It's a common assignment for students to be asked to sit beside a tree each day and record the changes over the season. Just one tree, not all the trees. By observing the single individual with intention, we start to see the little things which were once invisible. Suddenly, the amorphous giant has distinct limbs and characteristics that make it unique from others of its species. Over time, the tree will tame its observer in unexpected ways. This week, find a tree so that you might be tamed by it.
Your prompts for this week
Monday
This week we'll be using trees as the theme for our prompts. Today's prompt: When is a tree, a tree? How do you define tree-ness? Did you find you were making up rules about what constituted a tree versus a shrub? What if it was simply a young tree?
Tuesday
Which branches can you reach? For the first ten trees that catch your eye today, notice whether you could reach any of the branches. How far did you need to go to find these trees? Did the distance surprise you? If there are no trees nearby, what might be a good substitute?
Wednesday
How many trees have friends? Take note of how many trees have friends. How do you define friendship? Perhaps this was a tree of the same species, or maybe a bench, or a rock. There's no right answer, just a question to roll around in the back of your mind about how we think about friendships and proximity.
Thursday
Find a tree that's smiling at you. With humans, sometimes a short smile with a complete stranger can turn a day around. This week, did you notice a tree smiling at you? Was there a tree that tamed you? This isn't meant to be an assignment to be tamed, or even a permanent commitment, but one day you might find it has already happened.
Friday
Which trees are holding onto the past? Of the trees that you meet along your walk, note the ones that still have an attachment to this year's growth. Perhaps they still have their leaves, berries, or acorns. Perhaps it's been a cold autumn and neither are present on any of your nearby trees. What about the other big things along your walk?
Saturday
Sketch one of the trees. It doesn't matter how your sketch looks. It matters that you look carefully at the tree, and that you move your hand in response to what you see. Be sure to add the date to your sketch. If you're like me, and there are specific things you want to remember, you might also find yourself labelling parts of your sketch. On an oak, you might note whether the leaves have a short or long stem.
Sunday
Are you a collector? Do you count what you see? It's logical to be a collector and enumerator. This is how we know if species are declining or increasing year-on-year.
Observations for the week
There is a scrub of an oak tree near the beginning of my walk. Every few years it produces oak galls, which we use to make ink. This year, there are green galls on the tree – round balls towards the ends of the branches. This is where the oak gall wasp, a non-stinging wasp, lives. I'll watch the galls carefully in the spring until they have little holes. Then, when the wasps have left, I'll harvest the galls to make ink. This year, there are eight galls. This isn't enough to make ink, but usually there are only one or two, so this is a wonderful find.
Things you might like to read
The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry.
Mark has also recommended The Wisdom of Trees by Max Adams for this week.