After returning to Toronto and selling my house and moving to a new home outside the city I gave some thought to the tree in Manhattan. I felt there was a tree in the woods towards the back of the property which was aware I had arrived. I respectfully walked along a path next to the woods for week or two awaiting an invitation to enter and introduce myself to my new tree friend. I opened myself inwardly as I walked past each day. The light shone through the woods so invitingly  sparkling and shimmering. I acknowledged the elemental beings. Then, one day, I was invited in.

I stepped over the cedar rails and while walking with hands outstretched I saw her . Her trunk divided into three with one side reaching horizontally out before swinging back up towards the sky. I turned my back and introduced myself. I was touched by a great hand. The meeting was clear and welcoming. We began our ‘sister’ friendship. Then I ‘heard’ her name. I made the gestures of it in eurythmy several times. AAAOLAh.

I visited her often , daily if I could and many wonderful exchanges took place. There was great humour in our communications. I approached her one day bemoaning my menopausal hormonal turmoil. I shared some images/thoughts/feelings with her and ended with “You’re so fortunate to be free of hormones!!” At this very moment suddenly, out of nowhere, a storm struck – wind, rain, lightning – so that, unprepared, I had to leave quickly to seek shelter. As I left she “laughingly conveyed”: ‘You have hormones, we have weather!’

I was visiting on a walk with my dear friend and her three year old daughter ( my goddaughter). They stood with me lovingly tapping on the bark of AAHOlah while my dog Parsifal nibbled the bark at her base . He thought AAAHOlah’s bark was a delicacy. We all were enjoying a lively encounter when Stacey and I began to talk about an imagination pouring in ,very quickly the image of a radio tower came to us …. Radio rainbow. In the conversation with AAAOlah rainbows did appear as if sparks.

AAAOlah’s became an important part of my life after I began working on manifesting Canada’s first and only ( so far) geopuncture installation . This is part of a global work that has been ongoing for 40 years led by sculptor and author Marko Pogacnik.  I didn’t know if it could actually take place but needed to hold open that possibility and be willing to work very hard to bring it about. I would bring my questions, doubts and uncertainties to AAAOlah for guidance and inspiration. I felt AAAOlah reaching out to announce this work to the whole region which I felt encouraged something  to open so that the project might slip into the world. All things considered this was the case.

AAAOlah was a friend . I could bring my sorrows and suffering during the months my husband was facing his cancer, surgery and recovery. She welcomed me and accepted my  thoughts and aching heart. She showed me “ Tree jokes”. I had asked for comedic inspiration to bring to my suffering husband, partly to lighten the burden of his discomfort and fear, partly to create an opening  for difficult topics to be broached.

The first tree joke was simply to stand with arms extended branch like perfectly still for a long time! The second was to do the same thing but then to purposefully lose balance slightly and step forward with one foot to catch my balance saying merely “OOPS”.

Not everyone gets it!!!