The Tenacity of Trees: My Tree Tribute

Last week, I marched my PRIDE (homeroom) 7th grade students upstairs to the giant 'BE' mural in the main hallway of our school.  There are over 100 character traits embedded in this mural.  We each (including me and Bettie, our amazing parapro) chose a character trait 'goal' for the year.  We made our own chalk art to hang in our classroom to remind us of our character goals throughout the year.

I chose the character trait of 'tenacity' for several reasons.  First - I have a hard time standing up to people if what I believe is different from what they believe.  I don't always articulate my beliefs even to myself, much less out loud to someone else.  Being tenacious means that when I believe in something, I will stand up for it.  It also means that when I start something, I will finish it just as strongly as I started it.  I tend to start strongly in too many endeavors.  This year, I will choose wisely the few things that deserve my energy, and I will follow through to do my part to make those things happen.

 

So what's the big deal about trees?  Today, I meandered around Chau Ram County Park and Issaqueena Falls with my dog for about 5 miles.  I took my time and really noticed the nature surrounding me - the sights, the sounds, the smells (particularly when Bosco had to stop and....well...) - but mainly the trees.  First of all, they're stunning, no matter what season.  But mainly they epitomize tenacity to me.  I'm always amazed at how trees grow through, around, beneath, above (WHATEVER it takes) the obstacles they 

encounter!  

I'm not sure what obstacle this tree encountered to make it grow in this shape, but whatever it had to overcome to get what it needed to grow - didn't it do so gracefully?

This picture is amazing to me for a couple of reasons.  First - the lone tree in the middle is surrounded by dead-fall, but look closely and you'll see little green leaves shooting out the sides.  It's gonna keep on living.  Second - the picture doesn't capture how much this dead-fall actually looked like a waterfall, only with dead trees.  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  

I can only hope than when I go, I leave something this beautiful behind.

Look what these trees are growing through, and so beautifully! They inspire me!

I think these trees are just showing off, or maybe they're just happy to be alive.

This tree looks downright graceful...

...while this one looks reptilian.

I am in total awe of the tenacity of this tree.  There is NO SOIL...only ROCKS!  This tree is a SURVIVOR!

 The Chau River would not be the same without the trees....

...and neither would this flower without that tree backdrop.

These trees were used to create steps for the path, and have since embraced that role and become one WITH the path.

Probably my favorite lesson from trees is this one: every single leaf makes the tree beautiful in every season, and every tree needs each leaf to make it so.

Weekend Theme: Perseverance

Perseverance

     This summer, I've had five character traits on my mind as we work at our middle school on making them part of our school culture of PRIDE (perseverance, respect, integrity, dependability, and excellence).  It turns out that this weekend, I had multiple personal lessons in perseverance.  I had opportunities to push through many obstacles including nature-created hurdles, technical difficulties, and even physical pain!

    
     First of all, here are some synonyms for perseverance that really hit home for me: persistence, stamina, tenacity, grit (not GRITS that you eat!), pluck, and endurance.  Maybe you can match some of the scenarios below to the synonyms for perseverance.

     To start the weekend, Saturday Mike and I hiked the Broad River Trail south of Currahee Mountain.  We thought we were hiking a  familiar 3 1/2 mile trail we chose because we had limited time.  As it turned out, we had to scramble over, around, and through multiple trees that have fallen since the last time we hiked this trail in the Spring.  Since I teach Language Arts, I like to think of these pictures of "man versus nature" conflicts.  We (nature and us) worked together to navigate the trail, but I sure would not have wanted to be underneath a tree that was close to falling the day before and finished falling with us close by.  Nature would DEFINITELY have won with so much size and strength on her side!  

     After the hike, I was supposed to work on the computer at McDonald's with a student.  Two things happened.  First, when I put the key in the ignition to start my car, it only 'clicked' and 'clacked', but would not start.  I decided to walk to McDonald's to meet the student, but after I got there, the internet there did not work.  My car didn't work, and the internet didn't work; I really felt like crying or screaming, but I knew that would not solve the two problems I had.  Mike and I put our heads together, and one car battery and one wi-fi hot-spot at the coffee shop down the road later, I accomplished what I needed to accomplish.  Persevering through our problems paid off.

