Notes
Tree feelings: It’s been a year, give or take, since I launched this newsletter. A year in which I fell in love with trees. I’ve always liked them (who doesn’t?), but this year, I began to see them as fellow beings. Beings who make everything better, in all seasons.
In short, I’ve developed tree feelings. What-if-trees-are-my-calling feelings. Wondering if I could work in some way for a nonprofit like Forest For All feelings. Could I study some detail of tree ecology or biodiversity? Commit to care for a neighborhood street tree? But I’ve realized… I just want to draw trees. I want to love them and draw them, and be curious about them and learn something.
The long way: If you walked by all the trees (and houses) in this comic on your way from my house to Astoria Park, that would for sure be the long way. There are a lot of gorgeous trees in the park itself also, of course. This wonderful photograph by the artist Tracy Keza, which in a sense was on my long way around, captures much of what I love about the park, especially the cathedral-like London planes and oaks and sweetgums. (The pool is behind the reddish wall.)
The city pool: I didn’t realize until quite recently that the Astoria Park pool is the largest public pool in the city. It first opened in 1936 and was built under the Depression-era WPA program. An opera singer performed at its dedication ceremony.
A brush of green leaves: Seeing this child stroking stone with a cluster of leaves that must have fallen from one of the tall trees, behaving as if there was nothing else in the world, made me think about how ideas appear in our minds and then turn into actions. Such a graceful, weird, human gesture.
A small piece of paper: The paper showed a QR code and a picture of a baby and a handsome young man. The text read: “The family includes 8 adults an 8 children, 2 babies among them (one some weeks old, the other some months). First and foremost, they need to purchase essential items (food, water, diapers, etc.). There is a longer term goal to evacuate those who would want this as the situation has become very precarious.” The QR code led to a gofundme page that was opened in March. Donations are still open. Save the Children, Medical Aid for Palestinians, and World Central Kitchen are among the organizations doing humanitarian work worthy of your support in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon.
Three young people: I’d gone to the top of the poolhouse to take pictures of the pool, full of water but empty of people, when they asked for my help with making a video of a routine they told me was for a talent show at their church. They were so good, and it was a little strange to watch them on the phone screen, when they were right there live in front of me. Afterward they told me more about their church, and I showed them my instagram and asked if I could write about them, and they said yes and we followed each other. Conversations like this and making a moment with other people you’ve never met before is part of what makes NYC special, much of the time. We were there together talking about the role of spiritual experience in our lives, and the importance of feeling connected to where you are, and it was a real exchange, even though we were strangers. And seriously, their dancing was amazing.
Thank you for being here with me.
Beautiful. I’m taking a nature poetry class and have been writing about trees.
Beautiful Jen. I love this.