the autumn. Live oaks are native to the Southeastern coast of the United States.”*
The massive trunk of the Angel Oak tree.
We like trees and decided to drive the extra miles out of town, to visit this majestic tree. It did not disappoint. Surprisingly, it is down a rutty, dirt road.
Warning signs were posted many places along the chainlink fence surrounding the tree.
We knew we had arrived when we saw a high, chainlink fence outlining the circumference of the tree, with signs saying this property is protected and patrolled. We noticed the surveillance cameras too. The area is free and open to the public during the day, but closed and gated at night.Â
Gary standing near the Angel Oak tree.
This is all good. We contrasted this to the Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrianâs Wall where we hiked last fall, in England. That sycamore tree stood tall and majestic also, and was 200-300 years old, standing alone in the gap, for anyone to enjoy. A national treasure, for Great Britian. Unfortunately, two weeks after we sat under that beautiful Sycamore tree, vandals came and cut it down! Hopefully that will not happen to the Angel Oak Tree in South Carolina.
Large branches touching the ground.
Looking out from the trunk at this branch on the ground.
The Angel Oak tree is a national treasure. It is 300-400 years old…some estimate even older. They say the tree is 65 feet high with a trunk circumference of 25.5 feet, shading an area of 17,000 square feet. Of course, I couldnât capture the whole tree in one photo…but I did take several photos.
The beautiful red cardinal singing for us.
The Angel Oak tree was worth the extra effort to find. A cardinal serenaded us from a different tree, but he added extra joy to our experience. A new baby tree has been sprouted from an acorn from the Angel Oak tree. It is three years old and grows in a pot next to the trunk, under the protecting branches of its mama.
This Baby Angel was planted in 2018 from an acorn fallen from the Angel Oak Tree.
Me and the big tree and the baby tree.
A magnificent stately tree.
Think of all this tree has lived through. Ah, the stories it could tell.
The Sycamore Gap tree along Hadrin’s Wall… September 8, 2023.
This 300-year-old majestic and gorgeous tree that I wrote about yesterday, was cut down by vandals overnight. Unbelievable. Who would do that? It is so incredibly sad.
I didnât know much about Hadrianâs Wall when we chose to hike it. I loved the idea of hiking from inn to inn, and I’ve enjoyed seeing pictures of England’s countryside, so why not there? We hiked a thirty-four mile section of the Hadrianâs Wall Path, which is an eighty-four mile coast-to-coast trail in northern England.
It was interesting to learn about this path that follows the course of an ancient Roman fortification wall. The construction of the Roman wall began in AD122 under the orders of Roman Emperor Hadrian. It was considered both a defensive barrier and a marker of the northern reaches of the Roman empire.
The original wall was 20 feet high and 10 feet wide. At each one-mile interval they had stone structures called milecastles which housed 32 soldiers.
Evenly spaced between the milecastles were two stone observation posts called turrets. Additionally, the Romans had built numerous forts in proximity to the wall.
Back in its day, there was a garrison of around 20,000 soldiers from across the empire at Hadrianâs Wall. After three centuries the Romans left, and many stones were pilfered to be used to build stone fences, and stone houses, by the local people.
John Clayton, in the 19th century, spent 50 years excavating Chesters Roman Fort and many other Hadrianâs Wall sites and is credited for saving Hadrianâs Wall. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a museum along the way, next to Chesters Roman Fort, with amazing artifacts that John Clayton excavated and collected. It was fascinating.
Today, the stone wall is intact in several places, up to 20 feet high, but then only a remnant stone, or nothing visible, in other places. Foundations and remnants of forts, milecastles and civil settlements were enroute with spectacular English country landscapes as the backdrop.
We hiked mostly in open countryside, although there were trees in the periphery… in the farm pastures and beyond.
 One lone sycamore tree at the bottom of a gap along the Wall is very picturesque, and been seen in several movies apparently – one being Robin Hood. If you hike along the Wall path, it takes you down the gap to the tree, and then you walk back up the other side. The tree is stately and magnificent (and 300 years old!) The area is known as âSycamore Gapâ.
There was a small portion of the trail that goes through a wooded area…a fairy forest we called it.
And there was a copse of trees with protruding roots that provided a perfect place for us to sit and eat lunch one day.
Beauty surrounded us on our hike, and we were grateful for the opportunity to walk this Walk through this amazing setting.
