Little Pine Grows Tall

Shown here are two photos, first one clear, second one with a barely discernable filter to indicate that everything changes but everything stays the same. This place is where our old family home once stood, but now it has gone back to nature. When we were young my father and mother planted the pine you see, in our clearing.

The house was thirties style, and large enough to accommodate all of us, plus our paternal grandmother. A menagerie of animals shared the space with us. There were almond, chestnut, walnut, plum, lemon, and orange trees. Flowers of every kind bloomed in the clearings and garden beds.

Some winters we had snow, turning our secluded valley into a wonderland. The two gum trees mark where our driveway was, and we used to pass the clearing where the small pine stood in the car every trip we made. We often wondered how high it would grow....

So now we know. Twenty something years later this place still feels like ours. In our minds it will always be. The land had to go back to nature, and so it happened. It's beautiful how nature has lovingly taken over and made a beautiful picture for our memories. Memories are what matter most, and these can never fade. In our memories this place is ours, but in reality it breathes with the energy of nature now, beautiful and serene, with our pine stretching skyward now....

copyright word and image Monika Roleff 2005.