My yard is all trees, which is abnormal for the desert Southwest. We're entirely enveloped by shade. The previous owners planted or nurtured a pine tree, five mulberry, two olive, eleven citrus, two palo verde and a fig. (There's also some fruit tree that I have yet to figure out. It could be an apple or pear or? It doesn't get a lot of sun and isn't very happy. That much I know).
Everywhere I look there's a tree.
I've been working in the yard vigorously to make sure I have a lot of fruit again next year. The citrus are all blooming and the scent in the yard is powerful. Overwhelming, almost. But, to me, there's nothing quite like a grapefruit fresh off the tree and while I still have plenty, the trees and the bees are already working hard on next year's crop.
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| Next Year's Pinkies |
Then, I came across Van Gogh's "Maulbeerbaum," a fantastic painting of a mulberry in autumn.
I just love those colors, don't you? The leaves of my mulberry trees turn a kind of blah dark gold and brown.
I also found among Van Gogh's works a different painting of a tree. I've never seen it and it's not surprising. The painting was stolen from a private collection and no one knows where it is.
Quite the shame.
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| Wind Beaten Tree |



