Barbara Walters Interviews Katherine Hepburn ABC Special (1981)

White Oak (Quercus alba) Foothill College, IE Parking Lot

White Oak Round-Lobed Leaf

I pass Montebello Ave's Eucalyptus daily with its "Three Graces" trunks blessing me with beauty and civility, and gather nuts shaped like cross, star, & snowflake. Eucalytpus Montebello Ave U.S. #895 "Three Graces" "Cross" Nut from Eucalyptus "Star" Nut from Eucalyptus "Snowflake" Nut from Eucalyptus Botticelli's "The Three Graces" is at the left side of his painting Primavera (1478). Whenever I pass by the iant Eucalyptus at Montebello Avenue on my way home, I ask "The Three Graces" to bless me with beauty and civility. There is an Eucalyptus Grove at Stanford University (Galvez & Campus Drives). That's where I picked up Eucalyptus nuts shaped like a cross, star, & snowflake. Eucalyptus leaves are crescent-shaped and with its "star" nut, they resemble the Muslim flags of Turkey, Pakistan, and Tunisia. However, I found an Eucalyptus branch with both "cross" and "star" on them. If Nature can tolerate diversity, why can't the Muslims & Christians of this world live in peace? Also found an Eucalyptus Y-branch shaped like an angel. Photo Sources: Fragment 110 of Heraclitus (ramananju.blogspot.com); Flowing River (sharingmyreflections.com) When Bus 34 pass by Wright Ave on Shoreline, I wave to a gnarly Pepper Tree at the corner— an old friend whom I met after seeing Kathak classical dancing in 2013. Gnarly Pepper Tree Wright Ave & Shoreline Blvd Gnarly Pepper Tree 2 Wright Ave & Shoreline Blvd "Lion of Courage" Pepper Tree Montebello Ave "Platonic Λ" Pepper Tree Montebello Ave There are two Pepper Trees on Montebello Ave that I pass by daily. The "Lion of Courage" "Pepper Tree whom I pray for "courage in my endeavors and work" and "Platonic Lambda Pepper Tree" whom I seek the Soul's blessings. However, my favorite is an old gnarly Pepper Tree at Wright Ave & Shoreline Blvd. I met it after seeing Kathka Indian classical dancing (5-5-2013). And whenever Bus #34 pass by it on Shoreline Blvd, I'd wave a friendly hello. Photo Sources: Gnarly Pepper Tree (wisdomportal.com); Gnarly Pepper Tree 2 (wisdomportal.com); "Lion of Courage" Pepper Tree (wisdomportal.com); "Platonic Λ" Pepper Tree (wisdomportal.com) The fan-shaped leaves of Ginkgo Biloba covered the Stanford lawn in a field of yellow— Imagined meeting Goethe at Heidelberg where he wrote a poem honoring this tree. Ginkgo Biloba in field of yellow near the Stanford Clock Tower Goethe's "Ginkgo Biloba" poem (9-15-1815) Fan-shaped Leaves of Ginkgo Biloba I love the fan-shaped leaves of Ginkgo Biloba. There are several Ginkgo trees on Montebello Ave whom I seek their blessings to infuse my poems with "spirit of the winds". The photo of Ginkgo leaves in a field of yellow near Stanford Clock Tower was taken in November 2007. I visited Heidelberg Castle & its Alchemy Museum in August 1976, and took the Philosopher Walk overlooking the Neckar River. Didn't know Goethe was there in 1775, 1797, and 1815. He wrote his "Ginkgo Biloba" poem at age 66. In the first stanza, Goethe pays homage to the Ginkgo Tree and its leaf from the East, sayiing "Secret sense for us to savour / And uplifts the one who knows". Imagined meeting Goethe in Heidelberg where he inspires me on the craft of writing. Sources: Ginkgo at Stanford (wisdomportal.com); Goethe's "Ginkgo Biloba" (wikimedia.org); Fan-shaped Leaves (wisdomportal.com) The Bamboo Grove on Ortega Ave is gone, torn down for condominium constructions, but four years ago I'd stop by for its blessings— to be flexible and rooted. Bamboo Grove Ortega Ave, Mountain View A Giant Bamboo Stalk Ortega Ave, Mountain View Bamboos for Blessings Ortega Ave, Mountain View Hollow Inside of Bamboo Stalk: "Emptiness" There was a Bamboo Grove on Ortega Ave in Mountain View that I pass by to visit a friend. Wrote a poem "Bamboos for Blessings" (7-30-2014) with the final stanza: "May I be flexible yet firmly rooted, / bend and don't break under adversity. / May I be like the bamboo's hollow inside, / empty myself and let wisdom flow through." Unfortunately, these lovely Bamboos trees are no more, torn down for condominium constructions. Notes to "Bamboos" Poem Photo Sources: Bamboo Grove (wisdomportal.com); Giant Bamboo Stalk (wisdomportal.com); Bamboos for Blessing (wisdomportal.com); Hollow Inside of Bamboo Stalk (wisdomportal.com) The Ponderosa Pine inspired my first poem at Squaw Valley and my niece gave me a jar of pine needles when I told her my friend ate them during his Zen training in Korea. Ponderosa Pine Lake Tahoe Jar of Pine Needles my niece gave me Larry Rosenberg went to Korea Seung Sahn (1927-2004) Korean Zen Master I was accepted to Squaw Valley Poetry Workshops in July 9-15, 1989. Galway Kinnell made us write a fresh poem each day. My first poem was "Seven Pines at Woeber House" (7-9-1989) read at Kinnell's workshop. Concluded poem with "seven Big Dipper stars pour / songs of the Pleiades on these seven pines / whose flute-needles whistle and bell-cones / ring seven rainbow wonders of this world." Wrote about my friend Larry Rosenberg in Notes to "This Treasure Was Meant for You". He studied with Zen Master Seung Sahn and moved into Cambridge Zen Center (circa 1975). I received a "Buddha" postcard from him, telling how cold it is in Korea doing rigorous Zen training