I’m really starting to like this area of KC where our house is located in old Leawood. There are so many big trees and of course, this means a wide variety of birds to enjoy. Greg and I were walking Monday evening after work and I saw this tree with a familiar looking leaf which reminded me of the Elms trees in the Iowa neighborhood I grew up in. Maybe this was an Elm tree.
It’s strange how the brain remembers insignificant events so distinctly. I have a memory and I’m pretty sure it was Alice, who lived across the street from us back in my hometown, who is the mother of the kids I first played with as a child (Bobby, Jim and Cathy). I know I have mentioned Alice before and her creativity. Alice was an artist, although I didn’t really know it at the time. All I knew was that she would come up with most interesting activities to do that involved either paper, homemade play dough made out of flour and water, or other objects found out in nature or recycled objects such as tin cans, yarn, jar lids. You get the picture.
This leaf reminded me of something Alice showed me as a small child. She folded the leaf in half and with her finger nail made three cuts and produced a leaf face!
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Greg was telling me about a common tree you will currently see in KC in great numbers, the Sweet Gum tree. They were planted after disease (Dutch Elm Disease) killed many of the elm trees back in the 1960’s. They are a nice, strong and fast growing tree, however these trees produce these round spiny balls, the seed pod I’m sure.
I have come to realize these are a real pain to have in your yard. In April, I raked up two large yard waste bags of these just from one tree in our front yard. However, when I first saw them in our yard, I did fine myself getting excited at the possibility of what interesting art projects I could do with these beautiful balls.
I know if Alice lived in KC instead of Minneapolis, she and I would have great fun together coming up with a multitude of ideas!
It’s strange how the brain remembers insignificant events so distinctly. I have a memory and I’m pretty sure it was Alice, who lived across the street from us back in my hometown, who is the mother of the kids I first played with as a child (Bobby, Jim and Cathy). I know I have mentioned Alice before and her creativity. Alice was an artist, although I didn’t really know it at the time. All I knew was that she would come up with most interesting activities to do that involved either paper, homemade play dough made out of flour and water, or other objects found out in nature or recycled objects such as tin cans, yarn, jar lids. You get the picture.
This leaf reminded me of something Alice showed me as a small child. She folded the leaf in half and with her finger nail made three cuts and produced a leaf face!
.
Greg was telling me about a common tree you will currently see in KC in great numbers, the Sweet Gum tree. They were planted after disease (Dutch Elm Disease) killed many of the elm trees back in the 1960’s. They are a nice, strong and fast growing tree, however these trees produce these round spiny balls, the seed pod I’m sure.
I have come to realize these are a real pain to have in your yard. In April, I raked up two large yard waste bags of these just from one tree in our front yard. However, when I first saw them in our yard, I did fine myself getting excited at the possibility of what interesting art projects I could do with these beautiful balls.
I know if Alice lived in KC instead of Minneapolis, she and I would have great fun together coming up with a multitude of ideas!
If I'm Alice, this story would brighten my day. Sounds like you are enjoying your KC life. You will have a great summer in KC and in DSM.
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