“Maybe I’m being a bit optimistic for a seventy-four old,” I said aloud after planting a four-foot redwood tree on our Washington property.  Yes, this is the type of redwood that can grow to be over 300 feet tall and have diameters of more than 20 feet. I am a tree hugger. Not necessarily in the broad use of the term to describe an unrealistic environmentalist. But I mean real trees. In the manner of C.S. Lewis, I love trees and care for trees on our property like family members. We now have trees over five feet in diameter on our property.

Frequently, I nurture small trees in a little nursery before planting them. The little redwood was only one foot nine months ago. But like many others I’ll enjoy watching it grow, talk to it, and affectionately touch it. This is undeniably eccentric behavior.