Bark (054/365)

 
“I think people tend to forget that trees are living creatures. They're sort of like dogs. Huge, quiet, motionless dogs, with bark instead of fur.”

Jack Handy (American Writer and cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1991-2003. Famous for his Deep Thoughts comedy sketches.)

TIME: 1:40 PM
PLACE: The backyard
SUBJECT: Pine tree bark

A tall pine tree stands in our yard.  When we purchased our home, the lower boughs reached to the ground, providing the children with a "clubhouse".  I joined them a few times, and pine needles littered the ground, providing cushioning for the floor and scenting the air.  But the lower boughs were scraggly, and many were brown and dead.  HH  eventually took a saw to the boughs, raising the canopy of the tree, making it easier to walk underneath.  It provides a shady place to sit in the summer, and a natural umbrella when taking the dog out in the rain.  In the summertime, cicadas leave their shedded shells on the trunk and my son enjoys chasing his sisters with their empty carcasses and listening to the girls scream with fright.