Just for me

This post will serve as a visual reminder to me of something I love: the view from the middle of my little pool. Over the past 4 summers, I've spent hundreds of hours floating in my 3-foot Easy Set Pool, gazing at the trees and sky, and unwinding the tense springs in my soul. I owe these trees a lot. These vistas have brought me peace.

This view looks generally south, toward Adam's brick oven. Above it is a small magnolia tree.
Next is a towering pine, with a cluster of hardwoods to the left.

This is Julia's "reading tree" and actually the largest tree by far in the yard (although it doesn't seem so in this photo). Its leaves flutter and quiver.
Here's the dominant pine tree in the yard, a central figure. I've studied its gnarled lower branches many times over. It had ivy climbing its trunk but I cut it off. It's really a beauty.
Moving right, and toward the northeast, you begin to see our roof, and the shock of pussy willow and Lady Banks rose, planted together next to our carport, and leaning heavily over the rusted monkey bars. The pool cover is draped over the end of the bars. This rose bush is a shower of yellow sunshine early each summer.
Turning north, looking at the house, we see the pecan tree. This tree gives us lots of shade on the bedroom end of the house. The trunk looks terrible; it's been pocked with hundreds of holes by a woodpecker. We've seen him a few times when he returns to the tree to check his pantry for any handy bugs who've decided to take up residence in his holes. The tree itself it actually healthy.
It's hard to see, but this is the gorgeous tree in our neighbors' yard. It blends with the pecan and in the spring it has huge pink pom-pom blossoms. I'd say it is a Canadiam Plum (we have one in our front yard) but the blooms are not similar. Active, chirping cardinals live in the tree, and in fact we have many pairs in our yard.

Here are the pair of hollies, a male and female. The female is heavy with green berries this summer. They used to have branches all the way to the ground, like HUGE bushes, but I pruned them severely so we could walk under them and clear the soil. I like them so much better this way. They are very close to the pool. This view looks east.
I rescued this dogwood tree last year. It had a large holly growing up in the middle of it, competing for soil and sun. I removed the holly (um, with a bit of manly help...) and now the dogwood is looking better. I love the shape of its leaves and the color of them in the fall.
Now I'll turn my attention to the sky. Here are the tall trees above the brick oven.
I LOVE this chunk of sky above the two pine trees.
This is the largest piece of sky, over our neighbors' house to the west, above the Lady Banks rose.
I thought last summer would be my last one in this house. I'm rather surprised and so thankful to still be here, still enjoying my home and my yard. We will likely move -- somewhere, who knows where? -- in the coming year, so I doubt I'll have another summer to have my soul calmed and my spirit quickened by these simple views. They're not mountains or seaside, nor are they gasp-inspiring treasures. But they are mine. I love them for that.