Knowing the Trees

I was driving down the street when I noticed the bare branches of a row of trees. “Those will soon be filled with pink blooms,” I thought.

I only know that because I have lived here long enough to become familiar with the trees near my home. I suppose, in their own way, they are neighbors, too. When you live in a place long enough, you begin to know its rhythms.

I am not knowledgeable enough about trees — especially when they are bare — to identify what kinds they are. For me, that part is always a discovery. It’s a joy to notice their patterns for the first time each year. And it’s also a joy to have internalized them and be able to anticipate what is coming.

—Renee Roederer