#weeping willow tree

[m1sgu1d3dgh0stss]

[balluprojects]

work in progress, 2025

an inspiring wednesday*

[definegodliness]

Under the looking glass

I loitered, Underneath the barren canopy Of a wintry weeping willow tree, Eying its slender branches and tendrils; The lungs' blood vessels.

Chin up, and vision Wandering a thousand yards, staring, When I saw it forming, That great eye.

It was all a matter of perspective, shifting As I traipsed and watched Curling branches interlock.

I gazed inside that great eye, Hoping to find Something worth Wasting my time, But all I saw was an endlessly empty sky. Nothing. Nothing Notable, or to entertain a thought. Yet, so, I imagined gazing through From the other side.

Perhaps, then, I Was under the looking glass.

I, as much spectator, as the spectated, Yet therein undefined and uninterpreted, Still, witnessed, As any other part of Earth.

Therein, I found my worth.

I stepped aside, So, the perspective shifted once more. Gone, was the eye, as if it had never been, But the magic inside, that had it created, Remained.

I smiled, Happy to realize This wasn't lost on me.

I thought that magic, Humanity.

--- 28-12-2024, M.A. Tempels ©

[feathery-thing]

The first dress I bought for myself on my own was blue. It was simple and fit into my cottagecore mind that I had at the time. I didn't wore it often though and one time when I did I messed up and it got damaged. I didn't know how to fix it then. I didn't even exactly know how it happened.

At the end of summer I finally sat down and thought about a solution. The best way I could figure was to just embroider something over the damage. At first I wanted flowers but that would'nt have worked out. Then leaves and then I remembered a tree that I really liked as a child. The weeping willow. Long story short. Here's what came out:

[huariqueje]

The Hanging Tree * - Clare Wrench

British , b. ?

Acrylic on canvas , monochrome colour palette , 30 x 40 cm.

[chasingrainbowsforever]

~ Colors ~ Spring Green ~

[itmighthavebeenintentional]

So, There are Some Interesting Trees Around...

I grew up in Alabama, then spent time living in Tennessee, Georgia, and El Paso, Texas (I only specify El Paso here because it’s REALLY different from all the rest of Texas I’ve ever seen).

Then we moved to New York. Not in the city, not quite, but real close. We are also, however, a stone’s throw away from the woods in a couple of different directions. Which, I gotta say, was really nice after living in the desert for four years. El Paso is beautiful, but I MISSED TREES.

We moved up right at the beginning of April, which was very fortunate for me. I’d never lived this far north, and despite living in Atlanta for a year, I’d never lived anywhere so crowded or urban.

And then I got to see Spring for the first time. You see, I’d lived a swath across the South, but I had never before experienced real seasons. There was typically hot, really hot, less hot, and occasionally cold. Leaves didn’t fall in Autumn, they fell sometime between January and March, right before we got first level hot again. Flip flops at Christmas was not unusual.

Watching the trees come back to life was amazing. In a lot of Alabama, the southern part at least, a lot of the trees stayed more or less green all year. Lots of green shrubs, green plants, etc. So watching all these skeletal trees slowly drape with yellow and pale green lace, watching the view from the back of the house slowly become obscured (in a good way) by spring colors was breathtaking and very much helped soothe my anxiety of living in such a crowded place.

I’m on my third spring (now officially my Second Favorite Season™️), and I’ve started trying to pay attention to the different trees I’m seeing. Because, I gotta tell ya, some of them are really frickin cool. I had never seen actual cherry blossom trees before (neither the pink nor the white), but I knew enough to recognize them. I had seen weeping willows before, and I love them very much.

Let me tell you my delighted surprise when I discovered WEEPING CHERRY TREES?!?!? Like, WHAAATTT???? THEY GET EVEN BETTER?!?!?!?! Some of them look like traditional weeping willows that happen to have cherry blossoms on them. Some look like actual fountains of cherry blossoms spraying up in the air.

And then.

AND.

THEN.

I was at the park with my son, and I noticed this one particular tree. I’m fairy sure it’s some kind of intentional hybrid, like one type of tree deliberately spliced to another, but y’all. Y’all. LOOK AT THIS QUEEN OF A TREE.

This is ONE tree. Tall, lovely white cherry blossoms, and then two WHOLE BRANCHES of PINK WEEPING CHERRY BLOSSOMS. Like. WHAAAAATTTT??????? LOOKIT THIS LADY.

And I think it’s a deliberate splice for a couple of reasons (please know that I am NOTHING like a tree expert in any way, I’ve just read a few books and am attempting to use logic and would love the science side of tumblr to pop over and info dump). The pink weeping blossoms are on those two branches only (unless I miscounted, which is possible because I was so excited), and they are on the one side of the tree. You can also see where the bark looks different. I have another picture or two with the bark, hang on.

Y’all, I dunno why I’m sharing this except I’m excited, and I hoped other folks might know stuff about the beautiful trees. And it’s so nice to live somewhere that isn’t infested to the point of smothering under the oppression of Bradford Pears.

[experienced12]

experienced12 Weeping Willow Tree