I have always loved trees! Many people say being a ‘tree hugger’ means you are a nature freak or otherwise unbalanced. The way I see it, is if you have never hugged a tree then you are the one with a problem!
Since childhood I have loved nature and particularly trees. My parents used to take my sister and I camping. On these trips my first and favorite activity was to find the nearest pine trees to make myself a pine straw cushioned seat at the base of the tree. I would press my back directly against its firm trunk and feel connected to all that was important. Occasionally, I took a book or my transistor radio…but mostly; I just sat with the trees. It was always the best seat in the place! There were so many birds flying in and out and there were always pinecones and other natural treasures surrounding them. To this day I have a sincere love of pine trees.
My most extreme example of tree love was when the lot across from ours on Lake Sara became available and the people interested in purchasing it were going to cut all the trees down to improve their view of the lake. I begged my husband to buy the trees so we could save them and bless his heart; he bought the whole thing! It’s now the house and land where I host my women’s retreats @Sara’s Sanctuary.
To my sweet husband I say
“If kisses were a tree, I’d give you a forest. If hugs were leafs, I would give you a tree and if love was water, I’d give you an ocean. ”
I read lots of books on trees and a few of my favorites are: The Hidden Life of Trees, The Wild Trees, and my first tree book…The Giving Tree. Who will ever forget author Shel Silverstein’s quote, ” Once there was a tree who loved a boy.” I believe trees do love us and that they can feel us love them. We would not be here if it were not for the oxygen that the trees produce. According to National Geographic, trees produce half of the earth’s oxygen. The other half is produced by the photosynthesis by the phytoplankton in the earths vast oceans (the earth is 71% water). On land however, trees remain the largest contributor of oxygen.
“Trees exhale for us so that we can inhale them to stay alive. Can we ever forget that?? Let us love trees with every breath we take. ” Munia Khan.
I agree, plus trees offer us beauty, shade, absorb sound, provide food, and we would have no human life without them.
So the next time you go out for a walk, please take a moment to hug a tree.
Be Well~Be Peace~Be Love
Sara
agratefulgardener 
Tree Lovers Unite! I also was in love with two pine trees (one at each childhood home). Unfortunately, they were both cut down years apart. Even though I was not aware of all the wonderful and mystical qualities of trees as a child, I felt their loss, and it bothered me how adults seemed insensitive to their beauty and shade providing qualities. Your post has also made me recall a mini-garden I made with twigs and leaves around a very large pine when I visited a forest area as a child. Now I live in an area with many pine trees and juniper shrubs and couldn’t be happier. I love that you and your husband saved those trees on the property that now serves as your Sanctuary to teach others about Nature and her healing qualities.
Mary, we are kindred spirits. Tree lovers are connected by heart💚