Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-03-12
This and That
By Charles E. TraceUell.
DECATUR STREET


Dear Sir:
"A Lombardy poplar tree that towers
over my neighbours house Is a source of
real satisfaction to me. 1t furnishes me
with one of the signs of approaching
spring. The other day as I stood on my
back porch, and looked up at it, I saw
that the flower buds were getting quite
large. Soon they will open and release
the long strands that scome before the
leaves.
II didn't need to hear the call of
the robin outside of my window this
morning to know that spring was al
most here. The tree told me that sew
eral days ago.
The tree serves another purpose all
through the year. 1t is my weather
vane. 1t responds so quickly and grace
fully to the touch of the wind that it
easily tells me the direction.
"One Of its best gifts to me is its
beauty. I believe it is loveliest in the
spring when its tender new green leaves
have just unfolded. have seen it earlv
in the morning when they reflected the
sunlight until they looked as if they
were tipped with gold. AS they quivered
in the breeze they made a beautiful
picture.
+ Il am glad that my neighbor can
share her tree with me.
Very sincerely, E. D. B."
This correspondent has learned one
Of the secrets of life
Appreciation means more than Just
reciting pretty poems in praise of trees
or others.
1t is more the bringing of the usual
into the every day life in a peculiar
way.
This way is not the way of every one.
We all know persons who never seem
to manage to find the beauty and good
ness in the usual. They want to go to
strange places, and to see the far away
They not only want to do these things
but they cannot at the same time have
any thought for their neighbours trees
etc.
If they do, it is only to complain. 1t
seems as If trees-one's neighbors trees
are easy to find fault with. Often
enough the complaining is justified. We
know a family which had to put up with
great Chinese elm for many years.
The yards were narrow and the elm
over arched both, and let down, al
summer long, huge quantities of Ions
and disgusting worms.
| These worms gathered by the thou.
sands on the wash, and ruined it. They
prevented the next door family from
seeking fresh air in the yard in the eve.
ming. It is, of course, not at all nice tt
feel long silky hairy WORMS dropping
down the back of ones neck.
Yet the owner would never do any.
thing about the tree. AS far as we have
heard, it is still there, still spelling tn,
neighbours freshly washed clothes, still
keeping them indoors.
X x *
Yet tree, properly handled, is on
of the finest of all natural objects.
1t is one of the sturdiest and lovelies
of all growing things.
Perhaps the greatest lack of appre
citation of trees is shown in winter.
Few persons are so tree-minded tina
they praise trees when they have NJ
leaves, but in some ways trees are a
their finest in the cold.
The skeleton structure, the grea
trunk and major boughs and branches
is really what makes tree tree.
The leaves clothe it, as we say, ant
no doubt the clothes make the tree, t
many persons.
Yet if we would appreciate a tree a
its best we must know it in it's pristin
simplicity, as its stands four-squar
breasting the winter cold and winds.
Trees in summer are so well covere
with leaves that literally we canno
see the tree for the leaves, but in lat
fall and all winter we can grasp 1t
fundamental beauty easily. Just befor
the first leaves In the spring is anothe
splendid time to really look at trees,