crying for Daily Oak

About two weeks ago, when I was on my way to fetch eggs from the local farmer where I always go for organic eggs, I passed the site of my Daily Oak, which had been my project many years ago - a dozen? It looked completely different,  and I realized it had been split in half, only the western part of it still upright. 

I was shattered. This doesn't cause a digital outcry like the vandalism of the Sycamore Tree at Hadrian's Wall just a few short weeks ago (which I understood in a way, but also compared to the not-really-happening outcry about the ongoing destruction of the Amazon forest), this oaktree doesn't have a digital following, nor do its just about 240 years of age make it one of the 'ancient trees'. But I have grown very attached to it, and every time I went by I would look up at it, greet it, often pause, although I wasn't going there daily any more withthe purpose of documenting how it looked at various hours during the day, how it fared throughout the seasons. 

A couple of days ago I could finally muster the strength to go back to take a few pictures, trying to assess the damage. 

If you check back with the photos from when I was posting about it back then you can see how much its silhouette has changed.

The wound is terrible.

 The entire situation has changed completely. 

Wise Trees

My current tree project is less involved than the former projects that I have done, DailyOak or my visits to the linden tree on the outskirts of town.

The linden tree has been severely reduced because of some fungus that is making it instable. But it wasn’t taken down completely, only looks rather ruffled now. About half a year ago a substitute linden tree was planted on the opposite side of the path. 

It will only take about 300 or more years to grow to a similar size as the original one. Only in the midst of this process, the cutting back of the old tree and then the planting of the new one did I realize that it had a name - they call it the Donatus Linde. 

But I still have a tree project, whenever I go to fetch milk at the nearby organic farm I take pictures of the large willow on their grounds. Willows grow much faster than linden trees of oak trees, so this one is probably by far not as old as either of the other trees I have been following.

But my affiliation with old trees continues, and when I see a link like this one I get very tempted.

So when I went to Fraueninsel in Chiemsee this weekend, I had to stop by the old linden trees there as well. 

Perhaps 1200 years old - Thassilo Linde on Fraueninsel in Chiemsee

It makes me sad that these trees have to be protected from too many people walking around them and thus condensing the soil, deprieving the trees of necessary air and nutrition. But of course, if I were let to do it, I would go closer, too.

 

 There is a special fascination in old trees. Just wish we had more of them still around.

New Year's resolutions?

It's been a couple of very very busy weeks in the refugee class, with a lot of teaching to substitute for another teacher who was on extra leave, and a few very emotional issues going on, but I don't want to write about that in detail here. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of time to spare for anything, however, and the little time I had I wanted to spend with family, and practising the piano a bit.
My husband insists I should take a late New Year's resolution and make sure that there is more personal time for me and the family rather than thinking about and working for the refugees so much of the time. In a way, he is right, and in another way that's not possible... It will all be a matter of again trying to find a decent balance.
What I have decided to do in that direction is to go for regular walks. And I have even managed to do that recently - some days were outrageously gorgeous in terms of weather conditions. And I even remembered to bring my camera along, and managed to take a few photos.

Checking up on Daily Oak...

The New Year also brought new responsibilities in the quilting world. When I resigned from being a SAQA representative in September, I thought I would be out of any kind of  'official' function. But that didn't last very long. Only a few weeks later I was approached by the German Patchwork Guild whether I would be interested in taking over the soon-to-be-appointed position of International Representative for the organization. I was extremely flattered and pleased, as this had been a dream of mine long ago. But I had sort of given up on this dream about 6 or 7 years ago for various reasons, and then turned to the function with SAQA as a kind of substitute, really. So the beginning of the year brought a few steps of being introduced into this new position, and I must say that I am really looking forward to it.
So the late New Year's resolution not only includes a good balance between family and refugees, but also international contacts and interesting events as well. I hope it is going to be a good year.

High Noon

1 - in the tunnel

2 - famous German children's program, finished for today

3 - Margrit's hazelnuts

4 - after the Spanish lesson

5 - downloading my sat-nav system

6 - on the road, again, thanks to striking train drivers

7 - arrival in Hamburg Wandsbek

8 - the sky over Hamburg from our class room window

9 - class discussion

10 - list of death victims on German-German border
at Marienborn Memorial Site

11 - no picture taken

12 - Baby Oak at High Noon

13

14 - working on new piece in "text messages" series

15 - Lego construction, in the middle of the way