The Beauty of Trees - August
Trees are magical to me. I met this 700-year old olive tree in August and it felt like revisiting with a wise old friend. One of the oldest olive trees in Tuscany, Italy, still bearing beautiful green olives, its long and strong branches and knots remind me of my grandma’s wise hands. I can’t hold her hands anymore but I sit with this tree and speak with her. I feel the wisdom of mother earth and I am humbled.
Trees are endlessly fascinating to me. I just learned that when an olive branch is cut, the same size root dies under the ground, just as connected as we all are. Trees communicate under the earth, helping each other, sharing nutrients to a sick tree and giving life to the young, Fruit trees like peaches and apricots mostly bear fruit for a decade or two and the tree often dies while olives can live for centuries in this area.
Imagining that this tree was already a couple of centuries old when Leonardo da Vinci may have passed by this very tree. We could be using the same olive oil, conversing in the same country living room. So comforting and wider perspective. Grateful for the gifts of our earth.
One of my favorite books - The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
