"In Our Own Back Yards...

The humble elm...

Good late morning Monday, y'all.

Well, I'm back home and trying my best to get to work in the studio. I'm quite happy with the progress on my spine and SI joint. Started a "relationship" with a Rolfer. She's a bit "ah-oom" like, but she seems very good at what she does.

So funny...

My dad used to have fun whenever he went on trips to various places. He loved to ask simple questions of the citizens of each fair city he visited. He would ask a desk clerk directions to a restaurant that the clerk might recommend, but didn't know how to get there. He'd ask directions at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and any info on points of interest he had read about.

He was amazed at how little people who should know know little or nothing about where they lived.

"Excuse me ma'am, he asked with a smirk on his face, "you come to work here everyday but you don't know the address?"

I was so astounded by the color of fall in Denver, that I just had to pick some leaves off certain trees to ask the natives if they knew the names of the trees the leaves came from. I asked my doctor. I asked his administrator. I asked a waitress at the local Perkins restaurant.

I inquired at the hotel front desk, I asked a jogger returning from an early morning jaunt, a photographer at a state park...

No one seemed to know.

Good thing I didn't ask anyone for the official state bird, or flower or even where the state capital is.

Finally, three days later, I passed by two hikers who were originally from Memphis, TN, but have lived in Denver for over twenty years.

"Oh yeh, the oval, kinda heart shaped leaf is from the cottonwood and those other two leaves, one that is yellow and the one that is red is from the same tree... the elm!"

Wow. As I thanked her for the info and told her a little story about my quest, I laughed and just had to involuntarily smirk at the answer.

Dad was right about how truly little we know about our own back yards.

First late morning cup of CDM...