A Mark Makes a Mark on a Mark-maker.

This is the tale of a tree, a remarkable tree:  "My Olympian." 

A treasure of nature who has been marked by nature in quite an usual way.  I call him "My Olympian" and he's made quite a mark on me over the years.  Even as his own marks evolve as nature changes and ages him, he continues to captivate me.

My Olympian:  32 years of fascination.

I don't know when I first spotted him.  He was a youth then, not fully formed; angular, curved in all the right places, always reaching for the sky.  For the past 32 years, I have greeted him every time I pass on my way home.  As he grew, his body "muscled up" and became ever more distinctive.  I do love him still, he is a rare beauty, continuing to reach up with his split arms raised to the heavens.

Nature formed him and has nourished him even in his stillness.  I cannot know if he is a happy man; he has no head, no face to share his emotions.  I cannot imagine his head, the shape, if he is smiling or sad.  But that has never mattered to me; he was always there to greet me home.

My Olympian:  remarkable from all angles.

Early in our relationship I thought of getting in touch with whomever owns him to ask if I could have him, but abandoned that thought because I didn’t want to cut him down even though his form is near perfection. 

Ours is a romance between us that remains for as long as we live, or one of us passes.  A special quiet meeting as we pass.

* * * * *

Next month my project will come to fruition.  I will share the video we made of Meryl (the dancer) and me (the mark-maker).  It is only a small part of the project, but a very important part.  The video of us making our marks.

After that I will keep you posted on what we do with the video, and how the project will continue to unfold.