Good-bye to some friends

Now that my beloved spouse is officially retired from the University of Toledo, we are packing up his apartment and moving him back to the Mid-Ohio Valley. Today brought the Old West End Festival, a chance to wander around a funky neighborhood of huge old homes in varying stages of repair/restoration/perfection/genteel decay, tour some restored beauties, hear some good music and poetry, and say good-bye to some Toledo friends (of the human variety).

I of course had to visit my favorite parks for one last look at these very special places, home to two of my favorite trees. One is this bur oak  on the Meadow Loop Trail in Wildwood Metropark.

 The first time I encounted this tree, a man was sitting about halfway up in it, writing something in a notebook. The tree is no doubt a great observation spot, since it is the tallest thing in this part of Wildwood.

I love the way it blends into the treeline here but maintains its own  individuality.

The bur oak is a native tree, one of the major plants of the Midwestern savanna, and not as common in the Mid-Ohio Valley as it is further west. It tends to be more wide than tall, and I do love the spread of its branches.

My other favorite Toledo tree is the European copper beech in the botanical gardens--not one of our native plants, but, oh my.

 

That is a tree.

Stepping under the outer branches (yes, I do that sort of thing), you enter a different world.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if fairies lived here, assuming there are fairies in Ohio.