Donna and Marchin have got a couple of interesting birches growing in their backyard. They are entwined towards the bottom and grow apart as they reach for the sky. Most people like the look of birches, myself included. I think Robert Frost did. He wrote a beauty about them. Today, I have a few logs for show in my office fireplace. I didn't take them down; they came in a load of firewood awhile back. I've always had an eye for birches. Bow and arrow building was a rite of summer. While others in the gang went for the branches in the 'bushes', that lined our baseball diamond, my heart was set on those white-barked trees. We had a couple small birches, down back off Stevens Avenue, and when it came time to make our bow and arrows, I headed for them. Birch branches worked wonders for me. I aways felt they made an extra-flexible bow and provided a kind of unique look. While the others carved their initials in the bow, I didn't have to. The white bow singled me out. I've always have been a bit different, even in bow construction.
Robert Frost must have been thinking of you when he wrote these lines:
ReplyDelete"When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy's been swinging them."
The tree in your photo looks huge, or it could be the angle of the shot? Like the way you framed it with the green leaves in the background.
We have river birches down south. Not quite as lovely, but still nice to look at.
ReplyDeleteYou bring my mind back to when I was a boy, fashioning all sorts of things from tree branches and a pocket knife.
ReplyDeleteI love these trees too! They are so photogenic.
ReplyDeleteThis should be another wonderful chapter in the Mr. Bird book of "growing up in Portland." I feel certain that you have passed these skills to your children.
ReplyDeleteBises,
Genie
Love these trees. Great detail in the trunk.
ReplyDeletei wish we had them here.
ReplyDeleteWhen living in Minnesota, birches were my favorite trees. Don't find them in Florida but in Colorado, my favorites are the aspens which look similar to birches!
ReplyDeleteNice composition!
our birch photo is beautiful There is a hidden meaning that I see in the trees -- barbara
ReplyDeleteBirch bark is great for getting a camp fire started.
ReplyDeleteWe love birches too; they have a unique look. Never tried the bow and arrow thing with it.
ReplyDeleteDarryl and Ruth :)
They make a nice pair. :)
ReplyDeleteWe planted five birches on our property - for the sheer beauty of them. I'm looking out on a pair of them right now.
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