An Angel Among Us

Over the years my family has visited the Morton Arboretum for the beauty of the trees. The spring blossoms, the summer leaves, and the autumn colors. We visit the special trees donated in memory of loved ones, then trail through the various areas of the Arboretum. Recently though, perhaps because of time of day, our eyes were more drawn to the interesting bark of the trees.  

Our favorite Arboretum trail is called the Great Trees Trail. It’s there where we find the most unique barks. We enjoy the bark of the Japanese Tanyosho Pine. With the help of the afternoon sun, the Tanyosho Pine brings a unique hue of cinnamon-red. Combined with its majestic multi-trunked frame and the bright greens of its needles, it stands in our eyes as one of the beauties at the arboretum.

It was while recently visiting the Japanese Tanyosho Pine that our thoughts went to our uncle, a missionary stationed in Ofuna, Japan. He had just lost his life to cancer. Continuing down the path from the pine, the Dawn Redwoods display an interesting bark of multicolored roughness that draw us in.  

After capturing several photographs of the bark, we returned home to take a closer look. To our surprise, the bark revealed an unexpected beauty. Now it might take some imagination for some to see, but our photo revealed what appeared to be the shape of an angel in the bark of that beautiful Dawn Redwood tree.  

An angel among us as we share memories of our uncle?  Perhaps. :)

A memory forever to be remembered among the Tanyosho Pine and tall Dawn Redwoods at the Morton Arboretum.