Trees. Lovely trees...

The man in tree is starting to darken. I stopped today for his winter picture and had to take it at a few different angles because his face was not showing. I wish the owners would clean him up and preserve him better. What a waste it would be to have him disappear because of simple neglect.
Speaking of trees, I thought I would share a winter shot of the magic tree. I hope and wish wherever this big move is taking my family, we will find a tree to love and cherish as much as we do this one. This tree is the life force for almost all of the yard playing for our children. What child would not love a tree they can climb on and imagine it is a pirate ship or a castle. A wonderful swing from its branches that when facing the right way you can swing out over the down slope of the hill and feel like you are flying! That is the magic of this tree. Much crying will be done when we must leave it behind. I guess that is what will make those moments stick out of their childhood memories. In the Spring a new swing will grace its branch. The original swing was placed there by my dearest friend & I during our first week here 5 years ago in April. The rope lasted until this last summer before breaking in the middle. I tied it to the lower end so lil' man could swing without help and moved the baby swing over in its place. I would spider swing ( that is when 2 people on 1 swing- where the second person sits on the lap of the first facing them and their legs hang off the back of the swing) with the children all the time up to the breaking point. Stronger rop will be bought this time. But now that I think of it, 5 years is a long time for rope to be rubbing back and forth over a tree limb- and wow that tree must be a hardwood. I have no idea what variety of tree it is either.
And since I could not sleep last night, I put together a slideshow showing various moments surrounding our Magic tree. Nothing major or big, but it brought a smile to my face looking them over. Take a look if ya' like. just click on the link "slide show set".Edit- slideshow removed*
Snowy dreams,
Tammie