The Bow

Everybody has a favorite tree. This one is mine — a California live oak I've passed thousands of times hiking with my dogs. It shows up differently with every season, every weather system, every hour of the morning. This particular day the fog had settled in and the sun was coming up directly behind it, and that main branch — the one that arcs out and drops like it's taking a bow — caught the light in a way I hadn't seen before. I've watched this tree for years. It still surprises me.