The Kindergarten Tree

This is the kindergarten tree. At 18 years old, I think it must be full-grown. Little Jacob got this blue spruce on Earth Day, in kindergarten. We planted the little twig, and just like our son, it grew up tall over the years. I couldn't say how tall it is; I really should get a picture with Jacob beside it, for a better idea of how tall it is.

This tree almost didn't make it. Years ago, Rich burned some leaves and sticks in a pile on the edge of the woods. He was too close to the back of the tree (then only about 6 feet tall), and he scorched it pretty badly. But it survived and looks good, from the front, anyway.

This snow was from our howling storm on New Year's Eve. I was fascinated to see a few icicles hanging from the tips of its branches. When I was a kid, we put plastic icicle decorations on our Christmas tree. But I've never actually noticed real icicles on an evergreen before. These icicles were slanting away from the wind as they formed.