Saying Hello to the Trees

Ok, so with the help of R I'm putting a positive spin on the tree thing. Yes, I'm going to miss the trees from my childhood, but there are trees where I'm going, too.

And they're not just any trees. These are those spectacular autumn brilliant world-on-fire kind of trees that people travel from everywhere to see. I've never been to New England in fthe fall, so I can only imagine, but here's a list of native trees into which I am sure to run (and knowing how clutzy I am, it'll probably be painful):

Eastern White Pine
Red Maple
Eastern Hemlock
Northern Red Oak
Sugar Maple
Black Cherry
White Oak
Red Spruce
Pitch Pine
Black Gum
Paper Birch
American Chestnut

According to the Massachusetts Forest Association, there are also several red maple and white cedar swamps scattered about the state. I've never seen a swamp, let alone a tree-swamp. This could be exciting.

The other thing I've been thinking lately is that I'm only 36, so if I spent the rest of my life in Massachusetts, I could end up living there longer than I've lived in California, strange as that seems. When I am 86, this might feel like my childhood, so the sugar maple could yet become the beloved tree of my youth.