Trees and things

It's unseasonably cold in Ithaca NY—a good 10+ degrees below the norm for this point in spring. Still, the rain has made the gardens very green, and the spring smells are intoxicating.
Wandering round the gardens, checking everything is OK after winter, I counted 45 large trees on our property. They're mostly spruce, cedar, maple, and redbud. Over the 19 years we have lived in this house we have seen the trees slowly grow in stature. We've lost five trees (some very big ones) to storms. When the wind blows hard you should see the big pines sway! The sound of the leaves is mighty. If you check our house on Google Earth you can't actually see the buildings—too many trees! You have to trust that the house is still there. At times it feels like the house has grown out of the soil, just like the trees. It's sort of "organic."
I love our trees. I have been known to ask a majestic old tree if I may share it's energy for a few minutes, while I practice qigong breathing. Thanking the tree, I feel more connected, more grounded. Rumors that Fitz-Gibbon has become a tree-hugger are exaggerated!
In harmony with Tao, 
the sky is clear and spacious, 
the earth is solid and full, 
all creatures flourish together, 
content with the way they are, 
endlessly repeating themselves, 
endlessly renewed.  
(Doadejing, 39, Michell version)
Endlessly repeating ... endlessly renewed. Such is the natural way; such is the spiritual way—for that which is the most natural is the most spiritual too.
We will be planting our "annuals" in the next week. Over the next several months these little flowers will beautify the garden with their vibrancy. We will enjoy them for a time, lose them in the fall, and, doubtless, will plant new ones next spring. 
Not so the trees. Most were here before we came. Most will be here when we have gone. Their cycle of renewal is much longer, and I daresay much deeper. The tree makes gradual progress, its deep roots mirroring its upward and outward growth. The tree passes through the seasons and storms with patience. The tree outlasts the summer heat, the winter cold. The tree feels the storm, sways with the storm, but remains. Another storm, another season. Always patient.
Today, I would be a tree. 
Stay rooted,
+Ab. Andy