Something’s in the Trees
Mention Michigan in December and a lot of people immediately imagine snow — snowmen in front yards, snowy driveways in need of shoveling, snow days off from school, snowboarding, snow-skiing, and snowball fights. Such images are a kind of Norman Rockwell depiction of classic Midwestern winters, inspired by equal parts nostalgia, stereotypes, and wishful thinking.
They’re also true, at least sometimes. Michigan in December can look every bit the iconic winter wonderland. Sometimes the serene snowy appearance lasts weeks, sometimes days, and sometimes a single afternoon. Michigan is fickle, that’s what I’m saying.
Truth be told, early winter in Michigan is as likely to be a gray muddy mess as a snowy paradise. I was reminded of this while walking my dog on a December day without snow. As he stopped to sniff every fallen leaf in the yard, my eyes wandered up into the trees. Their appearance was more H.G. Wells than Rockwell. The trees were stripped and barren, like gaunt crooked creatures clinging to life past their time.
I also noticed bird nests in the exposed branches. Lots and lots of bird nests. Sure, there are numerous birds in Michigan throughout the warmer seasons. I hear them chirping in the morning, see them stalking worms after a rain, and feed them sunflower seeds from my hand at the local metropark. But I still didn’t expect to see a veritable high-rise apartment building of nests in the trees.
Why was I so surprised? Because in the summer, when the trees are green and full of leaves, bird nests just aren’t all that visible. They’re up there, certainly, everyone knows it, but they’re easy to overlook and miss.
This fact got me thinking. What if bird nests weren’t all that was hiding among the dense foliage of summertime? What if the leaves concealed natural works of art?
My nerdy brain thought immediately of dragons and other fantastic creatures. Just imagine what could be hiding among the trees! Better yet, let’s do more than imagine. We can speculate and take a look, thanks to the magic of AI art.
Dragons:
Fairies:
Ogres or trolls:
The truly extraordinary:
Okay, maybe that last pair is less likely than seeing dragons in the trees. Still fun to imagine.
The real question is, besides bird nests, what do we miss seeing around us everyday? How many wonders do we simply overlook?
