The Cedar Tree Mystery
With all of the snow we’ve had lately I thought this might be a good time to talk about this snowy landscape painting. The attraction to me in this painting was the small cedar tree that you see in the foreground. Cedars have always been a favorite childhood memory of mine. Growing up, these trees were always a part of our Christmas. My dad would never buy a Christmas tree but always insisted on finding and cutting one down. This would have been great if he found a pretty tree. However this never seemed to happen. He would bring home a tree that always had one side that was so ugly it had to be turned against the wall. Many times more than just one side caused issues and then the tree had to be placed in the corner. However this was the unbelievable part to me! As soon as the tree was brought in the house the most amazing smell filled the room. After the ornaments were placed on the tree and the icicles were hung, (yes, we used to put icicles on the tree) we completely forgot about the ugly little tree that entered the front door. Somehow Mom worked her magic on it, and this little cedar transformed into the most beautiful tree ever, or at least I thought it did. I loved the beautiful colors, the sparkling lights, and December 25th couldn’t come fast enough!
So when I noticed this little cedar tree growing back on the farm, I just knew that I had to paint it. It possibly was the only cedar that I had ever seen that was perfect on all sides. It was definitely candy for my eyes! So I did paint it in pastel.
Then several seasons passed by and one spring I took a walk to the back of the farm. While on my way I decided that I would stop and see how much the little tree had grown. When I got back along the tree line, to my disappointment I could not find the tree! I thought to myself, I know it was once here. I have proof in my painting! But where could it be? Leaving very disappointed and perplexed I told the same story to my husband. He said that I must have checked in the wrong location. Assuring him that I knew I was in the right place, he suggested that we go back and look again, and look we did. We traveled back to the very same spot along the tree line, exactly where I had been that afternoon. Sure enough to his surprise the little cedar was gone. Quickly he began to search in the tall grassy area of the tree line. After a few minutes of raking the grass, leaves, and weeds away, there hidden under the green grass of spring was the only part that remained of the little cedar, a little brown shriveled stump.
My heart sank. This beautiful little green tree that I had grown to love was nothing more than an empty space and a memory. How could this have happened? Who would have taken this little tree without anyone knowing? To this day I still have no answers. This is a mystery to me and one perhaps that will never be solved.
Although this little cedar is gone forever, I am thankful that I found it and had the opportunity to paint it. Even though I wish it was still there, I do have the painting that brings back this wonderful childhood memory. My hope is that this pretty little tree found a special home during Christmas, bringing as much joy and excitement to them as our cedar tree did to me as a child!
