Today I received some photos that made me think about revisiting Susie Forest trees. In a way I revisit a lot of the Spokane trees because I drive past them. I love to count how many trees it takes to get me to a location. I’m housesitting right now 22 trees from home. As I walk out of Franklin Hall I pass the two trees on the front lawn that I see every day, then I see six at Lewis and Clark High School, and two as I pass through Riverfront Park. No more trees until I get to Corbin Park where there are eight. I’m driving around the curve at the west end of the park and there are two street trees across the way. When I turn into the driveway of my “second” home I can spot the two Susie trees on the parkway in front. Wow! A “22 tree” trip!

Far away trees don’t get to be revisited very often and then there are some I’ve only seen in pictures. Two years ago I attended a Talcott family reunion in Hartford CT where an ancestor put up the first building 375 years earlier. Of course I planted a tree. It’s in the park across from the state Capitol. Today I received pictures from a member of the Talcott clan who traveled from Pennsylvania to Hartford and checked on our tree. It’s looking so good! This was a chance to revisit a tree that I might not be able to see in person.

There are lots of trees in Spokane that are not on my regular routes and some I haven’t seen since their planting. Painting the stones and taking them to each tree in Spokane will give me a chance to enjoy them again and to see how they’re doing. This afternoon a friend and I went to Webster Park for a picnic and to place stones by the two trees there. I planted them for two very good friends as a way to say thank you for all the years they’d been such staunch supporters. One of them has died and now her oak is a memorial and we can check on her tree and share our memories while we’re there.