Pepper Tree (Schinus molle)

Redwood & Sprouting Twig

Ginkgo with Five Branches

"Three Graces" Eucalyptus

Four Friends on Montebello Ave I greet four friends on Montebello Ave neglected for a month since moving here as I'm always running on the other side of the street each morning to catch the bus. Now I stroll slowly and meet the Pepper Tree— its giant Y-branch like the Pythagorean Path welcomes me home— its twisted trunk aged and ragged like the Sibyl of Cumae but its leaflets sway gracefully like a young maiden with tiny seeds of golden grapes. There are two lion faces in its dark bark— I touch one of its nose and ask for courage. Passing by Sequoia sempervirens, I run my hand along those old grooves, pray to the Redwood for strength & wisdom from this sagacious sentinel on this street. Next is Ginkgo biloba with five branches like five fingers of a hand soaring skyward— its green leaves like tiny fans in the wind. A snail has found a home to rest in its bark. Last is Red Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) with peeling barks and fluttering crescent leaves. Your three trunks are the Three Graces teaching me civility and I pray before you for blessings.         — Peter Y. Chou             Mountain View, 7-13-2014

Y-Branch of Pepper Tree Grape Cluster Seeds Pepper Tree Lion Face Pepper Tree Barks