arbor day 2024

Arbor Day sprouted from the mind of a zealous tree lover named Julius Sterling Morton. A popular Arbor Day tradition is to plant a tree in honor or memory of a loved one. Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April, although some states observe it on dates that better coincide with the local area’s planting times. Arbor Day, much like Earth Day, is a holiday that celebrates nature.

"Other holidays repose upon the past. Arbor Day proposes for the future." 

~ J. Sterling Morton

I remember Arbor Day when I was in school. Many times I brought home a seedling to plant and was so excited to plant it. My tree. I never got to see those trees grow either because we always had friends playing at our house and the tree would get tromped or if it did survive the neighborhood gang, we moved every 2-3 years so I didn't get to see the tree grow to maturity.

When my mom was a young girl, she memorized the poem, "Trees." She would recite it and she would also sing it to her children. Even when she was fairly far into her Alzheimer's journey, I would occasionally ask her to recite the poem but she would sing it most every time. The power of music and memory. There was a time when she could no long remember the poem and that's when i knew the Alzheimer's had pretty much taken her away from us.

Trees

By Joyce Kilmer 1886 - 1918

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.