There are four stretches of road that I especially look forward to driving along on my journeys to and from work; a round trip of about thirty-six miles.

To my way of thinking, it’s a journey mapped out by four ‘waymarkers’, three legs, two crossroads, one bridge and zero stops!

The ‘four’ significant waymarkers en route, are all remarkable trees – or ‘uplifters’ as I perceive them.

The first——or last, is not so much a single tree but a whole wood, where there’s a steep path that leads to a row of five ‘luminaries’ that stand at the top edge.

In the click of a shutter, they enabled me to decipher the ‘marks’ on a drawing that’s been overlooked for more than a century, ‘lost’ in fact.

The tree alignment that came out in the photograph, told me to look at the original drawing again – because the clue to the identity of the portrait is outlined in the trees themselves – like joined-up handwriting. The trees magically connect to spell out the very name enfolded in the sitter’s cloak. Enough said, as this is a tale not for me to unfold… 

Moving on…

Depending on direction, the second, or second-to-last tree is unmissable. It commands attention from its high place on the hill, where it stands out in all weathers, through the seasons——through the years. The ‘Beech’ comes into sight on homeward journeys only – as outbound it’s behind me. After work, I look forward to seeing it spring into view as much as arriving home and having a refreshing cup of tea——or two in my ‘Wunderkammer’! 

The third—or second waymarker, is a skeletal tree that points to a spot where a fatality happened. The fatality inspired ‘Trace of Hare’  – a post about death and transformation through Art. 

My last tree—or first, depending on whether I’m heading east into the unfolding day or westward home – is an odd-shaped Oak that grows at a place called ‘Four White Gates’.So called, because there literally are four white gates positioned at each corner of the crossroads…

On the through road, the tree is clearly visible in both directions and has no best side – yet it is an Oak of two distinct halves. Its most notable feature is a projecting arm that reaches out and momentarily holds me in thrall, every time I pass it by. 

I just love the way this lateral branch airily transcends the rigidity of its trunk, that stands straight and immovable, on the verge of the fast-moving road. To the eye – the arm’s stick-like form looks too exposed, too vulnerable, as if it might break in the slightest side-wind, yet evidently, it possesses the core strength——grace and beauty, of a classically trained dancer. Once more, it has miraculously weathered the storm of another Winter, a prolonged Winter that has lasted well into Spring. 

Inevitably, time and gravity will return the skyward branch to its roots and to the soil one day – so as a matter of some urgency, I set off on ‘the through road’ to STOP and take a few photographs before it’s gone from sight…

No matter that the sky wasn’t blue on Sunday or that I’d voluntarily got caught out in the heaviest of April ‘showers’ – that lasted all afternoon. Or that I drove home in wet clothes – or that I made a puddle in the footwell of my car – and had uncomfortable boots for Monday’s start.  No matter at all, because I’d got what I came for – and more!

It’s not just the outstretched arm I love – it’s ALL of the tree, and its place on the four-way cross. I love the pair of clotted-cream coloured houses too against the leaden sky, and the name – ‘Four White Gates’.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

5th June 2018. The end of the road…

Well, the ‘long arm’s’ gift was nothing more than pulp when wet and sawdust when dry – rotten through in fact, so what does one do with the rock-hard shell of a decayed piece of old wood? 

I liked winding down my car window…