Painnt Filter Forest
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: All the #Trees of the Field

This week, I felt inspired to use TREES as our theme for the Sunday Stills photo challenge. Feel free to share any types of trees and be creative with the simple prompt.

“There are over 60,000 species of trees that come in all shapes and sizes, from majestic cedars to smaller fruit trees and shrubs.” SOURCE

There are basically two classifications of trees: deciduous trees and evergreen trees.

Autumn Tree Rounded reflections
suburban pine forest

Deciduous trees shed their leaves in autumn.

Autumn View
Autumn on the Street

Evergreens keep their leaves (needles) throughout the year.

local alpine trail

Then there is the outlier in my neck of the woods in the form of an “evergreen/pine tree” that LOOKS like a green pine tree but is actually deciduous. It goes through the phase of changing color and losing its “leaves” in autumn.

These are Western Larch or Tamarack. A practiced eye can discern their distinctive shape even when green.

western larch
Green Western Larch Trees
stand of larches autumn

Stands of Western Larches changing colors

Yellow Western Larch

I planted three Western Larch trees, and they are growing nicely. By October, they will change to golden yellow, then lose their feathery “needles” completely.

changing western larch
Young Western Larch
Young Western Larch feathery needles

“All the trees are losing their leaves and not one of them is worried.” – Donald Miller

Since we’ve lived in our Washington home for almost 5 years, we’ve planted 28 trees on our property.

quaking aspens
South View of the backyard

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” – Greek proverb

The three Quaking Aspen are almost 15 feet tall!

quaking aspens

Activities Under the Trees

Trees and shade invite a host of activities in which to take part, whether it’s a walk on a trail…

Walking dogs on the Centennial Trail
Outdoor Fitness
Users on American River Bike Trail

… Afloat down a tree-lined river…

Paddling downriver
Stand-Up Paddlers
2 women in kayaks
Floating with Friends
kayaker through the trees

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.” — Henry David Thoreau

… Hanging by ropes from trees on a challenge ropes course …

Student scales a tree showing perspective
Pink-clad student at Ropes Course
Student Taking the “Leap of Faith”

… Or just resting under the trees in the campus quad after a long day.

Hammock between two trees

Six Ways Trees Benefit Us

According to The Nature Conservancy, there are 6 ways trees benefit all of us:

  • Trees help fight climate change.
  • Trees boost our mental and physical health.
  • Trees clean the air so we can breathe more easily.
  • Trees and forests provide habitat for a diversity of life.
  • Trees cool down your life, and could even save it.
  • Trees and forests filter your water, making your drinking supply cleaner and more reliable.

Bring the Trees Indoors

Wooden tree wall hanging

What? No backyard, you say? If you are unable to plant trees in your own yard, you can bring the look of trees into your home with decor.

Black Light Switch Plate
Light Switch Plate
Lights on Wooden Tree
Vivid Thanksgiving Decor
Thanksgiving Decor
Tree Home Decor
Christmas Tree Forest
Christmas Tree Forest

“… and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” – Isaiah 55:12

Sharing this week for Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday and Lens-Artists: Sports and Games.

graphic

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Please use your own original images, whether new or from your archives.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently from mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link to a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

If you are participating in the photo challenge, I can’t wait to see how you interpret this week’s theme! Creativity is encouraged, so please share your own photographs (old or new), poems, original short stories, and music inspired by the theme. Join me next week as we explore “THINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.”

woman under tree

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.” — Alice Walker

hike graphic

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118 comments

  3. A post about one of my things in the world – trees. How wonderful that you’ve planted so many on your property. Now you get to see them grow. The larches are unusual, aren’t they, and so pretty in the autumn. And I love quaking aspens. Neither of them grow here, unfortunately. I love this quote:

    “All the trees are losing their leaves and not one of them is worried.” – Donald Miller

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  6. Terri,

    The variety of trees in the West are so lovely. I am very envious of anyone who can view Aspenglow in the fall. You and Hans are to be commended highly for planting the 28 trees–I assume there will be more. In the East we have the Oaks, Maples and Hickorys to enjoy when their colors come out in October (and bring leaf peepers with them). We also have Dogwoods that turn bright red before the leaves drop. I’m posting one in bloom (and Pink Painnt) that grows next to our house. Have a great day! Joe

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    • Thank you, Joe! I love the spring and fall colors of the deciduous trees against the backdrop of the evergreens. I would love to be a leaf-peeper in your area! Our young Dogwood tree is starting to put on a colorful show, too. We still have some hot temps for another week, so autumn can’t come soon enough!

