I was born in Minnesota, you know, the land of 10,000 lakes. But along with all of those lakes are a lot of trees. I have no memories of it but since I was very young, (about 2 1/2) I have always been drawn to trees. I climbed the Mulberry in the front yard. We would go to my Dads cousins and the neighbors had a small lot of trees. There was this very large tree that had fallen; it was the best place to play. That tree could be anything a kid could think of. Some days it was a large ship with the one limb that jutted up, was the mast that you could see so far from. Some other days it was a balance beam, but it was always a wonderful time at the tree (cousins). As I have grown into adulthood, trees always bring me peace. For a while, I would drive through Pilcher Park in Joliet and just sit in my car and look at the trees. I didn’t realize at the time that I was being calmed by the trees, but I was. As I have grown older I gravitate towards all kinds of tree-related things; books, pillows, pictures. I want to travel to all the National Parks because many of them have great trees. I want to be able to just sit in the trees. This will seem corny but the trees give me a feeling of completeness.
