Massive Evergreen

(Eerie) Massive Evergreen – Photo: L. Weikel

Before the season ends, I want to post a couple photos I took of a massive evergreen that’s in a yard near my home. The way this tree is decorated thrums my heartstrings. I don’t know why, either.

Perhaps it’s the sheer effort it took for the homeowners’ to decorate such a huge tree. That’s a consideration, for sure. And even though I know people hire firms to come and do their decorating using all sorts of major equipment, it doesn’t feel like that’s the case in this situation. I don’t know why – and maybe I’m totally wrong.

I think the biggest thing that impresses me about this tree is how they took the time to swoop the lights in arcs. It looks like a classically decorated old-fashioned Christmas tree. And it is simply lovely.

Spooky Photos

The neighbors who decorate this tree so lovingly have done so for a couple of years. I drove past a number of times last year, though, and didn’t see the tree lit up even once. So I was doubly delighted to see the lights back on this year.

Thus I found myself stopping completely in the middle of the roadway the other night and rolling down my window. It was rainy and miserable, yet there were no other cars approaching from either direction. I wanted to try to somehow capture the beauty of this tree to share with you, and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity.

Cue the Eerie Music

None of the photos I took came even close. But a few actually seemed especially odd. The one at the top of this post, for instance. Honestly, to me the tree looks like a phantom, with a bluish tinge that could be straight out of a Tim Burton movie. (OK, it would probably also need some huge bright red teeth or something to morph out of the center of the tree to swallow my car to be truly Tim Burtonesque.)

I tried with and without the night setting on my phone, adjusted the timing, tried other techniques, but nothing could capture the utter beauty I find whenever I look at this tree.

And maybe that’s a truth I need to sit with this year. We can’t always capture the essence of a moment, experience, or companion on film. Indeed, it’s rare. So the best gift we can give ourselves is to truly be in the moment of first-hand perception.