This tree has been here since before we moved in 28 years ago.  It was just a young-un and it’s on the border of our back yard and the neighbor’s to the north.  We had been here just a short while and the old guy, Charlie, who owned the property next door was out back with a younger friend, getting ready to cut it down.  I just happened to be in the ‘back 40′ as we call the back-back yard (our lot is double deep) at the time they were revving up.

I begged Charlie to leave it, he wanted to take it down as it would shade his garden when it got bigger.  Surprisingly, he changed his mind.  He lived only another few years and was unable to garden anymore anyway.  So the tree still stands, it’s lived and grown up through several other owners, no one wants to put a garden in these days, so I think it will be safe.  Actually, our garden is just off to the left of this photo, out of view.

I see this tree every day out my laundry room window, I check it every morning to see what the weather is like.  In the spring it will have blue jays and crows and cardinals and tufted titmice and many other birds teaching their kids to fly from it’s branches.  The squirrel family plays in it and it’s Caleb’s favorite spot for pooping under.  (I clean up often).

We’re nearing winter, Dec 21st,  and my oak will hang on to many of it’s leaves through most of the winter, dropping them when the buds come for spring.   It drops a few acorns, not many, and the squirrels plant them around.  A baby from this big mommy is growing in our garden now and there’s one waaay out in our front yard coming up, too.

I sketched this first with a unipin pen, .03 black and painted it with my Peerless palette  (see earlier post), using a waterbrush (a match made for each other) then went in when it was dry and added some darker darks and lighter bits with Aquastic watercolor oil crayons.   Took about 40 minutes all told.  That includes the writing bit.

This class is really teaching me to pay attention!  I never would have noticed how important this tree is to me if I hadn’t done this assignment.  And I’m learning to stop talking to myself in such a negative way about my skills.  Serves no purpose except to make me want to quit……which I’m not doing.  Have I said this before?  lol,