Yesterday, I took a break from my current project to walk the dog. My daughter had asked me to collect her from her friend’s, where she was helping to unload from their rafting trip. She wasn’t quite sure when she’d be done, but said she would text me…
I decided to take the opportunity to have an explore.
Frodo and I headed over that way, but then turned a few blocks early, and looked for a new-to-us park.
We found one.
Score!
This place was beautiful!
There was a little lake – with requisite small children fishing with grandparents – surrounded by meandering paths. To one side, there was a swampy area; to another, a field left to prairie; on yet another, a beautiful sunny grassed lawn with its own ring of paths.
We chatted with some fisher-people, agreed that the weather was splendid, and exclaimed over a fresh-caught Wide-Mouth Bass (proudly displayed before being returned to the water).
Frodo collected some scrubbles from children just the right size to admire him properly.
Then, we made our way to the lawn. We were happily collecting steps when I happened to notice an oddity: There was a section of fencing smack-dab in the middle of the grass! We managed to make it another third of the way around the park – past a moving War Memorial – before curiosity overcame me.
Indeed, the fencing formed a (very large and near-perfect) circle around a giant tree…
Behold: The Naughty Tree!
Well, maybe not: It suffered severe damage in a storm years ago, and – in an effort to keep it alive without danger of limbs falling suddenly on unsuspecting park-patron noggins – it has been incarcerated with several saplings it can bring up to fulfill its park-shading purpose when it is gone.
I like to think it is tending its young in a safe playground, and not a prison, at all.
I love it.