     Sunday's lessons in perseverance came in the form of a hike.  We hiked to Upper Whitewater Falls, a 3 1/2  mile trail (one way) that starts in South Carolina and ends up at a viewing platform in North Carolina across from one of my favorite waterfalls.  The trail itself takes perseverance because there are steep steps and boulders to go up, down, and around.  I nick-named the picture of the tree 'Rapunzel Tree' because it was so nice of the tree to let its roots grow in such a way that we could climb up (and back down) them.  The picture of my leg only LOOKS like I grew a second knee.  Actually, I banged my shin on the branch of a fallen tree while I was navigating rocks and boulders by Whitewater river on the trail.  It hurt when I banged it, swelled up so that it looks like I actually have two knees, and didn't feel great as I hiked the three miles to the end of the trail and back home.  Mike wasn't inclined to carry me those three miles, so I had to walk them myself.  Thank goodness I had Arnica and Ibuprofen in my hiking first aid kit.  My only choice in the case was persevering, so I chose to persevere with a smile on my face.  I only cried once I was safely back in the car!

     We even saw several examples of nature persevering...the leaf refusing to fall out of the tree...the stick hitching a ride in my hair....

     So why persevere through all of this?  It would be SO much easier to just buy some post cards and be done with it.  Those pictures are just as pretty as mine - except that I didn't take those pictures on the post cards.  I persevere because when I am out in nature, it's more beautiful when I go through my own effort to get there to see it, and I'm a healthier person because of it. When you work hard to do something, it just FEELS good inside - whether it's hiking like I did this weekend or solving an algebra equation or studying and doing well on a test.  Admit it; you know what I mean!  If not, then try it and see!  I promise that when you persevere and succeed, it will be worth it every time!  

Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies

I think I'll just let the images from our Alaska adventure speak for themselves...

What's Your Sign?

"Do this; don't do that.  Can't you read the sign?" 

...say the lyrics that kept running through my mind in Alaska.  


It seems like every time I turned around in Alaska, I noticed a sign once I recovered from my reeling fits over the indescribable scenery.  I haven't had 16 days in a row to think about any one thing in a LONG time, so it's interesting that my observations second to the nature I came to explore were the signs I noticed.  I finally came to the epiphany that signs are an ultimate form of communication.  They allow us to communicate a vital message in a succinct way, and they are the ultimate form of consideration and respect for others because they communicate that message to someone the author of the sign will probably never meet yet honored enough to pass that vital message along to whether from the same generation or from generations to come. 

For example, signs like the etchings on this rock were left by an ancient civilization, and scholars are still trying to figure out what the artists/authors of the signs on the rocks were trying to tell each other.  This much is obvious: they WERE trying to tell each other SOMETHING by leaving the signs.










Some signs are obviously meant to inform.  Wondering is a good thing, especially in an art gallery like the one in the Museum of Alaska we went to in Fairbanks.  It's also nice to know the artist's purpose in creating a piece of art.  First, who knew that outhouses are still a reality in much of Alaska?  Second, I got to have one experience visiting this sculpture while I wondered what it was and an entirely different experience once I knew the artist's intent.

Speaking of experiences, some signs left me wondering what experiences the sign artist/author must have had to result in the signs they made.  These were from the Forest Fair in Girdwood and a small hotel in Talkeetna.

Some signs just make me laugh because of their unique perspectives....

...and some signs just make me laugh.

Some signs teach me, in this case the origin of the word 'cache'....

 

 ...some signs instruct me....



...and some signs inspire me, like these two signs from Denali National Park.

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Some signs make me wonder....

...and I can't wait to figure out to use some signs as teaching tools.

Some signs help ME remember where I've been or where I'm going....

 ...while some signs help US remember who was here before us.

It's interesting how some signs resonate with me and make me wish I could meet the person who must have felt exactly the same way I do.  Then I think  that in a way, I HAVE met them because they left a sign for me, a message for me, in this meeting place...so even though we never met physically, we did communicate.  They talked to me through the sign; I got the message. 

I challenge you to pay attention to the signs others have left for you.  It honors those who came before and the messages they went to the trouble to leave for us.  Give thought to the signs you will leave for others.   

Finally, my favorite sign and the message I'd like to pass along from my adventures in Alaska: