THE MAPLE TREE, HANDSTANDS AND GOOGLE

 

That tree looks like someone doing a handstand with their head under ground. The trunk divides into two, shortly above the ground surface. The dog is off sniffing a cat trail so I have time to look closer.  

Now, I don’t have a green thumb. Brown in fact I’d say, judging from the pots at home. So I have to take a picture with my phone and then google later on, to work out what tree it was. 

It was a maple tree. 

Beautiful. It’s just past Halloween, so the leaves are mostly yellow. The dog comes this way and scatters some as it sniffs its trail around the park. The maple has an arrow shape. The outer leaves are red, like a cloak protecting the yellow ones below. An enormous skirt for the creature doing the handstand. 

Every few seconds a leaf breaks away from the others and spirals slowly to the ground.

 

Funny how you can follow in the random thread of these internet searches, and feel suddenly knowledgeable about stuff. I’m sorry for the maple tree, oblivious to everything I read, having it’s head under the ground. 

 

It doesn’t know that it’s pompous botanical name is “Acer” from Latin, meaning pointed. And how sad it might not know that the conker tree is it’s cousin. I miss conker fights, I used to do them with my own cousins. We’re a thousand miles apart  now, I won’t see them until this coronavirus thing gets lost. The maple tree won’t know about lockdowns either. 

But the family bond with the conker tree explains why the maple has dangly spikey balls. Though this quality does not only apply to trees. 

How proud would it be to know that Canada carry its leaf on their flag! Or would it sue for copyright? I mean, the maple tree looks sweet like this, but it might be a bastard inside.

It doesn’t know how lucky it is that nobody is cutting it up to get maple syrup gushing out of the trunk for their pancake day.

 

Wow, the things that pass you by whilst doing a handstand.