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  7. Well done on planting all those trees on your land, Terri. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they will still be around hundreds of years from now. We’ve also planted many trees in our garden, although most are small, such as acers and holly trees, which take time to grow. The acers give a beautiful autumnal display. I can already see signs of autumn on them.

    The shade trees give also helps wildlife when it gets hot. I do enjoy sitting under the shade of trees. Have you ever done forest bathing, Terri? It’s something I highly recommend.

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    • Thank you, Hugh! Nice to hear you’ve also planted lots of trees! I was the original forest bather when my parents took us camping every year to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. I’m so grateful for their legacy of enjoying the outdoors!
      And I can’t wait for Fall! Enjoy your week!

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  11. Terri, what a perfect subject for me after a trip to the great Northwest! LOL You covered the subject beautifully, and didn’t even tell your GPS story about the trip to the cute little blue house. I’ll say no more! So much fun you bring to every occasion, dear friend. 🙂 You even befriend the trees as they befriend us.

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  22. I love the idea of planting trees on your property!
    Today while enjoying an afternoon snack with the children at work we talked about the different trees we have in the school yard and that we could see outside the window. It was very interesting to hear their thoughts about the trees and how they described them. The children where between 3-5 years old and each individual seemed to have their own personal relationship to the trees. One four year old girl got very emotional when she described how they leaves of a birch tree live their own life, half of it was facts and half of it was imagination.

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  26. What a wonderful post, Terri! I love trees, and we are lucky to live in a heavy wooded area. There are many different types of trees, but I have no idea what they are. Trees are essential to our environment, and I can’t imagine life without them. 🌳

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    • Thank you, Janis! Sorry this went to spam for some reason! When I saw a picture of golden larches my BIL took, I thought it was sunlight on the trees. They are such pretty trees in any season, except winter, LOL!

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  34. What would we do without trees Terri? It would be boring indeed! Here in Southeast Michigan, our street is tree lined and I enjoy seeing the Spring day the leaves unfurl and it is an instant canopy. It was better in the past as some trees have been cut down the past few years, but I love seeing the “greening” every year in the ‘hood and likewise when the flowering trees erupt with blossoms, something I have written in the past looks like frothy prom dresses … that expression is passé now as the prom dresses today are form fitting. I had never heard of the Western Larch until you posted about it in the past. What a beautiful group of tree pics you have gathered here Terri … happy raking down the road when those trees are big enough for those that apply.

    My post will touch on Cottonwoods, a type of Poplar, which are already fluttering down, which is characteristic of them (also Birches and Aspens) … I got some fun Cottonwood fuzz pics. 🙂

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    • Thank you, Linda! I have an affinity for trees…did I ever mention my bestie in middle school called me Tree? I was 4 inches taller than her.
      I’m glad you have tree canopies. We also did in Sacramento which was designated as a Tree City USA. As for Autumn, not many leaves to rake yet.

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      • That is not a bad thing Terri and that is funny your friend calling you Tree – no, you had not told me that before. I towered over my friends too as I shot up quickly – heck, at 5′ 9″ tall in my pre-teen years, I towered over my parents who were 5′ 3″ (dad) and 5′ 2″ (mom). Pictures of the three of us looked funny! We have a street in our City where the big and stately homes all have very large, old trees on the City property so it is very shady there. Before I discovered Council Point Park, it was go-to street in Summer to seek a little shade on my walk.

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  44. Wonderful post!
    The images are gorgeous and it is very informative.
    I love the look of those larch trees in the fall. I wonder if they will grow here? I might suggest them to my son who was looking to replace some of the cedar trees on his property with something a little more colorful. We’ll have to research if they are compatible.

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  50. A beautiful photo gallery of trees, Terri. I love your thoughtfullness to plant many trees in your backyard and support the ecosystem over years.
    Love the young Western Larch tree. Amazing how nature gives such abundance.

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