Town Park Tree, Looking Up | Mark Lindsay
It's been awhile since I wrote about the eucalyptus tree in the Corte Madera Town Park. I try to visit the tree often but sometimes I simply neglect it. Other times I go, say hello, and can't find artistic inspiration.
Not long ago I went again and the seasonal light had transformed the tree into a sculptural miracle. Could this be the same tree that I photographed in the mist and rain a short month or two ago? The light, in May, turns crystalline in Northern California. The air is yet clean from the rain season, the sun's light is high and white. Highlights glisten off the leaves as the onshore breeze tickles them. The eucalyptus tree benefits from this kind of light. Its twisting, thrusting, tortured trunk finds new form in May's illumination.
I walked up to the tree and stared up, up, up. Children always stare up at things, adults rarely do. As we get older we seem to look down more than up. This is a mistake. If you want to feel young again, just stare up at something.
The tree looked gigantic. Could a living thing be so big? I stared at it and found several new photographs where several weeks before there were none. Light, seasons, and perspectives change everything. The tree became new again.