I'm not one to hug trees...but I do love them.

I'll be the first to admit that maybe it's a little weird that I just love trees. Or maybe it just means that I'm distantly related to Eddie Albert (Wasn't he a spokesman for the Arbor Day Foundation and had those commercials on tv? How do I remember this stuff?) So for whatever reason I've decided that I really love to take pictures of them. Again, weird perhaps...but then you've got to consider the source. Allow me to share a few of my favorites...

The picture above was taken in Muir Woods which is just north of San Francisco about a year and a half ago. Muir Woods is part of the Golden Gate National Parks and one of my favorite places in all the world. Not that I've been to all that many places in the world, but I do love it. It is just such a peaceful and serene place. To be surrounded by these super talls trees that are so incredibly old was a little overwhelming. If you've never been to Muir Woods, then I recommend that you get there at some point in your life. I certainly plan to go back one day. The pictures below were taken last week when I went to Jekyll Island for a conference. Now I'll be honest, I'm usually the first person to turn my nose up at Jekyll Island because it's so dullsville (much like this blog post). However, I've never stayed at the Jekyll Island Club before and it was nice and full of history. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a history geek so I encourage others to do the same as well. And in typical coastal Georgia fashion the hotel was surrounded by those trees with the spanish moss hanging from them that I just love. Those trees are one reason why I love Savannah so much and would love to live there. Nevermind the gnats, smelly paper mills, and blazing hot summers...it's a town with trees that have spanish moss!

I especially like this one but I'm not sure if it's supposed to be all white like that. Perhaps it's diseased...um, maybe that's a problem.

I think that beauty can be found in some of the most ordinary things that we normally just take for granted. And I don't think it's an accident either. So take a look around. Take time to smell the roses. Or look at the trees...