
On Monday I was stopped in my tracks by the traffic lights going out of town. Although I was keen to get to work it was fortuitous. In the first light of the morning I was able to admire a tree dressed in its autumn finery. What a spectacular start to the day!
I love trees. Who doesn’t? Come to think of it I’ve never come across a tree hater. They’re the cuddly guys of the plant world, always ready for a hug. This is my favourite tree, bowed by the wind but not defeated by it. It lives in the hinterland of the South Hams on one of a maze of lanes off the road from Totnes to Kingsbridge that’s between the sea and main A-road adjoining the two towns I used it often during the sixteen years that I worked in those parts. It was meant to be a shortcut but invariably I’d get lost even at the end of the time that I used those rural rat runs. My internal compass is truly shagged. I could get lost in a phone box!
I’d wanted to take a picture of my favourite tree for ages but, to do so meant blocking the road, upsetting farmers and tourists alike. Happily one day I got stuck in exactly the right stop. Two trucks were having a stand off and I wasn’t going anywhere soon. Another time when being stopped in my tracks when I was in a rush to get somewhere worked out rather well!
We lived in Slapton for several years and having moved away – we visited for a number of years when our boys were small. Think it is time to pop back down and revisit our old haunts x And yes I am a tree lover too 🙂
It’s a lovely area. Well worth a pop back. I miss not working there. Still the moor is a good substitute.
How that tree grew is fascinating. It’s like an entry from one part of the road to another.
It’s at the brow of a hill too. Makes it more of an entrance.