It still feels like a bit of a dream to me. The fact that I now sit at a desk, in an office surrounded by trees, instead of at a desk, in a classroom, surrounded by students.

Change can be good for the soul, and this middle-aged soul needed it.

I’m often asked what my favorite tree is, now that I get to gaze at them all day long. It is a hard question for me, since so many of them possess such amazing characteristics.

But, I think I’ve started to favor the ones with unique bark, at least for this week. This may stem back to a childhood memory of playing in my grandma’s front yard under the gigantic Weeping Silver Birch tree, which we called a wrapping paper tree. I would stand there, counting to 50 for a game of hide and seek, quietly helping the tree to shed its bark. For some reason, picking at it was so soothing to me.

The Paperbark Maple has the look and feel of this childhood tree, except that it is the color of cinnamon, which I also love. As I’m walking through the trees, it’s all I can do to keep myself from ripping off pieces of the beautiful bark.

Another tree I have grown to appreciate is the State Street Maple. Again, it’s the bark to which I am drawn. The orangy-brown, deeply furrowed, rough texture is a sight to behold amongst the more common plain, brown trunks. Does it know its special?

One last tree that stands out to me is the London Plane Tree. It has a unique, mottled camouflage look that reminds me of the skin of a giraffe at the zoo. It too sheds its bark in an attempt to slough off possible pests and moss, which somehow seems so cleansing to me.

There are many other trees with extraordinary bark, but these three stand out to me now. But with so many trees at Big Trees Today to enjoy the beauty of, I will probably have new favorites next month if you ask me again.

Rebecca Parris

Office Manager at Big Trees Today

‍