Several years ago, I was in the general vicinity of the first home in which I ever lived and decided to take a chance and rang the bell there, hoping to have the opportunity to meet the folks who now lived there.
As luck had it, the lady of the house was home! I was thrilled and introduced myself. She looked a bit shocked at my temerity, but I reassured her that I was only interested in taking photographs of the yard.
Well, specifically of the Golden Chain Tree that is the largest feature of the property. My Mom had requested that my Dad get it and plant it there in 1962. Nearly 50 years later, the tree was enormous and due to the skill of a tree surgeon, it was being cherished and taken care of.
That care involved supporting cables to keep it from potentially shattering, but it was obvious the new owners cared about that tree at least as much as my family had.
Anyhow, with only a little gentle begging on my part, the gracious lady allowed me to take pictures. I only stayed as long as was absolutely necessary to get a series of shots, and I went away feeling warm and fuzzy inside.
The new owners had added a little playhouse to the area for their kids, and I think it was a perfect addition to it all.
Thank you, dear lady, for allowing me to invade your private space that day. I will always remember you warmly.
Anna Rose is a longtime lover of all things science fiction and fantasy.
Her latest novel is LUCI: RHOADES TO HELL, is now available in hardcover, softcover, and e-book formats. In it, the Devil is female and the Divine is gender queer.
Nope, it's not a romance (the Devil already has a girlfriend), nor is it kink.
She's currently working on the sequel, LUCI: Rhoades to Recovery.
Anna fell in love with dragons as a girl, but really got dragon-crazy when she discovered Anne McCaffrey's DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN series of novels. The idea of essentially befriending a dragon to be one's constant companion for life was so thrilling, it grabbed hold of her and refused to let her go. AYA'S DRAGON was Anna's first foray into Dragon-oriented fiction, which was followed shortly thereafter by the second story in the TALES OF THE DRAGONGUARD series, SARA'S FIRE.
She got into vampires when she was a kid, watching the original Dark Shadows soap opera in the early 1970's, and getting it bad for Barnabas Collins, bad hair and all.
She fell instantly in love with all things paranormal and became an absolutely rabid reader and writer, filling spiral notebooks with pages upon pages of her stories that eventually were lost. With the advent of computers and electronic storage, however, things changed for Anna.
Right now, it seems that most vampire fiction out there is peopled with self-loathing vampires looking for a cure for their "curse", or whose stories conclude in a romance with the one human who will either love them for who they are, or who, somehow, is able to "save" them from their vampiric existence. Knowing that she couldn't be the only person out there looking for something where the vampiric main character was comfortable just as they were and wasn't looking for love, Anna Rose began writing the Sumaire Web series of novels.
Anna lives in California and shares her life with her daughter and two small but very loyal dogs.
A great visit! I’m glad you found things well and that something some precious is being protected and loved. Those trees grow quickly!!!! It’s majestic at nearly fifty!
I was told that Spielberg wanted to use it to film the Robin Williams movie about the guy aging at warp speed.
Fortunately, the homeowners KNEW that doing something like that would destroy the tree (why should Spielberg care about the aftermath, after all?) and politely declined, even after receiving offers of more money to allow its use.
Bless their hearts, but in only the BEST way for that.
A great visit! I’m glad you found things well and that something some precious is being protected and loved. Those trees grow quickly!!!! It’s majestic at nearly fifty!
I was told that Spielberg wanted to use it to film the Robin Williams movie about the guy aging at warp speed.
Fortunately, the homeowners KNEW that doing something like that would destroy the tree (why should Spielberg care about the aftermath, after all?) and politely declined, even after receiving offers of more money to allow its use.
Bless their hearts, but in only the BEST way for that.
🙂
Fascinating! Thanks for the evocative experience. You are fun to travel with!
This read was awesome sauce. Me and my Mummy loved it.