My cottonwood tree

That's my favorite cottonwood tree, as seen from my back yard.  I've blogged about it several times.  

I've told how I love the whispering sounds the leaves make in summer, when there's the slightest breeze.  

Obviously, someone with a gun doesn't appreciate my cottonwood tree as I do.  I hope my tree survives this damage.  

my Bodhi tree

A guy in Oregon talked today about how he misses his "Bodhi tree", a tree under which he could sit unobserved and seek enlightenment.

I don't necessasarily find enlightenment there, but I get a certain sense of peace when I'm in sight of my favorite cottonwood tree. In "Little Big Man", there's a conversation between Jack Crabb and Old Lodgeskins that goes like this:

"I don’t understand it Grandfather...Why would they try to kill women and children?"

"Because they are strange. They do not seem to know where the Center of the Earth is."

When I've spent time in the shade of that tree, I feel as though I've been reminded where the center of the earth is.

It grows in a low spot in the pasture. These days if you're standing, it's possible to be observed there because the neighbors built a monstrosity of a house to the west. But I have some healthy Norway Spruce trees growing that will eventually block them, God willing.

Left to right, you can see the rental place, the horse's shed, our barn, our mobile home, our garage, and the roof of "the monstrosity". However, if one sits on the ground leaning against the trunk of the tree, the civilized world is blocked out. It's a great spot to take Sadie and play Frisbee.

Cliff hates the sticky little pieces of fuzz that cottonwoods shed at a certain time of the year, and I'm really hoping that doesn't become a factor in whether this tree lives or dies, now that we live closer to it.

I need to take some time to watch "Little Big Man" again. I love that movie.

P.S. Pictures were taken this morning.