and dining on pine needles. When I told this story to my niece Elisa, she gave me a jar of pine needles in jest for Christmas. Photo Sources: Ponderosa Pine (wikimedia.org); Jar of Pine Needles (bearrootsforest.ca); Larry Rosenberg (paulbrunton.org); Zen MasterSeung Sahn (wisdomportal.com) Walked down Palm Drive when Stanford Library closed at midnight, but there were ten palms in my backyard at Pamela Drive— how tall they soared as well as my mind to the skies. Canary Island Palms along Palm Drive leaving Stanford University Campus Washingtonia robusta Pamela Drive Apartments "Three Graces" Palm Trees Pamela Drive Apartments There are 166 Canary Islands Palm Trees (Phoenix canariensis) lining Palm Drive leading to the Stanford Campus (Stanford Daily, 2-18-2010). I used Mac computers in the Classics Room (1999-2011) at Green Library. When they close at midnight, I'd walk down Palm Drive in 20 minutes to Palo Alto Train Depot to catch Bus #22 home. Rarely see Palms in Bay Area hikes, but at Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, off the Old-Growth Loop Trail, saw a Canary Islands Palm (9-6-2009). However, I prefer the Washingtonia robusta palms that are more slender and taller. There were ten of them in my backyard at Pamela Drive. I'd gaze at them to whisk my mind to the skies. Photo Sources: Palm Drive (wisdomportal.com); Washingtonia robusta (wisdomportal.com); "Three Graces" Palm Trees (wisdomportal.com) By the Chicken Farm at Hidden Villa, a Redbud Tree with its heart-shaped leaves greeted me— great to send it to loved ones these Nature's blossoms on Valentine's Day. Redbud Tree at Chicken Coop, Hidden Villa Heart-shaped Leaves on Redbud Trees Heart-shaped Redbud Leaf Cercis canadensis On November 22, 2013, went on a hike at Hidden Villa, Los Altos Hills, CA. Near the Chicken Coop encountered a Redbud Tree (Cercis canadensis) with Heart-shaped leaves. On October 8, 2009, gathered four Redbud leaves at the San Antonio Shopping Center (Showers Drive, Mountain View). The leaves show changing colors from green to orange to yellow. Interesting anagrams for Cercis canadensis: "Scenic airs ascend" & "Scenic Airs Dances". Photo Sources: Redbud Tree at Chicken Coop (wisdomportal.com); Heart-shaped Leaves on Tree (wisdomportal.com); Redbud "Heart" Leaf (wisdomportal.com) Weeping Willow: Wednesday's Child full of woe— I sat by you at Boston Public Garden watching swan boats gliding in the pond pondering on mysteries & wonder of life. Weeping Willow Tree at Boston Public Garden Wednesday's Child is full of woe Swan Boats at Boston Public Garden Melancolia I (1514) by Albrecht Dürer While living in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1970-1977), I would visit Boston Public Garden often by Charles Street. A popular tourist attraction is the Swan Boats gliding in the pond. What I love are the Weeping Willow Trees (Salix babylonica) circling the pond. I'd sit under its drooping leaves and watch the swan boats glide by. In Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes (1780), "Monday's Child" begins "Monday's child is fair of face / Tuesday's child is full of grace / Wednesday's child is full of woe / Thursday's child has far to go". So I've anointed Weeping Willow as Wednesday's child. As I was born on Wednesday (melancholic), liked Aristotle saying "All geniuses are melancholic" (Nicomachean Ethics 6). I love Dürer's 1514 engraving Melencolia I. The Angel with compass in hand is pondering on the mysteries around her. When I pondered on the swan in the pond, recall hamsa in Sanskrit means swan and soul— the sounds of breathing. Breathing out and in has a sound like Hamsa. With every breath in and out you have been muttering to yourself in Sanskrit. Soham-Hamsa in Sanskrit translates as "The Swan of the Soul". One night in the year 407 B.C., Socrates had a dream. He saw a graceful white swan flying toward him with a melodious song trilling from its throat. The next morning Plato came to him and asked to become his pupil. Anthony Damiani first told me this story in Ithaca (1968) which I found in Olympiodorus's "Life of Plato" in Volume 1 of Thomas Taylor's 55 Dialogues of Plato (1804). Lastly, Plato's Phaedo 85 came to mind: "I believe that the swans, belonging as they do to Apollo, have prophetic powers and sing because they know the good things that await them in the unseen world, and they are happier on that day than they have ever been before. Now I consider that I am in the same service as the swans, and dedicated to the same god, and that I am no worse endowed with prophetic powers by my master than they are, and no more disconsolate at leaving this life." Such are my ponderings on the mysteries and wonder of life. Photo Sources: Weeping Willow at Boston Public Garden (fineartamerica.com); Wednesday's Child (famlii.com); Swan Boats at Boston Public Garden (fineartamerica.com); Dürer's Melencolia I (wikimedia.org) — Peter Y. Chou     Mountain View, 5-2-2019 | Top | Poem "My Favorite Trees" | Poems 2019 | Poems 2018 | Poems 2017 | Poems 2016 | Poems 2015 | | Poems 2014 | Poems 2013 | Poems 2012 | Poems 2011 | Haikus 2019 | Haikus 2018 | Haikus 2017 | | Haikus 2016 | Haikus 2015 | Haikus 2014 | Haikus 2013 | Haikus 2012 | News | CPITS | Books | A-Z Portals | Home | © Peter Y. Chou, Wisdom Portal P.O. Box 390707, Mountain View, CA 94039 email: (5-2-2019)