The Wind’s Silent Tree

Today I decided to go for a drive to check out the new San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden building. It is an innovative building in the way it is constructed and how eco-friendly it is. As I was leaving I noticed a field between the entrance road and the playground area. There wasn’t much to it, it was just a plain open field with some trees, however it caught my eye. I was drawn to it for some reason. Today is a cool day and the wind is blowing at a constant rate. The fields are becoming green with the rain, and the weeds are infiltrating the land and consuming the bench posts and table legs. As I sit I see the blades of grass move in the wind and reflect the light back to me. The weeds with yellow flowers sway like a tall banner in the wind. The trees are bare, the intricacies of the branch structures are revealed. Their mass is evident, yet without the leaves, they bring individual identity. Something still doesn’t seem right with the trees. They are not blowing in the wind. They are remaining motionless. They don’t have their sails that created that “wooshing” noise of the wind. This lack of sound and motion I think is what drew me in. It started to think how peculiar this is because typically if you want to know if it is windy, you would look up to the treetops, but instead today you must focus on the blades of grass. As I look further into the field I notice a few crows that are taking shelter from the sun’s light under the picnic tables. This is just one more creature that relies on the tree leaves protection. I begin to notice more and more birds over by the creek edge of the field, They seems to be ground birds that fly in and out of openings in the creek side thickets. The sound of the babbling brook sends a long needed sound into the air. The water crackles on rocks and purifies the environment. Today the field was empty, it seemed as though today nature owned the land, however I know when spring and summer roll around the field will not be this peaceful. I take joy in days like these.